Scary happenings in Colorado

By Keith D. Cummings
web posted February 7, 2005

Halloween came early for Wanita Renea Young, 49, of Durango
Colorado in 2004. On July 31, Taylor Ostergaard, 17, and
Lindsey Jo Zellitte 18 knocked on her door at 10:30 pm. The
simple act of knocking was so frightening that sometime the
following day Ms. Young went to the emergency room to be
checked out for a heart attack she thought the girls gave her the
previous night. Of course, the girls weren't just knocking on
doors that night, they were doing something much more
terrifying: delivering cookies.

Ostergaard and Zellitte, obviously scheming in a way only the
truly evil can, set out to destroy their neighborhood by baking
cookies. They took batches of these warm, untainted treats to all
of their neighbors and included paper hearts with the message,
"Have a great night." What is the country coming to?

Of course, it sounds like a good-natured human-interest story.
Ms. Young discovers that there are nice girls in her
neighborhood. She discovers that, even in the cynical age in
which we live, some high school students would rather give a
small treat to their neighbors than engage in mischief. And for
their friendly act, the two girls were rewarded with a lawsuit and
a nearly $900 judgment.

Ms. Young wasn't content to just accept the kindness of a
neighbor. She declared that the knock on the door, not at two or
three a.m., but at 10:30 pm, sent her into an anxiety attack.
Judge Doug Walker agreed, saying that 10:30 was much too late
for girls to be out and about doing good deeds. Ms. Young, for
her part, wasn't just looking for her medical bills. She was
offered payment by the girls' families, but refused and sued. She
was looking for a large cash award. Why?

Why is because of men like Frank Azar of Denver and Marks &
Harrison of Richmond. Fifty years ago, these men would have
been called "ambulance chasers," and looked down their nose at
by the legal community and polite society. These men would
have worn cheap, polyester suits and been seen skulking around
hospitals looking for their latest mark. Now, they don't have to.

With flashy special effects and paid celebrity endorsers, these
lawyers ply their trade on cable, afternoon and late night TV.
They talk about the money "you are entitled to." And they
promise that it "won't cost you a cent until you win." That's a
pleasing offer, isn't it? Not a penny out of pocket? Heck, that's
better than the lottery. With that, at least, I have to buy a ticket.

The tort system in the United States is a joke, and it's costing us
more every year. Most of us don't see the bills for malpractice
insurance, so we don't realize how much those bills are costing
us. To put it simply, the cost of lawsuits is increasing the cost to
the insurance companies. The insurance companies pass the cost
of large jury awards to their clients, doctors, through higher
premiums. Doctors pass the cost onto patients, or patients'
insurers through higher fees. There is a squeeze, but it isn't Frank
Azar or James G. Harrison III who picks up the tab. Ultimately,
the patients foot the bills, through higher health insurance
premiums or lower wages.

President Bush has proposed caps on medical liability judgments
to help protect doctors and make insurance premiums lower.
This may seem like a good first start, but it's really a false start. If
trial lawyers see one cash cow put in a protective barn, their
attention will simply shift to another target. From gun
manufacturers to fast food restaurants, the big money shysters
are already chasing the next big settlement. The President needs
to offer a larger and more complete reform.

With a "Loser Pays" tort system, the Frank Azars of the country
will shrivel up and die. Without the ability to promise "you don't
pay a cent until you win," they lose their biggest marketing
gambit. These lawyers don't want to go to trial; they want
doctors and insurance companies to settle quickly and quietly.
They don't need big judgments because TV makes it possible for
them to work on huge volume with low margin. Forcing their
clients to foot the bill when the case is lost will cut into the
margins and eliminate a large portion of the incentive they
currently have.

Opponents of Loser Pays, mostly the large trial lawyer lobby,
claim that it will harm those who need justice. Loser Pays, they
say, will mean that tort justice will exist only for the wealthy. That
hasn't been in the case in Canada, the United Kingdom and the
rest of the industrialized world. It won't be the case here. Those
with legitimate tort cases will have their day in court, and they
will win. Those leeches on society who advertise on TV to cast a
wide net won't.

Loser Pays will reinvigorate the US economy by lower the costs
of everything from stepladders to healthcare. It will restore some
degree of personal responsibility and personal accountability, by
forcing Americans to stop thinking about who they can sue and
start thinking about how they, themselves, were culpable. No
one loses with Loser Pays; except maybe, the losers on TV.

Keith D. Cummings is the author of Opening Bell, a political /
financial thriller. His website can be found at
http://www.keith-cummings.com.

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