Posted On: March 27, 2008, 8:17 am CDT

Posted By: CJB

Amused,

Let me make sure I understand your position on tort reform....

Since it's not really the "at-fault" party's money on the line, but the insurance company's - it's "greedy" for the insurance company to want to protect itself against excessive and ridiculous jury awards.

Remembering that juries and prosecuting attorneys also view it as a deeper set of pockets than the party causing the injury.

If a guy who had very little in the way of money, property or any material wealth (and little chance of acquiring any), and little to no insurance, hit and killed a doctor in an auto accident, not many trial lawyers would even bother as there is no real money to be made. But, let this same guy have protected himself with a good deal of auto coverage, and the trial lawyers will line up to take the case.

Who's greedy, you asked. Compare the parties: Insurance carriers who are paying OUT for someone else's screw up; or trial lawyers that GET from someone else's screw up and another's misfortune.

Keep this in mind, without insurance we'd have nothing we have. No buildings would be built, no houses built, no new products developed, etc. All these require insurance protection somewhere; so be careful to attack an industry that allows us to live the lives to which we are accustomed.

Trail lawyers also benefit from the insurance industry - without it, they wouldn't have the massive houses they have or the boats, or....

Insurance is a business, never lose sight of that. They have to have and make money to honor their commitments. Some years are good years, some are bad; the bad are paid by the good.

If money can ease the pain of loss – you had no real pain. No person, and especially no lawyer who was not even a party to the event, should get rich off tragedy. Payment for actual loss, if that can truly be established, I'm fine with; punitive damages – I'm fine with if there was an egregious act – provided that NO part of those payments go to the lawyer and that it is used for the betterment of society, not the enrichment of anybody – remember, it's supposed to be a punishment for the wrongdoer, not a windfall for the injured/grieving party.