James K. Kloss
Phoenix Plaza Tower II
2929 N. Central Ave., Suite 1700
Phoenix, AZ 85012-2761
[email protected] This amendment addresses the wrong problem. The real problem is the filing of too many lawsuits and the pursuit of a claim when there is no downside to do so. We would be better of considering the English system of loser pays. As it now stands, cases can be filed with very little merit, with the plaintiff and their lawyer knowing they have little disincentive to do so. If a settlement cannot extortionately be taken from an insurance company, about all that is lost is some time for the plaintiff lawyer. The hidden cost to society of marginal claims is tremendous - - think of all the lost time from work, time spent by employees to deal with defense of claims, money spent on risk management, money spent on claims processing, etc. This hidden cost, never talked about, amounts to billions of dollars.
Studies have shown that in countries that don't allow PI suits over low impact auto collisions simply don't have people reporting injuries from such collisions. The reason isn't that Americans are injured more easily in car accidents; the reason people report injuries here from low impact car accidents is because they can sue.
We need to eliminate incentives to sue and create disincentives to sue in marginal cases. Not only should this rule not be changes, we ought to have a rule that everyone, including property owners, post a cost bond in all cases.
J