Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer
people who sue for pain, suffering, emotial trauma or whatever just strike me as money grabbing low lifes. pansies.
i mean fair enough if an accident you had meant a large medical bill and some time off work, so long as i was compensated for that thats fine, but to push the issue further and get more money for some kind of emotional damages or because you felt like crap for a week or two just strikes me as utterly pathetic.
maybe im thinking about this all wrong, but getting money because you decided to mope around on the couch for two weeks feeling sorry for yourself is just crazy. Ok you might have a broken leg, or arm or have to wear a neck brace, but honestly last time i checked those things didnt stop you from doing something, or going to work or having fun (depending on the job of course, in which case it would be loss of earnings unless the company you work for is nice and continues to pay you)
maleficus.... i agree. novasatori mentions
"Some people suffer permanent quality of life issues such as neck problems for the rest of their life.
Are they supposed to just accept that and live like that without any compensation, just an - Oh sorry you got rear ended and will suffer with neck pain and back pains for the rest of your life, and problems with lifting objects. ?"
ok so lets say they are awarded $10,000...... ummmmmm will that get rid of the life long neck problems? no wil it help them lift objects? maybe if they buy a winch and attach it to themselves. the money really doesnt do much, it doesnt take the edge off it, youd be the same with or without it. for me if you sit there bitter about not getting money out of an accident then i feel sorry for you.
Just getting on with life FTW! you're only on this earth the once.
so yeah im in the group of : get compensated for medical bills, loss of earnings etc.... but not for feeling down for a few weeks, thats like me suing where i work because working there has made me sit at home weeping into my pillow every night having flash backs about being sat motionless at a desk for 8 hours a day. you dont deserve money for that.
You aren't thinking about it all wrong, but close.
My situation:
My Dad was paralyzed from the waist down and had bone marrow cancer (orange sized tumopr on his spine) that would have been caught by an x-ray that was scheduled. Since my dad's back didn't hurt at the time (tumor was taking out his nerves) the doctor didn't take the x-ray. Later on the night of my 6th birthday my dad had to go to the hospital where they discovered the tumor. At the hospital my dad tried to page a nurse to help him get up and go to the restroom. No one ever answered. Since my dad was to proud and stubborn of a man to pee his bed he tried to get up and walk to the bathroom. He fell and that's when he was paralyzed from the waist down. This was all in 92, in 2000 he died from some crappy little bug that would put a person with a normal immune system out for a day max but since he had to have a bone marrow transplant for his cancer it killed him.
Well in 93ish we sued the doctor and the hospital. The doctor immediately settled because he knew he had screwed up and felt bad, the hospital we had to fight. It is remarkable that we won but we did and ended up getting somewhere in the 1-2 mil range I am sure (I don't know exactly how much my parents never told me and they have both died since).
$40k went to a wheel chair van for my dad, $20k to a new van for my mom, $150k to a new house since our old one wasn't accessible, then of course lawyer's fees and medical bills. Also, a trust was set up for my older brother, myself, and my younger sister so we get some money at 18, 21, 25, and 30. Some for college, so for a house down payment later, etc.
Point being most of that money was for "pain and suffering." So I am going to end up getting somewhere around $100k if you total it all for having a dad that could never go out in the yard and play sports with me, was constantly in pain, and whom I watched essentially slowly die in an excuciating amount of pain for years.
So now you tell me, did I deserve money for pain and suffering? No it doesn't bring my dad back but it sure does help with college and it will help with buying a house or something like that so it will make my life a whole lot easier.
edit: I want people to be clear that I hate frivilous lawsuits for $10mil for pain and suffering that drive up malpractice insurance and therefore healthcare for all of us as much as anyone, but a sizeable amount in certain cases is justified. We do need reform in this area of our legal system but gross negligence like in some cases should be punished severly and sadly nowadays that means really hurting a company or individual's bottom line.