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PERSONAL INJURY TRIAL LAWYERS

Trial lawyers may be the most powerful profession in the U.S. especially since many congressional lawmakers also happen to be attorneys who may consciously or unconsciously be sympathetic to other attorneys, especially when it comes to legislating what attorneys can and cannot get away with in a court of law. We often hear about how attorneys fight for your rights and how much money they win for you but we may not often hear about the unintended consequences of lawsuits on society. Incidentally, lawyers may donate more money to the Democratic Party to help win elections than any other group including labor unions.

Personal injury attorneys do help protect your rights and help you collect money damages but understand that eventually the money actually comes from you, the consumer! Today, it seems most every product or service has built-in costs for lawsuits.

For example, a pacemaker for heart patients may each cost thousands of dollars more for built-in protection against lawsuits. The fear alone of lawsuits forces companies these days to add costs to the price you pay for goods and services.

Many vaccine manufacturers have stopped researching and developing vaccines because of the fear of lawsuits which puts everyone in the world at risk! Hospitals and doctors are so afraid of lawsuits that they may put patients through more pain and unnecessary tests, treatment and surgery just so, hopefully, an attorney will not try and bring a lawsuit against the doctors and hospitals involved.

Due to all of the lawsuits against doctors who deliver newborn babies many of these doctors are giving up their practice, not going into obstetrics in the first place or moving to states with friendlier obstetrician personl injury laws. Up to 75% of all obstetricians in the U.S. have been sued in court even though lawyers contend that only doctors who make negligent mistakes ever get sued.

Consequently, some doctors carry malpractice insurance but again it is the American consumer who ends up paying these costs which are always passed down to the consumer in the way of higher insurance premiums and medical costs!

Doctors and hospitals are in constant fear of how their actions with patients may be interpreted in a court of law so possibly unnecessary treatment and surgery may be performed on patients simply out of fear of lawsuits! C-sections are now performed on women now more than ever possibly to prevent lawyers from claiming a baby's cerebal palsy was caused due to lack of oxygen during delivery so doctors may unnecessarily be opening up women's bellies to get the baby out quick even though there are C-section health risks to the mother that could lead to death, like with infection and uncontrolled bleeding to name just two, but at least the doctor may not get sued for performing a C-section!

Moreover, teachers are told not to touch students for fear of getting sued, preachers should not touch those who attend their churches, even employers may give a former employee a good job recommendation for fear of getting sued! For example, hospitals have given favorable job recommendatons to former hospital workers who have eventually been exposed as hospital patient "serial killers!" Remember, the truth may get you sued! Hospitals may feel inhibited from telling other hospitals what they may know of former employees for fear of getting sued!

SUPPLEMENTAL SOURCE: ABC-TV 20/20 7/23/04

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