just another litigious orgy

[breakingnews]

Interesting tidbit from today's paper, though it just furthers my frustration with the U.S.'s overly litigious society. I frequently take issue with Americans who feel that any type of adversity is immediately someone else's fault. People in this world should be their own liability. Unless, of course, you are the victim of gross negligence or criminal behavior. (I know, I know, this is where all the grey area comes into play, but whatever.)

So facility managers can no longer just be concerned about icy sidewalks? You must be aware and accomodating to the mere presence of a person on your property? Yes, transportation, libraries are in fact public places, but there are standards dictated by the commuters and library-goers - the very people whose taxes pay for these services (usually).

I don't like that a porn shop opened up 50 feet from my apartment building. Can I sue because it draws a less-desireable crowd to my neighborhood? Because it's open 24 hours a day and is a magnet for crime and drug trafficking? (It is, in fact, noticeably so.) After all, the last time I checked, my street is public property, and while the physical buildings are likely privately owned, the porn shop's glowing neon sign makes it part of the public domain.

He suffers from ailments including diabetes, heart and kidney problems, and nerve damage, and says unpaid medical bills caused him to lose the apartment two years ago, making him homeless again.

Of course it did.

Do you think you could make a fresh start with $115,000?

Man who won library suit sues NJ Transit

WAYNE PARRY
Associated Press
NEWARK, N.J. - A homeless man who sued and received $230,000 after being ejected from a library in northern New Jersey is suing NJ Transit for kicking him and other homeless people out of train stations.

Richard Kreimer, 55, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Monday seeking at least $5 million in damages against the transit agency, the city of Summit, nine police officers and several other defendants, claiming he and other homeless people have been unlawfully thrown out of train stations since August.

He also wants a federal judge to decide whether the stations are public or private property, and whether people who are not ticketed passengers have the right to be in them.

"As soon as you walk into a train station and you look like a bum, the cops come right over to you," said Kreimer, who is acting as his own lawyer.

A NJ Transit spokeswoman and Summit's city attorney both said they had not seen the lawsuit Monday and declined to comment on it.

Kreimer garnered national attention in 1991 after suing Morristown, the Morris Township public library and the police department over his treatment there. The library threw him out at least five times, claiming his body odor and the way he looked at library patrons offended them.

Kreimer received $230,000 from the harassment suit. A federal judge ruled the library's rules on hygiene were unconstitutional. That ruling was later overturned, but not before Kreimer had been paid.

About half the money went to pay lawyers in the case; the rest is gone, spent on living expenses in Lakewood, Colo., where Kreimer rented a town house from 1993 until 2000, and in Woodbury, where he lived from 2000 until 2003.

He suffers from ailments including diabetes, heart and kidney problems, and nerve damage, and says unpaid medical bills caused him to lose the apartment two years ago, making him homeless again.

[Beestie]

I don't blame the plaintiffs - most of them are little more than tools of the lawyers. And I don't actually blame the lawyers who routinely rape the legal system - its not their fault the legal system is broken in this area. I blame the judges for allowing this nonsense to continue and the lawgivers for not having the balls to stand up to ATLA (American Trial Lawyers Assoc) and make frivolous lawsuites less profitable.

[breakingnews]

Oh, that's true. I'm really surprised when lawsuits of these types aren't thrown out, but then that sets a dangerous precedence for the legal system.

When it comes to plaintiffs and lawyers, I find varying degrees of greed. Example 1 is a family friend who was performing glaucoma surgery when the patient - who failed to tell the nurses she had a cold - sneezed during the procedure and thus lost her vision. Malpractice amounted to something like $2 million. She later came in and apologized, saying the lawyer kept prodding her to go after as much as she could.

Example 2 involves another family friend who got all rattled up about a neighbor's dog shitting on her lawn. She wanted to sue (apparently there was a history of offenses), but had to go to a handful of different lawyers before one would take her case. I don't know what happened after that.

[jinx]

Shit, I've sneezed before without having a cold - they don't prepare for that in any way? You sneeze and you're blind? Do they tell you that upfront?

The thing with doctors is, they are willingly taking on a huge responsibility and making big bucks for it. I rarely feel bad when they maim someone and get sued for it. "First, do no harm" and you're all set.

[Trilby]

Originally Posted by jinx

The thing with doctors is, they are willingly taking on a huge responsibility and making big bucks for it. I rarely feel bad when they maim someone and get sued for it. "First, do no harm" and you're all set.

But nearly everything a doctor does has potentially lethal outcomes.

[breakingnews]

Originally Posted by Beestie

I don't blame the plaintiffs - most of them are little more than tools of the lawyers.

Except in this case - apparently the guy is representing himself.

I forgot I made a mental note of that when I was reading this on the subway earlier.

[Clodfobble]

Shit, I've sneezed before without having a cold - they don't prepare for that in any way? You sneeze and you're blind? Do they tell you that upfront?

I don't know what kind of glaucoma surgery this was... why the hell wasn't the patient sedated? I had laser eye surgery unsedated, but the laser had an automatic shutoff if the patient moved--and I did accidentally twitch ever-so-slightly at one point, and the laser did shut off.

[breakingnews]

Sorry, worded poorly. Treating glaucoma ... i believe he had some sort of instrument or needle near her eye. Not sure of the exact details - my dad wouldn't really fill me in.

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by breakingnews

I frequently take issue with Americans who feel that any type of adversity is immediately someone else's fault.
...
So facility managers can no longer just be concerned about icy sidewalks? You must be aware and accomodating to the mere presence of a person on your property?

Um, kicking someone off of public property is a deliberate action. An icy sidewalk is negligence at worst. You don't have to be "aware and accomodating" of someone in order to not kick them out. There may be a legitimate public interest in preventing homeless people from sitting on public benches, but I don't see the particular connection you're trying to make.

I don't like that a porn shop opened up 50 feet from my apartment building. Can I sue because it draws a less-desireable crowd to my neighborhood? Because it's open 24 hours a day and is a magnet for crime and drug trafficking? (It is, in fact, noticeably so.) After all, the last time I checked, my street is public property, and while the physical buildings are likely privately owned, the porn shop's glowing neon sign makes it part of the public domain.

What? Are you trying to draw a parallel here? If the porn shop is the homeless guy, then by analogy you can't sue to kick the porn shop off the street. So that's one less lawsuit.

Of course it did.

Well, medical bills are the leading cause of bankrupcy in the US. I have no idea whether that is the reason he's homeless, but it certainly could be.

[Trilby]

Is it true that it's better to NOT shovel your walkway? In a legal-kind of sense? That if you shovel and someone falls it's your fault, but if you DIDN'T shovel it's not? Anyone know?

[lookout123]

move to phoenix. to the best of my knowledge there are no known cases of people falling over sunshine.

but they may be walking on su... oh nevermind.

[Happy Monkey]

Heatstroke in an unshaded outdoor cafe!

[Trilby]

SUE!!!

[breakingnews]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

Um, kicking someone off of public property is a deliberate action. An icy sidewalk is negligence at worst. You don't have to be "aware and accomodating" of someone in order to not kick them out. There may be a legitimate public interest in preventing homeless people from sitting on public benches, but I don't see the particular connection you're trying to make.

Honestly, several hours later, me neither.

But another thought comes to mind, and maybe was my point. If this bum should be allowed to hang out in the train station, then the facility must accomodate him like a customer. Cleaning up after his mess, letting him use the bathroom, etc. Let him stay - but might any sort of preferential treatment for paying passengers be a case of discrimination?

What? Are you trying to draw a parallel here? If the porn shop is the homeless guy, then by analogy you can't sue to kick the porn shop off the street. So that's one less lawsuit.

No parallel being drawn - just making a hypothetically ridiculous scenario. Just because I don't like something doesn't mean I should be able or want to sue over it, though that is currently the case.

[lookout123]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

Heatstroke in an unshaded outdoor cafe!

uhuh - we have mist systems everywhere.