When will things like this ever end? [url=http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_815557.html]Qiydaar Reddick, is suing the City of New York for $5 Million for injuries he sustained at Brooklyn House of Detention.
Did the guards beat him? No.
Was he forced to eat pork? No.
Did he drop the soap and get raped? No.
He tripped on loose bricks playing basketball, hurt his knee and may need surgery.
Reddick’s slip and fall pitbull, Paul Campson, has got some set on him. Another case of: ‘Let’s shoot for the stars and maybe you’ll come away few bucks after I get my cut’. You never know, in this whacked-out part of the country, he just may be able to stack the jury box with enough morons that will award the whole amount.
I have a radical suggestion for that quivering bowl of wet noodles we call mayor here in Gotham. Instead of whining about the fact you can’t get lawsuit reform passed through the City Council or State Assembly, why not make political hay from this situation? Make a few phone calls to the governor and administrators, run it passed your legal advisors and announce the discontinuation of all basketball play on city property. At your next press conference, announce that your duty to the taxpayers of the city requires you to close all basketball courts on city property to protect them from frivolous legal action. The uproar that ensues and the anger that foments can be craftily deflected towards those who oppose any reform of this perverted system of civil justice.
You know minty green, I’d like to say I like your style but that would be both dishonest and patronizing. In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll admit that I do occasionally smirk at some of the things you’ve posted in the past. I’m sure you’ll concede your brick comment isn’t one of your sharpest lines to date. But that’s OK, I completely understand the fact you reserve your wit and insight for those you feel are more deserving.
Your eye-rolling, holier than thou attitude is to be expected. You earn a living in a profession that could metaphorically be described as a sewer (NPI). Unless you’re planning on a career move, the only options you have in life are to either: (1) defend the indefensible, or (2) work to bring some common sense back into the legal system. From what I’ve read, you usually opt for the former and take the easy way out. Your posts on these forums rarely serve the purpose of fighting ignorance; quite often they’re just a thinly veiled attempt to make yourself appear more intelligent and superior than you really are.
Oh Master Thrall Galt, as a member of the great unwashed, I’m continually awed by your knowledge and expertise. I’m now convinced what this world needs is more attorneys just like yourself. Up until a few moments ago, I used to regard you as a self-important boor. I admit, at first I thought it a bit pompous for you to state, “(an) actual invasion of Iraq can’t happen, won’t happen, and I look forward to my lunch" and then welsh on your bet. But now I’ve seen the light and I know better. My only hope is your Esq. title has earned the respect of the guys who teased you in high school and your salary has gotten the attention you craved from the girls. Please continue compensating for other shortcomings in your life with your keyboard…it makes you the best person you ever can or will be.
Consider the possibility, please, that this may be a valid lawsuit due to the poor condition of the basketball court. Minty Green can continue to be a smart ass, defend the defensible, and we can al wait for the next pit thread which involves a truly inane, stupid, and pointless lawsuit and then discuss the need for reform of a system.
Granted, the 5 mil seems a tad excessive. But even if he wins the suit, he ain’t gonna collect 5 mil. He’ll get the best medical care the city has to offer and can due his time from the infirmary
But if you discontinue basketball in the Brooklynn house of detention, and let it be known that it was due to the Reddick suit, Reddick is gonna get his ass kicked, if he’s still there.
There shouldn’t be any loose bricks on the court maintained by the city for the inmates.
Lawyers and defendents who ask for laughably high damage awards should get their butts kicked by the judge.
I’m having trouble understanding what’s so offensive about this lawsuit. Can we agree that if a prison or jail structure contains a dangerous condition; known to prison officials or knowable through reasonable inspection; not corrected; and a prisoner is injured as a proximate result of the condition, then the prisoner should be able to seek and obtain compensation in a court of law?
Is it that the prisoner is asking for so much money?
Actually, World Eater and i had a little debate over this exact lawsuit on another thread a couple of days ago. Our discussion starts here, and i took pretty much the same position as most of the people in this thread. That is, if the basketball court was improperly maintained, then the city should at least be respobsible for paying for the inmate’s surgery and other medical expenses, in a good hospital.
While it is certainly true that there seem to be some frivolous lawsuits around, i really think it’s unproductive simply to blame the legal profession. For every silly or pointless suit, there are probably a bunch where the plaintiff has a genuine case and has been able to get justice with the help of a good lawyer.
And, for those who complain about the self-interest that lawyers might have in maintaining the system as it is, maybe you should also consider the self-interest being demonstrated by the tort “reform” advocates like corporate employers, insurance companies, HMOs, etc.
We would probably be better off if Americans weren’t so litigious, but simply abusing lawyers ignores many of the bigger issues, and demonstrates a rather kneejerk reaction, IMO.
Note: i’m not a lawyer, and have no specific personal stake in the matter.
Well the 5 million is pretty offensive, if anything, cover the medical bills, not a thin dime more.
What the hell is this guy doing playing basketball anyway, shouldn’t he be staring at his cell wall or something?
As far as all this litigious shit goes, I see the problem, but I’m not sure I see the solution. It basically seems like a new revenue to a lot of people (new, meaning how this shit has gained steam over the past 30 years) stream, and there is plenty of untapped market. Hell they haven’t even gone after the alcohol industry yet, which is a windfall waiting to happen.
Reform? Ain’t going to happen.
America is going down the tubes, this is just the beginning.
I would add that frivolous defenses are much more common than frivolous lawsuits. When my client has a legitimate, solid claim against some company, how often do you think it happens that the defendant says “ok” and writes a check for the full amount of the claim? Basically never. Invariably, they come up with BS arguments; threaten to scorch the earth; etc. Much of the time, they don’t even offer one dime.
Possibly, but what’s more likely is that (1) nobody (including corporations) likes to admit that they’re wrong; (2) it’s easy to put off your bills; and (3) defense attorneys have a huge incentive to encourage their clients to resist.
Oh goodness, I appear to have disconcerted my ol’ pal, JohnBckWLD. My apologies for any distress and psychic damage you may have suffered, John.
Now, how 'bout you provide some motherfucking evidence that the lawsuit is meritless? You know, instead of just assuming it like the imbecile that you have demonstrated yourself to be so many times in the past?
Someone already did. Back in the early '90s, a woman sued Jack Daniels because she drank a fifth of JD a day while she was pregnant, and her baby was stillborn or deformed or something. Result: warning labels that say “Pregnant women should not drink alcohol”.
I think in this case, the basketball court, as well as any other recreational activity, should be removed. They are inmates–people lawfully convicted of crimes–after all. They should be made to sit there and reflect on how they have harmed society, or be bored to death.
Hell, I wish I could play basketball everyday and not have to worry about such trivial things as rent payments and hot meals.