Cultural commentary: Litigious Compensation Before moving to America I didnt understand why there was so much suing, and, occasionally frivolous court cases where a victim would demand tremendous amounts of money for coffee that was too hot, or slipping on a floor, etc.. After living here for 10 years I believe I am beginning to understand it a little better. A byproduct of capitalism is the belief/fear that the big company is trying to screw the little guy. There is a deep distrust and suspicion of big business, politicians, and, for example, health care providers. The recourse of the little guy is to sue the big company to keep a balance. The problem is, getting a big insurance money check doesnt actually solve the problem. I know this from experience. After my parents were killed, I was given a check for about half my houses value. I remember looking at it and seriously considering ripping it up. This check didnt bring back my parents, it would not make Christmas dinner, or tell me how proud it was of me. It would not answer the phone after a difficult day or give me advice for a new dilemma I was facing. Would a larger check make things better? No, this check would buy me stuff, and tempt me to greed. A sudden influx of money had the potential to make us young brothers lazy, or enable poor spending habits and lack of foresight. Now I am thankful for insurance. In many situations people legitimately need the funds to survive and move on (for example consider the plight of someone made a paraplegic). But money doesnt actually make things ok. If you lose someone, they will still be gone. If you die, you will still be dead. If you lose a leg, it will still be difficult to walk. To the story Ive linked. I think Tracy Morgan is awesome. Hes funny and Ive enjoyed his work many times. Its terrible that he was hurt, and its even more terrible that the accident may have been a result of negligence. But what is Walmart going to do? Can they spend enough money to ensure that none of their thousands of employees ever fall asleep on the job? Its not possible. The trucking industry already has considerable regulation on this (to my knowledge) and yet accidents still happen. Assuming Mr. Morgan wins, what happens here will be that an already rich person, will get more money from a big company. The big company will need to raise prices (ever so slightly since they are so large) and millions of lower income people who frequent Walmart will collectively pay for the settlement (or the increased insurance premiums). To be sure, there is value in litigations ability to keep the big company honest (i.e. the fear of getting sued makes them institute stronger safety policies). But, in my mind, things have gotten a little crazy. Companies are often forced to take safety measures that defy common sense. Examples could include: extensive labels on a coffee cup detailing the coffee is hot, hospitals ordering multiple unnecessary test (to cover their butts) driving up health care costs. Insurance policies will sometimes defy logic (I was prohibited from building a 2ft-drop zip line at a recent youth event I lead unless we had professional operators and design). I think that Walmart, if guilty, should have to compensate the victims (not knowing the actual details of the case). But I hope the litigation wont come out to $67 million or some astronomical number.
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 15:06:02 +0000
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