Greedy Trial Lawyer
An Open Letter To John Stossel, Myth-Buster
Category: In Your Face
Dear John Stossel:
Have you fallen on your head? Were you taken to an alien spaceship for a brain transplant? Are your ratings so far down that desperate ranting was recommended by your agent?
Your article,The Trial Lawyers' 'Justice' Myth, has a manic quality to it that rivals Ann Coulter at her best (and worst).
The Association of Trial Lawyers of America recently changed its name to the American Association for Justice. It may be a smart PR move, because everyone likes the word "justice," and apparently the name "trial lawyers" has acquired a negative tinge. It's good that it has, because although trial lawyers say they "protect the little guy," that's a myth. In truth, for every little guy they help, they hurt thousands.
[Obviously, a variation of "For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction."]
When those big medical malpractice awards hit the headlines, it sounds like the little guy was helped. "$1 million awarded to victim of medical device!" But the headline leaves out a great deal.Nurses are terrified. Doctors can't sleep. Their hard-earned reputations are trashed by newspapers quoting plaintiffs' lawyers, who paint deceitful pictures of the doctors' incompetence and negligence.
Doctors become more secretive, talk less openly with patients and become averse to acknowledging any mistake.
[Now we know what's wrong with the medical profession - it's me.]
Sure, fear of the "invisible fist" makes manufacturers more careful. Some lives have been saved because the litigation threat got companies to make their products safer. That's the "seen" benefit.But that benefit comes with a bigger unseen cost: The fear that stops the bad things stops good things, too -- new vaccines, new drugs, new medical devices. Fear suffocates the innovation that, over the past century, has helped extend our life spans by almost 30 years. Every day, we lose good things.
We can't even begin to imagine the life-saving products that might have existed -- if innovators didn't live in a climate of fear.
[For the good of mankind, I need to go.}
You need to seek medical attention quickly, John. I am afraid there may be a malignancy in your brain. Unfortunately, you will have to see one of the sleep-deprived, tight-lipped doctors using old medical devices. Try to avoid hospitalization, though. A terrified hospital nurse would likely give you at least one erroneous medication per day.
Greedy Trial Lawyer
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