Why people hate plaintiff’s lawyers
You know I used to be a plaintiff’s lawyer. I used to wonder, why are lawyers the brunt of so many jokes and the object of so much derision?
I mean I’m a nice guy and most of my plaintiff’s lawyer brethren in the small Southern town I practiced in were nice guys too. Sure sometimes I wondered whether or not my client really hurt as bad as he said he did, but lawyers don’t make those judgments, juries do. Even though it was unpopular I felt like it was honorable work.
Since I have left that profession and moved over to the entrepreneurial ranks, I have come to better understand the angst so many feel against lawyers. I’ve seen bogus lawsuit after bogus lawsuit come down the pipe filed by agitators looking to collect millions of dollars without sustaining any real injury or damage. However, what I learned reading the news today has taken the cake for legal malfeasance.
Little League Baseball has settled a 2004 lawsuit brought by the parent of a 12 year old boy in Staten Island, NY who injured his knee sliding into second base during a game for 125,000 bucks! Among the things the lawsuit alleged was that the coaching staff was negligent in not teaching her son how to slide properly and that the local league was using bases that were not safe (although they were on the list of approved equipment).
Evidently the suit went on for 5 years prior to settlement. I shudder to think of the money that Little League had spent in defense of the case over that time. Evidently, given the crazy behavior of juries these days, Little League felt like it was better to write a check and move on than to go through the expense of a multi-day trial.
After reading the report, I just sat still for several minutes wondering what in the world was this mother thinking. Little League is a non-profit organization. Little League coaches are unpaid volunteers. You play baseball with hard balls and metal bats. There is inherent danger in baseball as there is with any sporting activity. You’d think that “Mom” might have figured this out when she noticed that they sent her son up to bat wearing a helmet….
But I don’t blame “Mom” as much as I blame the blood sucking, ambulance chasing, lawyer who brought the case. Moms have a natural instinct to protect their children and to go after anything that they sense is trying to harm them. God made them that way and more often than not, that’s a good thing. The lawyer was only in it for the money.
If that mother had walked into my office and explained her situation, I would have expressed sympathy and wished her son good luck in rehab. And I’d bet you that response would have been exactly the same in 99% of the law offices of this country. However, all you need is one lawyer totally devoid of any scruples whatsoever to ruin the reputation of the whole bunch.
The truth is that if anyone was responsible for this kid’s injury it’s the mother herself. Anybody who registers a 12 year old boy to play baseball that hasn’t already figured out how to slide on his own is patently negligent as a parent. Seriously, if I had asked my Dad how to slide when I was 12, he might literally have died of shame right there on the spot.
But I digress…this misguided lawsuit never would have happened without a slimy lawyer. What kind of snake brings a case like this against an organization like Little League? Baseball is the National Pastime for crying out loud!
He’s a disgrace to the Bar. He’s a disgrace to humanity.
And thanks to this slime ball, I’ll never again wonder why Shakespeare famously wrote in Henry VI, “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers”
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Lay off Michael Vick
Let me be upfront on two things. First, I don’t like the Eagles. Never have. Second, I am not a Mike Vick fan. Didn’t like him at Virginia Tech. Dang sure didn’t like him with the Atlanta Falcons. And given that he has recently joined the Eagles, I’m sure I’ll go on not liking him for the indefinite future.
That said, I am compelled to comment about the controversy that has been set off by his recent signing and imminent return to the NFL.
I don’t understand the big deal over this. The facts are pretty simple. Vick broke the law. Vick went to jail. Vick lost his job. Vick served his sentence, got out of jail, and promptly went looking for a job. Seems like this is exactly what we’d want an ex-con to do. Why then are so many folks upset that he’s found work?
Could it be that Vick is just that evil and the folks who are upset are just that righteous? I don’t think so. These protests say a whole lot more about the ones doing the protesting than it does about Mike Vick
What if Vick had gone to jail for abusing his girlfriend or failing to pay child support instead of abusing animals? Would the “outrage” be the same? Before you say yes, consider the criminal history of many other athletes who continue to play professional sports. Ever see anybody protesting Ray Lewis or Pac Man Jones? What if Mike Vick had found work flipping burgers instead of as an NFL quarterback? I can guarantee you that you wouldn’t have folks lining up outside McDonald’s to protest Vick making Big Macs.
Do these protesters value animals more than people? Are they jealous because Vick will make a lot of money? You could certainly make that argument.
Make no mistake, what Vick did was wrong, but there it just doesn’t equate to abusing a human being or failing to take care of a child in my mind. Likewise, why shouldn’t Vick go out and get the best job that he can based on his skills, education, experience, etc.? Isn’t that what we all want our kids to do? And why shouldn’t the Eagles hire him if they believe he’s the best player available to back up Donovan McNabb. Isn’t it the job of management to use its best efforts to build the most competitive team possible?
The folks protesting Mike Vick need to shut up about it. If they want to root for whomever Vick and the Eagles are playing each week, that’s fine, but let the man be. He’s admitted his mistake, done his time, and is doing exactly what any of us would do if we had the talent to play quarterback in the NFL.
That said, I am compelled to comment about the controversy that has been set off by his recent signing and imminent return to the NFL.
I don’t understand the big deal over this. The facts are pretty simple. Vick broke the law. Vick went to jail. Vick lost his job. Vick served his sentence, got out of jail, and promptly went looking for a job. Seems like this is exactly what we’d want an ex-con to do. Why then are so many folks upset that he’s found work?
Could it be that Vick is just that evil and the folks who are upset are just that righteous? I don’t think so. These protests say a whole lot more about the ones doing the protesting than it does about Mike Vick
What if Vick had gone to jail for abusing his girlfriend or failing to pay child support instead of abusing animals? Would the “outrage” be the same? Before you say yes, consider the criminal history of many other athletes who continue to play professional sports. Ever see anybody protesting Ray Lewis or Pac Man Jones? What if Mike Vick had found work flipping burgers instead of as an NFL quarterback? I can guarantee you that you wouldn’t have folks lining up outside McDonald’s to protest Vick making Big Macs.
Do these protesters value animals more than people? Are they jealous because Vick will make a lot of money? You could certainly make that argument.
Make no mistake, what Vick did was wrong, but there it just doesn’t equate to abusing a human being or failing to take care of a child in my mind. Likewise, why shouldn’t Vick go out and get the best job that he can based on his skills, education, experience, etc.? Isn’t that what we all want our kids to do? And why shouldn’t the Eagles hire him if they believe he’s the best player available to back up Donovan McNabb. Isn’t it the job of management to use its best efforts to build the most competitive team possible?
The folks protesting Mike Vick need to shut up about it. If they want to root for whomever Vick and the Eagles are playing each week, that’s fine, but let the man be. He’s admitted his mistake, done his time, and is doing exactly what any of us would do if we had the talent to play quarterback in the NFL.
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