Florida Jury Awards Family $25.8M in Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Walgreen Co.

Associated Press via Fox News.com ^ | August6 18, 2007

[jdub]

It doesn’t bother me so much that those ignorant of the legal system piss and moan over their imaginary villan as it does that they think they know what “fix” the system, nor have any idea of what the consequences of their fixes would actually be.

[boop]

Who would argue against someone who is TRULY harmed by another’s negligence being compensated? But the legal profession is filled with people like John Edwards who got rich based on fraudulent lawsuits and shakedowns that we ALL have to pay for. His client supposedly suffered brain damage because she didn’t get c-sectioned in time. Now with c-sections being way more common, CP should be all but gone. But there hasn’t been any change in the incidence. It was a garbage lawsuit, brought by grieving parents and used by a POS like Edwards to extract $ for himself. All based on lies.

[jdub]

But the legal profession is filled with people like John Edwards who got rich based on fraudulent lawsuits and shakedowns that we ALL have to pay for.

You will be happy to know then that the examples of John Edwards and the truly frivolous and/or fraudulent lawsuits are very rare. However they make a good story, so it is made to appear to the public that such things are common. The resulting outrage makes getting legislation that stacks the deck against deserving plaintiffs fairly easy to work through the Statehouse.

It would be more correct to say that over 90% of attorneys would have to turn down this case if it was offered to them, as they wouldn't have the financial resources to bankroll the plaintiff beyond the initial round of discovery.

[Kaslin]

Natuarally

[MarkL]

Re: Your example of the Ford Pinto. There's actually a far more current example of this sort of thing. There's this country called China, and they've got an economic system that's best described as a cross between communism and fascism (but mostly communism). Either way, the government profits through increased profit. So it simply doesn't make sense for them to bother with safety concerns. The only important thing for them is the profit margin, because as profit grows, the government is strengthened.

Mark

[MarkL]

I have walked into some pharmacies where they have the tech’s filling scripts up because they are so slammed and need to get the orders out quickly.

There is a serious shortage of pharmacists in the US right now. I've got a bunch of friends and family members who are or were pharmacists. A married couple are BOTH pharmacists, and 5 cousins! All of the cousins are now retired and in their 60s and 70s, but two of them still work part time at government facilities (after having sold their family run drug stores - one even had a soda fountain!), to help fill in. I believe that nearly every major pharmacy chain is offering a "signing bonus" of up to $40,000 to work for the company for a 5 year commitment, depending on the region of the country.

Mark

[boop]

"You will be happy to know then that the examples of John Edwards and the truly frivolous and/or fraudulent lawsuits are very rare"

On what planet are ambulance chasers "rare"? I have never seen a phone book even in a small town that doesn't have a slip & fall specialist advertising on the back. Never seen a TV ad for BIG money,CASH settlements, MONEY for your pain and suffering?

[NonValueAdded]

Lawyers in Florida get 33 1/3 %...it is state law.

But IIRC, expenses are deducted from the award FIRST so the one-third of what is left is pure salary for the lawyer.

[jdub]

Never seen a TV ad for BIG money,CASH settlements, MONEY for your pain and suffering?

Ever seen an ad promising to make your Johnson bigger?

I don't know about where you live, but here in TN lawyers cringe when someone brings in a run of the mill slip and fall case. Plaintiff almost never wins, because it is almost impossible to prove the defendant knew or should have known of the dangerous condition. You really are tilting at windmills.

[Treeless Branch]

I was just in a mediation.
I am an atty.
Shocked to learn the plainitff’s attorneys get 50% if they win the case and have to argue an appeal.

[Antoninus II]

The first impression from this article is how devestating it would be to be the 19yr old Tech...

[packrat35]

OJ was a jury trial also. What’s your point!

[packrat35]

Maybe so, but the pharmacist is the one responsible.

[Wolfie]

That’s our system. Love it or leave it!

[Iwo Jima]

In Texas we can argue the Golden Rule, but I don't. We can't ask the jury to put themselves in the shoes of the parties, which is basically what I did to shrinkermd, who has yet to respond.

What can be done in an actual trial is vastly different from what can be done on a website. shrinkmd made a statement which I asked him to apply to himself and his family as a test of his sincerity. That's fair.

Why do you say that $25 million shocks the conscience? Have you ever seen what a hemorrhagic stroke can do to a person? I have. Do you know what the proven damages were? I don't.

Of course, you know that the $25 million is just a verdict not a judgment. There's a big difference.

As to your statement that we don't need tort reform, we need jury reform, I disagree. We need certain types of tort reform such as for class actions and products liability. I don't know what type of "jury reform" you advocate, but I think that juries do they job reasonably well most of the time and many erroneous jury verdicts are attributable to flawed jury instructions and evidentiary rulings.

[Iwo Jima]

This was not a settlement, it was a jury verdict which will no doubt be greatly cut back before the court enters a judgment.

That aside, why do you think that $25 million is outrageous? Have you even seen what a hemorrhagic stroke can do? Do you know what the proven damages were?

Please support your contentions.

[Iwo Jima]

I am so sick of the sob stories of how the poor lawyer gets nothing if he loses a case, therefore he HAS to take 33-95% of the settlements.

They are not "sob stories," they are facts of reality. Anytime someone takes a risk, they expect to be compensated at a greater rate than if they were paid regardless of results. This is true in most areas of life. Why do you deny those in the legal profession the ability to make agreements which others are allowed to make? You say that a lawyer "can pre-negotiate a fee beforehand," but that is exactly what the parties did with a contingency fee.

As to 95% fees, you just made that up, didn't you? Nobody has ever heard of such a contingent fee agreement. It had never happened. Not once. Ever. 45% is the most that have ever heard of, although I think that 50% through appeal is very reasonable.

10-20 hours worked? Bu!!$h'!. You really do not have a clue about anything that you are saying. A traffic ticket could take longer than that.

You say that you "are all for a victim and their family getting compensated." Explain to me how that happens without a good lawyer, especially one willing to sacrifice and take the chance of getting nothing if the verdict goes against them?

For a case like this, how about 4,000-6,000 hours? What do you think a lawyer should be paid for 6,000 hours of work?


You're entitled to your opinion, but is entirely emotional and ignorant, and not based on facts or logic.

[Iwo Jima]

Gee why do you think the layers have such a bad reputation? It sure isn’t because they are so honest.

I think that lawyers have such a bad reputation because their critics such as you are so dishonest. This thread started out by your saying that this family will be lucky to get $500,000 from a $25 million dollar verdict. I called you out on that but you refuse to support such an absurd statement (you can't).

Emotional, knee-jerk, illogical, and baseless statements like yours is why lawyers have a bad reputation. You need to clean up your act. Get informed, get honest, and get logical. Your opinion will change. It will have to.

[Iwo Jima]

Are you a lawyer?

Yes, I have the privilege to be a lawyer. I am very good at it and very proud of what I do and the profession as it was intended to be. I am not proud of many aspects of the profession and what many lawyers do, including medical malpractice defense lawyers.

Contrary to packrat35's assertions, I do not always take the side of the lawyer. I do oppose wrongheaded, baseless, illogical, emotional, frivolous attacks on lawyers like yours.

[Iwo Jima]

I too have been the unwitting party to these class action suits. Class actions suits need serious reform, but that has NOTHING to do with this case or any type of jury trial.

Class actions suits are settled by the companies and approved by the court. They are not the result of some runaway jury.

The companies could put an end to class action suits by just refusing to settle, but they don't and won't because they love being able to wipe out such large amounts of liability for such a pittance. They love being able to pay outrageous amounts of fees to undeserving attorneys in order to fleece the little people who were the victims of small sums which aggregated comes to a small fortune.

When you got the coupons, did you cash/use them? I didn't. I have ethics.