Can local governments and major businesses fight lawsuits forever?

Factual Questions
1

A friend of mine was employed by the county for several years. Being a big and somewhat simple guy, he caused no problems and was content hauling trash cans off of the local beaches and doing whatever was asked of him. One day, while on the beach hauling trash, he stepped into a hole and broke his foot. He weighed in at 350 pounds and the break caused permanent nerve damage, requiring him to have a couple of operations on his foot. The operations did not stop the frequent, hellish burning sensations he gets from the ruined nerves. To keep the story shot, he eventually filed suite against the county because he was disabled. Then, he was forced to quit by being badgered by his bosses and eventually, due to their treatment of him, plus the frequent savage pain, fell into depression and was sent to see psychiatrists.

The county sent him to doctors and psychiatrists they approved of. He got a monthly check through workman’s comp. which barely enables him to live and is unable to get any medical or psychiatric care from doctors not selected by the county. While one of the doctors said he could work, if sitting down, the rest did not agree, but that one doctor’s word was taken by the county to fight the lawsuit with.

It has been 10 years now since my friend had to find a lawyer to sue the county. He is being investigated by county paid private investigators – because he has spotted them and called the police on a few and the cops informed him that they were PI’s and could do nothing unless they came on his property. He has tried to find work, mainly as part of the county’s insistence as part of their trying to prove him able to work, and found that no one would hire him with his injured foot. (That, after applying for 400 jobs over the space of a year.)

The original judge, who seemed to be swaying towards the county’s side of the suit, turned out to have a job awaiting her in the same firm that was defending the County and was removed from the case after causing several years worth of delays. Then came a delay while the new judge was brought up to speed. He changed things around some, but not much.

Now, the county retains a powerful group of lawyers – even though after the judge was removed, they had to get new ones – and have almost unlimited funds. My friend has limited funds and his lawyer has to be paid by him, which also slows the progress a bit because her firm doesn’t work unless he cuts them a sizable check now and then and he has to save up the money in advance for months.

His lawyer told him that the county governments rarely settle a case for what the recipient wants and they have offered him a couple of grand, far below the one million he is suing for. (Not even enough to recoup his costs so far let alone pay for the future medical attention he will need.) She said that they are liable to drag the case on forever, presumably until he tires and settles or until he dies and the suit is dropped.

Once, he and I sat down and figured out the estimated costs in legal fees the county was incurring because of his case and then, several years ago, it came to more than he was suing for. By now, I estimate that the county has spent about 2 million to keep him from getting 1 million.

Can this be done? I mean, is this legal? Can a city government fight a lawsuit until the person dies, no matter how their delaying action affects one’s mental and physical health? (Independent doctors he has gone to have offered him some hope for his foot and independent psychologists have offered him better help with his depression, but he cannot afford them and the county will only pay for certain doctors of their choosing – which, of course, do not include the ones he saw on the side.)

The suite is now 10 years old and my once pretty perky and happy friend is a depressed reclusive living in his family’s home because he cannot support himself anymore. After 10 years, he frequently goes outside his home to sit on the porch and now and then one of the obvious, deeply tinted window equipped PI cars will be parked across the street, watching to catch him faking. I mean, if he was faking, I would think that long before 10 years, they would have caught him at it.

So, anyone know if there is some law to prevent the county from dragging this thing out for 20 years or so or until he reaches the point of suicide because of an inability to obtain proper medical and physical help? He would actually be happy to have the foot cut off and a fake one put there, just to stop the pain.

His lawyer is going to sue the old judge for compromising the case, but since he cannot pay her more, the suite sits until he wins the first case. Plus, the doctor who did the original surgery on his foot screwed up in removing some of the nerves, and will no longer see him, so he might have a suite against that guy also.

Does anyone know if there is a way to force the county into settling this thing and stop waiting until he dies?

What? Me worry?’

2

I have a friend who was in a somewhat similar situation, except that he was employed by a major private employer. But yes, they did everything your friend has gone through.

Eventually it comes down to a case of “who wants it more.” The county figures your friend is on worker’s comp, and that discharges their obligation.

About the only glimmer I can offer is to have your friend report the judge’s conflict of interest to a state judicial commission (he can try contacting his state attorney general office, or the clerk of the state supreme court to get a phone number) It won’t require a lawyer and an investigation may be enough to get several other things rolling.

3

Is there anything that will compel the county to act more quickly from a legal standpoint? Probably not.

Is there anything that your friend can do to help his situation? Perhaps.

I would consider going to the local press. Tax-supported agencies hate to be exposed spending taxpayers’ dollars on private investigators and legal delaying tactics while a (seemingly) deserving former employee suffers. Based on your posting here, this is the kind of story the consumer reporters and tabloids love to uncover. If it’s juicy enough, it could even be bumped up the line to 20/20 or 60 Minutes. Even a brief but sympathetic article in the newspaper might garner enough public indignity that the county will decide the embarassment isn’t worth it, and will decide to make a realistic settlement.

Computers in the future may weigh no more than 15 tons.
-Popular Mechanics, 1949

4

Obviously, I don’t know your friend’s situation beyond the details you gave, but I have a few questions:

  • how can someone be forced to quit? couldn’t he have gone to someone in the county and asked either for a transfer or for a mediator in the trouble he was having with his co-workers/supervisor?
  • no one would hire him because of his injured foot? and he applied for over 400 jobs in a year? where do you live? Even in the area I live in, which boasts one of the lowest standards of living in the country and has VERY few jobs other than in the service industry, I think I could have pulled something off…telemarketing? working as a receptionist? customer service in a call center? These are just a couple things that come to mind. I mean, obviously if he was picking up trash on the beach, it’s not like he’s looking for a job that pays 100k a year.

That said, if a county government or large business does not feel they should have to pay out beyond their intial worker’s comp agreement with the employee, they should by all means not settle. Just because they have bigger coffers does not make them more liable than a company with less money. I may be mistaken, but does your friend, at least to some degree, think that part of the reason they should be willing to fork over the money is because they have it? I think that if I was being sued wrongfully, I would fight it, even if I had the money to settle. To me, it’s sickening that a lot of people sue, even on the most tenuous bases, hoping that it will be more cost effective for the company to settle out of court than fight.

Like I said, I’ve only heard your rendition of the story, but my opinion is that the county is in the right. And how could it be illegal for a company to fight what they think is a rightful fight?

5

In what state was your friend working when injured?

Frankly, it sounds like a typical workers’ compensation case where the employer and the worker have significantly different views about the extent and consequences of the injury. Having spent over ten years dealing with such cases, I know the type.

Your friend was never going to get a million dollars. Workers’ compensation benefits are very low in comparison to personal injury jury verdicts from negligence. In California, at most, your friend would have been entitled if totally permanently disabled to about $336 per week for life in indemnity benefits, plus medical care for the injury. For someone who is about 36, that computes out to well below a half-million present value at the rate insurance companies earn on their money for the indemnity; likely the future medical wasn’t going to be much more than $100,000 if settled, probably much less. Had it gone to trial, the benefits wouldn’t have been given in a lump sum.

Also, since there are ongoing medical and disability issues in your friend’s case, the case would be able to last forever. Workers’ compensation determinations in many if not most states are a continuing obligation, with a continuing jurisdiction retained by the court or administrative board that adjudicates disputes. Thus, let’s say that your friend is found to be 65% disabled from the injury. An award is issued based on this, including lifetime medical care for the injury. Now, let’s say that in 15 years time, the adjusting agency decides that an operation proposed is not related to the injury, but to some subsequent event. They object to the treatment. Guess where everyone ends up?

Now, the part that has me wondering is who your friend has representing him, because in many states, workers’ compensation cases are handled on a percentage of the award basis, similar to personal injury cases (though with WAY less in the way of attorney fees available). Without knowing more, I can’t say exactly what your friend faces; I can say that it will drag on as long as he and the county don’t see eye to eye on paying him money.

6

Being merely a humble paralegal student my legal opinion is worth exactly as much as the virtual paper it’s printed on, but it sounds to me like at some point the process itself would open the county up to a claim of intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress. Have your friend talk to another lawyer who works on a contingency basis.

7

Being merely a humble paralegal student my legal opinion is worth exactly as much as the virtual paper it’s printed on, but it sounds to me like at some point the process itself would open the county up to a claim of intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress. Have your friend talk to another lawyer who works on a contingency basis.

8

I work for a local government agency – we have a staff of lawyers who are paid an annual salary no matter what they do or don’t do, so it doesn’t cost the agency any more to keep on fighting a suit.

9

Given what you’ve described, it sounds like your friend doesn’t have a good case: he broke his foot stepping in a hole, and the county is somehow responsible?

I’m guessing here, but I handle legal at the company where I work, and we’re currently fighting three lawsuits of varying complainant’s validity - even if the county would like to give your friend something for his distress, they don’t dare. An organization of any size generally has to fight a certain number of lawsuits, and liability is rarely clear-cut enough to make for a short fight or a quick settlement. If the county gives up easily or settles too quickly, it has the effect of encouraging “nuisance” lawsuits, and it becomes difficult or impossible to avoid paying up in similar, borderline cases.

Never attribute to an -ism anything more easily explained by common, human stupidity.

10

Wow! Good answers!
Now, sorry about the length of the following, but I cannot make it shorter.

Let me clarify a few things in general. My friend had been employed at the county for several years and while not the brightest bulb in the package, was a good, hard worker. The case is in Florida and he was carrying about 100 pounds of trash can off of a sandy beach when one foot went into an unseen land crab hole. He weighed in at about 350 then and when he fell, the extra 100 pounds increased his weight to 450 or so. (The weight of the can varies.) He snapped the bones in the center of his foot.

The county paid for his operation and hired a specialist to do the work but the major nerves in the foot were damaged. After the surgery and a recovery period, he returned to work, but in a limited capacity. From walking along the beaches and parks hauling out trash, he was shifted to the mechanics barn where he could sit down and rest his foot when it began to pain him. His job was to clean up the barn, which he liked.

Within a period of time, severe burning sensations began in his foot that he stated was like holding it in a blow torch. The sensations could come at random and last anywhere from a few minutes to hours. Medication given to him might or might not help. He was sent to see the doctor again, who informed him that the neural damage was severe and another operation was needed to cut some of the nerves. The bones of his foot had grown together badly and apparently crimped nerves.

He had the operation and nerves were cut and stripped from his foot. After recovery, he returned to work, where the sensation began again. The county started balking at his requests to get further help but he insisted and was sent to the surgeon again, who fitted him with a special set of work boots to adjust his stride and weight distribution in the one foot and pointed out that the operation had failed. The only other option was to remove the major nerves, which would stop all feeling in the foot and he did not want to do that.

My friend returned to work. The pain got worse and he was given increased medication. The doctor suggested his form of work be changed so without asking him, the county placed him inside in the secretary section and set him to work at a computer. A new boss who ran the place started harassing him, plus he was and is computer illiterate and kept messing things up even with instruction and kept getting bawled out about it. One of the women in his new job kept track of every time he messed up and reported to the boss. His efforts to get instruction books on the computer program failed but he was given limited help, which did not help at all.

He began to get veiled threats about termination and pushed more and more to produce. The frequent pain in his foot started affecting him emotionally along with the steady harassment and he was sent to physical therapy, which did little good. He asked to get the operation to sever all of the nerves in his foot and was denied. He had to badger them into letting him see the doctor, who suddenly denied mentioning the operation. Physical therapy offered him a brace, but the county denied it. He wanted to go back working in the mechanics barn, which he had liked, and where he could sit and rest his foot but that also was denied. Feeling that he was being denied medical help by the county, after a couple of years, he sought out a lawyer. No one in the city would handle the case so he got one from one 150 miles away.

She presented a writing in an effort to get him more medical care and the county refused. They decided to file suite asking for what he would have made at the job if he stayed for 25 years plus medical coverage. The county, with the suite in place would not fire him, but they made his life a living hell. Eventually he was forced to seek a psychiatrist. He was in massive depression. He was placed with a county approved one and put on medication and had therapy. He found out that his therapist was reporting back to the county on him and he and his lawyer requested a change of doctors and eventually got it. The new therapist, after working with him for some months, suggested that he resign because the harassment on the job plus the injury had begun to make him suicidal. His lawyer agreed. He resigned.

The county promptly refused him any Workmans Comp, stating that he resigned of his own free will. The lawyer countered and upped the amount of the suite. Within a year, detectives started shadowing him and some county employees started driving by his home. He was approached by an ex-boss who talked to him about dropping the suite. He had to argue with the county to get medical care because they no longer insured him. He won Workmans compensation and his lawyer forced them to provide him with care. They did so, but not with much in the way of good doctors or therapists. They removed him from his good psychiatrist and sent him to another 75 miles away (driving long distances caused him great pain) who only offered him institutionalization and shock therapy. He had to move in with his family, who lived 250 miles away because of his finances. The money the county paid him was insufficient for him to live on while paying his lawyer. Once he moved, the county pushed through a condition in the suite that he could not return to the area and had to remain at least 150 miles away. Then they started dragging him frequently into court and into arbitration and having to make dispositions AFTER he moved, which required long drives.

His lawyer forced them to pay him gas mileage and they forced him to itemize every mile. The Private Investigators followed him across the state and watched him. The county stopped his workman’s Comp because one of their doctors stated that he was not 100% disabled. His lawyer filed to get it back. The country required that he fill out a work search of one job per day, complete with address, interviewers name and person to contact. He lives in Tampa and started determinedly looking for work. The Doctor stated that he could work if allowed to sit down. All of the places he went to, like 400 over several months, refused to hire him because of his existing physical injury. Even small stores declined. He got the payments restarted and was paid back wages.

Doctors the county sent him to started telling him that he would have to live with the pain. The county sent him to several psychiatrists, who offered him little help and efforts he made to find his own psychiatrists and doctors were denied. He went to see one doctor on his own and was informed of a device which could be implanted to block the pain in his foot. His lawyer had to fight to get the County to agree to it and after months, it was implanted and helped some. By then, because of his injury, he had started favoring the foot and walking funny which affected his back. Plus, he started developing a chronic nerve condition in his leg. After many denials by the county, he managed to get sent to a physical therapist, who fitted him with a brace.

The County started ‘accidentally delaying’ his checks and his lawyer had to force them not to. Then they started shorting him on his travel expenses, forcing him to refile two and three times. He arrived for meetings with the county and his lawyer, after a long trip and in pain, only to have them canceled by the county or to be offered a very low settlement, which was refused, and the county lawyers would walk out. (He was once offered $50,000 in a lump sum and no further medical coverage.) He has to pay his lawyer out of his own pocket, so from time to time, the case stalls for a few months as he gets up the money and pays the bill.

After the Judge was found to be in league with the County Lawyers and removed, the lawyer filed a complaint to the bar and there are plans, at a later date, to file a suite against her, but that would cost him more money, so it sits. The county hired in new lawyers, delayed 6 months to bring them up to speed and started the whole mess again. They stopped his having to

11

Jeez, now I need a nap.

The short version is, your friend’s attorney is not very good. A number of factors lead me to this conclusion.

(i) The County has offered to settle the case for $100K. Where worker’s comp. is picking up the tab for medical expenses (we’ll deal with that in a moment), a $100K figure is a realistic offer to settle all other claims. If your friend’s attorney is not recommending settlement somewhere in that ballpark, he is overselling the case to your friend, and thus prolonging it.

(ii) There are numerous procedural mechanisms by which a party can push a case along. (Showing up at a status conference and stating that “plaintiff is ready for trial” on your lips is probably the best.) Either your friend’s lawyer is ignorant of these tools, or is deliberately not using them because he is not prepared to go forward.

(iii) Not having enough money to pay the lawyer is a bit odd. Many lawyers will take an employment case like this on a contingency fee (a percentage of the ultimate award). This gives the lawyer a financial stake in the outcome of the case and encourages them to speed it along. Also, in most employment cases, the plaintiff’s attorney can usually get their fees paid by the employer if the plaintiff wins. Your friend should talk to some skilled plaintiff’s-side employment lawyers about retaining one of them instead. (Yes, even with a contingency fee, the client must pay expenses and disbursements, but many lawyers will make arrangements to accommodate those with little money.)

(iv) Finally, it sounds like your friend’s attorney has not thought out all of the possible claims. A savvy lawyer, noticing that the pain recurred after the initial surgery, would also have sued the doctors who performed it for malpractice. (I’m not saying this is right, but it is common.) Having several suits on several fronts means more work for the lawyer-- and more deposititions and examinations for your friend-- but makes it more likely that he will get some money out of the case somewhere in a reasonable timeframe.

Thus, it appears to me that the delay is significantly chargeable to your friend’s own attorney. That’s my armchair view of it, but having a simple employment/injury lawsuit pending for 10 years is often a sign that the plaintiff’s attorney is not pushing it very well. He doesn’t need “high powered lawyers,” just someone who will stay on top of his case and keep it moving forward. There are plenty of them out there who will take a case on contingency and give your friend realistic assessment of what he can expect to receive.

Have him spend his money on a better shrink. He sounds pretty messed up on the top end of his anatomy, too.

12

I’m not trying to be harsh about this, but after retelling the story, I’m still not convinced that the county is in any way responsible for his accident, or in another way liable for his continuing medical expenses. It sounds like they were quite liberal at the beginning with the operations and job changes, and got fed up with what appeared to be a medical money hole.

Truly, your friend was dealt a bad hand in life; but if I’m reading the story rightly, then the county isn’t being evil, they’re just protecting themselves.

Never attribute to an -ism anything more easily explained by common, human stupidity.