Trial Lawyers, Defend Yourselves Now
Friday, August 18, 2006 at 12:12PM You know your country is going to hell when people feel entitled to sue the government for a hurricane.
The son of Ethel Freeman, a New Orleans resident who died at the Morial Convention Center the week after Katrina, is suing the City of New Orleans, the State of Louisiana, and everyone else who moves for negligence in her death. Ms. Freeman was a 91 year-old woman who died from lack of food and water as she waited for authorities to evacuate her to safety. The case alleges that gross negligence on the part of the government is responsible for her death.
While it is true that the Superdome and the Convention Center never should have happened, and it is also true that many, many people were not doing their jobs in the aftermath of Katrina, this has got to be the dumbest possible way to resolve this issue.
If Ms. Freeman’s son is successful, we can expect 20,000 additional lawsuits from the other people at the Convention Center, and another 20,000 from evacuees at the Superdome. The money awarded in such a case will have to be squeezed out of a city that is still trying to find the cash to restore running water to the Lower Ninth Ward a year after Katrina hit. A huge judgment in this case could shut down the police force in New Orleans.
There is something called sovereign immunity which protects the federal and state government from being sued. Unfortunately, there is a recognized exception made for negligence. This means it is entirely possible that the lawsuit could at least earn a hearing in court.
Ms. Freeman's death was a very famous event. You know her, even if you do not think you know her. Pictures of her body, slumped in a wheelchair and draped with a blanket, made the lead news story on every continent a year ago. She will remain one of the enduring images of Hurricane Katrina in the minds of everyone in the city, and for many people throughout the world. It is a shame to see her memory cheapened by what is nothing more than a money grab.
Yes, her son suffered from what happened here. So did we all. Tomorrow my family will bury one of our own, a middle-aged man who shot himself about a week ago. No doubt the loss and disarray that Katrina wreaked on Louisiana was a major contributor to the depression that ended in his death. The cycle of grief goes on and on.
So don’t give me any crap about pain and suffering. About heartache. We have all felt it. I am sorry for Ms. Freeman’s death, and for the suffering of all the people victimized by Hurricane Katrina – that is, when I have sorrow to spare for others. A lawsuit is no way to resolve all the pain this city has been through, and if the courts don’t dismiss this case immediately, we will have one more stupid thing sucking up resources badly needed for recovery.
Suing your own city in this case is like suing your parents. All you are doing is trying to take resources that are partly yours anyway. The Mayor, the Governor, City Council, even FEMA will not be hurt by this. This will hurt the kids who are back and trying to return to school. It will hurt the man down the street who is trying to get a building permit to reconstruct what is left of his life.
I am so tired of lawsuits. Mr. Freeman, drop the case and pick up a hammer and help. Go to school. Vote. Read books. For once in your life, acknowledge that you are not the only one who is hurting and experience the new feeling of thinking about someone besides yourself. The looting days in New Orleans are supposed to be over.
Nothing good can come of this, unless you are a lawyer. I imagine the lawyer has already spent his retainer check on a new Jaguar.
Reader Comments (21)
I believe that lawsuits should be *rare* ... in any case. What a "litigation happy" people we've become!
In this case, we have no idea if there is even a lawyer associated with it. Many of your "crazy lawsuits", like the one filed by the Michael Jordan lookalike that end up on Overlawyered or end up in emails, are either nonexistent or done by people without attorneys. And they are pretty quickly dismissed. And of course, there was likely not any "retainer", and thus no new Jaguar. But I'm sure a member of the world's highest paid profession, the American physician, isn't going to chastise others for making money.
Now, if one of you has a suggestion on a system where there is a gatekeeper that can decide the merits of a claim before they have any facts about the claim, please present it. I'm unaware of anyone so prescient. The closest is the physicians who diagnose the lack of malpractice from newspaper articles, or Dr. Frist, who makes diagnoses based on news clips.
As for bankrupting the City of NO, they likely have insurance, as this is not their first claim I'm sure. If one is going to say we should never sue the city because it only drains their resources, then I guess we should never sue them when their cops illegaly beat someone down, or their employees run a red light and hit someone? How about when they illegaly collect taxes in excess of what is due?
But actually, sovereign immunity typically includes negligence, and the exception is for intentional acts made in the course and scope of employment. In short, it's a real bitch to sue a local, state, or federal govt. for negligence.
That one didn't work for the Nazi's CJD. Think outside the box.
Whether Mr. Freeman's suit is right or wrong is not for me to decide, but I sincerely hope that EVERYONE (and that means all of us) who was involved in this tragedy will be motivated to vote.
Just as none of us really knows the facts in Dr. Pou's case, we don't know the exact circumstances of Mrs. Freeman's death. He has a right to his day in court.
My contention is that the suit will not do any good. There is no money to be had in this case. New Orleans is broke. Louisiana is not broke but wouldn't the millions a jury might render be better off spread among the many, rather than the few?
The trouble with lawsuits like this is that only the first few winners get the big bucks. Then everyone else (and that includes many thousands here) gets to split up the corpse. I don't want to see that.
And millions may well be unlikely because of sovereign immunity. Some states do have committees that will pay in spite of sovereign immunity, but it's in their sole discretion.
You may be right, Dr. Hebert, but you may well be all up in arms for no reason. I'd find out before I started making arguments and casting aspersions that turn out to be baseless.
... and CJD doesn't like being called a troll.
Truth can be painful ...
AntiCJD, I also told him to "think outside of the box" on one occasion on a different blog, and he didn't take my advice. Perhaps he'll take yours.
Dr. Hebert, you said:
"The trouble with lawsuits like this is that only the first few winners get the big bucks. Then everyone else (and that includes many thousands here) gets to split up the corpse. I don't want to see that."
That's very true. I've watched it happen in other cases. Not everything that is about *justice* can be translated into *money.* That, in itself, soon becomes an injustice.
Can you point me to lawsuits like Dr. Hebert is referring to that you have seen where most of the people get a little? I'm willing to bet you can't, particularly ones where a government is involved.
Michael, it does have the feel of looting, doesn't it? Without ever being able to know or understand the experience of those who were there, of course--such things are easy to say from half a world away. Could such a suit ever be successful though? I'm tempted to say, "Surely not!" But then the phrase "Only in America" comes, unwelcome, to mind.
pain is pain. some of us heal by helping others... some of try to blame others in what we like to think of as healing.
I agree with doc Hebert, there are others out there hurting as much, if not more from the never ending flow on effects of Katrina. This is no way to heal. Only more pain for the family and those around them is ever going to come from this.
Drop it, and get on with living.
I was thinking of the Vioxx case when I thought about this. Merck is being sued one plaintiff at a time. After a few huge verdicts, Merck will end up settling and creating a fund for payouts. The payouts will be much more modest when that day comes. Other cases I am thinking about are environmental, where a company pollutes, gets sued, pays out a few cases and then declares bankrupcy. Then the rest of the litigants are left out to dry. I have seen that too. Then there is the asbestos nightmare. Don't get me started on that foolishness.
You may know something about law, CJD, but insurance, jeezus. Have you ever heard of premiums? Ever got in a car wreck? What happens to your premiums then? In the aftermath of a successful lawsuit, the defendant does pay, and in spades. Either through higher premiums going forward, or from losing insurance altogether.
So I would say you are wrong. New Orleans pays every which way. Even if they win, they have legal fees. If they lose, they pay high insurance or lose the insurance they have or pay out of their pockets.
You tell me to check my facts. I do not think you understand how destitute New Orleans is. Go there. Tour Lakeview and NO East. You just can't understand until you have seen it.
Enough. My next 10 posts will be about my experiences with Hurricane Katrina. I am tired of thinking about law.
Then stop saying you can. That's great that you've thought about other types of cases against private entities, but they aren't the same as a case against the government. I realize you may think all lawsuits are the same, but they are no more alike than two separate patients.
As for your premiums argument, if it's never the insurers job to pay covered claims resulting from your negligence, then why are you buying insurance? Again, would you deny the victim of a police beatdown their medical bills because the city's premiums would go up? Premiums were going to go up no matter what as a result of the cost of reinsurance - and paying this claim, if it ever happens, may have cost a mere 1/2 percent more in premiums, or the bond market might improve and premiums might actually decline. Don't lecture me on how liability insurance works, I am quite familiar. All this assumes, of course, that the city has to pay anything at all given sovereign immunity.
My sympathy is with NO, and I have no idea if this suit is justified or not, because I don't know all the facts. But forgive me if I don't allow you to spread obvious falsehoods. I highly doubt you would allow me to if I were to start pontificating on your profession and consistently getting it wrong..
It may well take an IMAX movie to truly show the scope.
I keep getting emails from people who want me to participate in some way in tort reform, especially as it applies to medicine. I always resist, because I know my hours on this earth are fixed, and I would rather apply them to something more meaningful.
The civil court system is unjust. But so is everything else I can name. Better for me to apply my thoughts to an area where I can make a difference.
One day, I will be presented with a frivolous lawsuit and I will get disgusted and abandon medicine. Yes, I really do think it will end that way.