I Respectfully Object

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I came across this article today regarding insurance tactics in personal injury claims, and it just made me think about our perception of litigants.  The crux of this article is that the insurance companies (which are usually the defendant that pays in civil cases) have engaged in generalized character assassination against all plaintiffs.

The author - Oklahoma Attorney Jeffrey Taylor - is suggesting that the insurance companies are portraying such plaintiffs as money hungry opportunistic freeloaders who are just out to get the insurance companies.  Now, I will admit that plaintiff attorneys get a wrap for being “ambulance chasers” and the filing of a lawsuit often does bring about some sense of stigma for the plaintiff, but the question as to where these stereotypes emanate from is different than that being advanced in this article.  In my opinion these stereotypes come from the public as a whole.  In our society (I still like to hope) we have developed a personal image of hard work and self determination.


You get what you work for and don’t expect any handouts.  Well, sometimes a top of the can view of a particular civil lawsuit runs contrary to this national identity.  As most people know the media only covers a very shallow portion of the pool which makes up the facts of any given case.  They are only interested in the sensationalism of the story.  They are not interested in detailing each and every fact that has led up to the filing and pursuit of litigation.  They only cover the astronomical judgment awarded at the very end.  The result of such coverage is that the public at large is outraged that someone could get a judgment for a case like that.  The truth is that if the public had the whole story the reasonableness of the judgment may take on a whole new light.  But this isn’t glitzy enough for the media so that part of the story is left out. 

So, who is to blame for the opinions that our society holds for plaintiff attorneys and their clients?  Well, plaintiff attorneys have brought on a lot of the heat themselves.  But I am not here to pass judgment on that.  There have also been clients that have pursued truly “frivolous” lawsuits in an effort to cash in.  But those are few and far between also.  So, what about the masses?  I say that the media has more to do with general formulation of opinions on this subject than any other source.  Some may argue that the insurance companies are pulling those media strings, but I just don’t think that is the case.  I think it has more to do with what new story will get the public’s attention and keep them tuned in through the commercial break.  So, I am going to point the finger at the media and not at the insurance companies on this one.  The media’s election (or inability) to effectively tell the whole story leads to snippets of civil cases which only tell the most sensational parts of the story, often at the expense of all involved.