Bush laughs at trial lawyers at summit

[MaryH]

I just saw this one. Trial lawyers are starting to get a little pissed off.

We are supposed to believe that by curtailing our rights in the courts we will get lower insurance premiums.

Only that is only a myth. The insurance companies just make more money and we get the shaft - again.

I'm starting to feel like Alice in Wonderland.

[Politicub]

1. Why wouldn't he laugh at the legal establishment?

He thinks he's above the law. And for the most part, this is playing out to be true.

[MaryH]

5. Really! I guess there are no lawyers in the Bush Family.

Trial lawyers are there to protect the public from the monster corporations. So now we lose that protection.

Pretty soon there will be no defenders in courts - just the prosecutors.

[Worst Username Ever]

2. You should have taken the blue pill n/t

[MaryH]

6. I still might.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tabasco]

10. I wonder if he laughed at his DUI trial lawyer.

Everybody laughs until it is them facing the courts. Then lawyers don't seem so bad afterall.

[The Doctor.]

12. Hmmm why's that?

Do you believe that trial lawyers are no good?

That they serve no purpose?

Did you have a bad experience?

I'm curious about why you say this.

[Worst Username Ever]

21. whoops

[The Doctor.]

25. ?

My question is an earnest attempt to ascertain the reasons lwrachel may have had for 'not blaming Bush'.

Or are you referring to THAT post and not mine?

(just naive I guess)

[Worst Username Ever]

30. lwrachel is a troll

[The Doctor.]

33. That would explain the inability to argue... n/t

[TexasChick]

28. Because this person has never been maimed, hurt or injured severely

by a company. These asshats are all for this until something happens to them. It isn't going to be so damn funny no more when these people are stuck with the hospital bills or loses a family member due to a company's faulty product or negligence. It won't be so damn good when they are stuck having to take care of a family member who will need special, costly care for the rest of their lives and they are stuck with the costs while this company gets let off the hook.

[The Doctor.]

29. I understand, but I'd like to hear it from the one I asked...

Lwrachel obviously has not had to deal with these things...

So let's hear from 'her'...

But I doubt she'll answer.

[TexasChick]

32. Self deleted. Nevermind. I'll bite my tongue. n/t

[Pachamama]

4. He says he wants to "Reform the legal system".....you know what that means

Making it favor him and Corporate America, ridding us of civil liberties and rights & fucking the little guy....

[purduejake]

7. He's getting me pissed off.

Have a link?

My two cents on this: I was in a car accident and suffered a concussion and herneated disk. I have about $200,000 in losses and medical bills and that doesn't cover pain and suffering, future medical costs, etc. As I understand it, he wants to limit damages to $200,000?!? I would loose money because somebody hit me if that were the case!

I just feel sorry for the people who are disabled and offered only $200,000 minus at least 1/3rd for attorney fees should this happen in the future.

[The Doctor.]

11. I believe the 200,000 cap is just for pain and suffering...

That's the one they are attacking.

Unfortunately, if my wife lost her beautiful voice due to an accident - they would cap those damages too, even though she could make millions.

Some lawsuits are stupid (the coffee was hot, McDonald's MADE me get fat, I fell down your stairs cause you LET me drink.)

But for you - who may have your potential curtailed for the rest of your life... there is no dollar amount.

[purduejake]

17. Thank you...

And I agree about the stupid lawsuits. As I understand it, they make up such a small percentage of suits. They're not driving up the rates very much and these restrictions will hurt legitimate claims if implemented and will save insurance companies... I dunno... millions or billions.

Best wishes for you and your wife.

[OneTwentyoNine]

19. Well....there's a bit more to the hot coffee thing....

Mikey D's was serving it at about 180 degrees which is unbelievably hot. There had been several incidents way before the lawsuit,McDonald's had been told but did nothing.

I was thinking too that the woman at first just wanted MD to help with medical costs and that would have been the end of it. But they basically told her to take a fucking hike,thats when she sued. I used to have the link to the real story,maybe someone else has it or Google it up.

People getting fat over fast food or suing because they drank to much--yeah those come up but rarely ever see the light of day in court.

[colonel odis]

20. actually, regarding the "coffee is hot" mcdonald's lawsuit the right

is so fond of pointing at (i'm assuming you're talking about the granny who burned her crotch), i read a couple of years ago that she only asked mcdonald's to cover her medical bills. i think that was under $20K.

mcdonald's is the one that refused to settle and went to trial. the result was the gigantic judgement against them.

[The Doctor.]

23. Then it's a darn good thing she had recourse...

My example was meant only to illustrate that too many people don't take responsibility for their own actions and welfare.

When you make a reasonable request and are jilted for it - that's paranoia.

I went to grab a twelve pack of beer at a Supermarket once. When I went to grab it, my right middle finger encountered the razor sharp edge of one of the bottles, which had broken at some pointbefore shelving.

As I tried not to bleed all over the store - I sought a band-aid.
The staff was helpful and I filled out a report as well.

Later I was told that the rep from the beer company had offered to give me a case of beer for my trouble.

I was ecstatic! A free case of beer in exchange for a mere cut! O-kay!

I never received my case because, as I was told, it would have appeared to be an admission of fault on the part of the company.

They were so paranoid about being sued that they wouldn't even apologize... or give me a case of beer because of their faulty product. (This company is known for rewashing used bottles which are always breaking from over re-use.)

This is sad when you MUST sue to recieve any compensation or be ignored... it's just not civil.

[ChairOne]

27. The McDonald's hot coffee suit has far more merit than you seem to think..

Go read about it somewhere - I'll find a link if you need help...

EDIT: This one's good enuff:

http://caoc.com/facts.htm

Bottom line folks: the lawyers are the ONLY ones who will EVER be on the little guys' side... Without them, WE will never get the attention of corporations. Let's not take our only voice away...

[The_Casual_Observer]

8. A convenient simpleton self serving fucked up lie served up by the

crown prince of self serving fucked up lies.

[The Doctor.]

9. That is very true...

The costs of lawsuits adds up to barely 1% of costs incurred by insurance companies.

No kidding we live in a world where facts don't matter anymore.

Eventually, all legal recourse will be taken away from the populus.

[louis-t]

15. Correct, insurance companies lost money in the stock market

#1 reason insurance costs are growing.

[The Doctor.]

22. So maybe we should scale back tax-cuts and fix the economy?

You know, level with the American people that we're in Iraq for Oil and the dollar's reserve currency status, tell them to stop shopping at Wal-Mart, get American corporations to hire American workers, increase gas mileage re quirements... generally discipline American over-consumption... NAH!

Better just go to war instead.

[magellan]

24. Absolutely true

I was told the same thing by our insurance broker last year. When insurance companies are suffering in the stock market (where they keep ?? of their money -- is it all or just a hefty percentage?), they turn around and screw us with higher premiums.

Sounds a bit like Bush**'s plan for SS...except when the stock market goes south on us, there's no one left to turn around and screw.

[mitchum]

13. So, does this mean he hates James Baker as much as I do?

[pleiku52cab]

14. Thats so full of BS

Same argument used for lowering malpractice awards - lower insurance and lower medical costs. BULL SHIT. States that have done that have seen no lowering of of either insurance costs or medical care. The rich corporation just pocket more profits.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

16. it's revenge

for being too stupid to get into law school himself.

[OneTwentyoNine]

18. Yeah,just think if we had that $250K cap

Think Vioxx would be pulled off the shelves?? Not unless someone put a gun to their head over at Merck.

With that liability cap and millions being made per day off the drug, deaths would be very affordable.

[CBHagman]

26. George Lakoff mentions another reason GOP attacks lawyers.

In "Don't Think of an Elephant," Lakoff says that one objective of the Republican Party's very public campaign against trial lawyers is a good portion of contributions to the Democratic Party come from trial lawyers. Hence, to strip the Democratic Party of as much power as possible, they have to cut off one funding source.

Naturally, the GOP also enjoys a bit of grinding the general public beneath its boot heel (hence the plan to eliminate the deductibility of health insurance and the plan to bring in a consumption tax), but the one-party state is a big part of this.

Something in this just screams for payback time, given the hypocrisy. One can only hope that Bush's reliance on lawyers in 2000 brings a visit from the karma police, and of course Schwarzenegger really, really needs to encounter an irate nurse the next time he's wearing the paper gown for a medical test. "Oh, I'm sorry. Someone smeared tabasco all over the colonscopy equipment!"

[DireStrike]

31. You mean PUBLIC DEFENSE Lawyers

"trial lawyers" is their term.