My Pennsylvania Personal Injury Attorney Reinforced the Value of Hope
The dictionary defines “hope” as the belief in a positive outcome relating to the events and circumstances in one’s life. Hope implies a certain amount of despair; wanting, wishing, suffering or perseverance, believing that a better or positive outcome is possible even when there is some evidence leading to the contrary.
The term “false hope” refers to hope highly based on fantasy or an extremely unlikely outcome.
At the Law Firm of Reiff and Bily, our lawyers understand and respect the value of hope and the loss of someones dreams. It is our job to communicate the plaintiffs’ dreams and hopes to the insurance companies and ultimately to the juries who hear our cases. It is our job to prove what the plaintiff is capable of doing or was capable of doing prior to an incident and identify the compensation necessary for the plaintiff to recognize the fulfillment of his dreams and goals. The lawyers of Reiff and Bily are not afraid to ask the insurance companies or juries to fully compensate plaintiffs for the loss of their dreams and hopes.
In law, damages refer to the money awarded to a claimant, also known as a plaintiff, following a successful claim in a civil action. Damages in personal injury or tort affairs are generally awarded to place the plaintiff in a position that he or she would not have been in had the tort or action not have taken place. Compensatory damages compensates the plaintiff for pain and suffering and loss of amenities and loss of hope. Examples of this include physical or emotional pain and suffering, loss of companionship, loss of consortium, disfigurement, loss of reputation, loss or impairment of mental or physical capacity, loss of life’s pleasures, frustration, humiliation, degradation, and a non-inclusive list of other factors. This is not easily quantifiable and depends on an individual's circumstances. We refer to it as, what is the value of hope? What is the value of the loss of plaintiff's dreams and hopes that he/she had prior to the incident? We seek to recover full compensatory damages generally to place the plaintiff in a position in where he would have been had the offense or tort not taken place.
Today more than ever, the insurance companies and corporate defendants seem to be attacking the pathways to the courts for injured plaintiffs. In effect they are stating that there is no value to hope or the loss of one's dreams. Interesting to note that many of these corporate executives or giants do not have a second or third thought when spending 60-70 million dollars or more on a piece of art or a vacation home in the Hamptons. They are quick to extol the virtues of their products or insurance policies when they take your money but when it comes time to take responsibility for their actions and pay the monies or damages rightfully owed,watch
out. they will pull every trick in the book to protect their coffers and increase value to the shareholders and make you feel like a criminal.
On May 15, 2007, a painting by contemporary artist, Mark Rothko, sold for $72.8 million dollars, the highest amount paid ever for a work at a contemporary art auction. The very next night at Christie’s, a 1963 silk screen on canvas by Andy Warhol went for $71.7 million dollars. Whether or not these prices paid are higher than they should be is irrelevant. Who knows how they scientifically convert this ethical or emotional premise into a monetary value, really not different than a monetary value to be placed on the loss of hope, which in my eyes, is a more real objective. What I do find astounding, however, is that the captains of industry who are purchasing this art are often times the ones running major corporations or insurance companies that refuse to pay the proper value of lost hope to a person now injured by a knowingly defective product or a clearly foreseeable accident. We must ask themselves, is the value of an Andy Warhol silk screen that sold for $71.7 million dollars worth more than the lost hope and/or dreams of a working man who is rendered a parapalegic or a medical malpractice victim who cannot provide for his family or live the balance of his life with his wife and children, who knew him as a different or "whole" person prior to an accident.
While the art world seems to have taken a great leap in value, according to a recent auction report, it appears that tort reform and people who have more limited access to the courts has taken a back seat. Recently, there has been an attack on lawyers and the courts by changing the rules applicable to injured and innocent victims. The most contentious area of tort, and the area in which tort reform advocates focus, is on personal injuries. The United States where juries decide cases and punitive damages are available, tort reform has become a contentious, political issue particularly because of the alleged high cost of compensation. It is my feeling that lawyers are the silent policemen of society. We protect the hopes and value of hopes of innocent victims. How do you know if your household products or automobiles are defective and could be causing a potential injury to you or your family? How do you know if your medicines are doing more harm than good? How do you know if the toys you are purchasing are safe for your children?
Under current law, many defective and hazardous products remain on store shelves and medicine cabinets and around the houses of millions of Americans and you never know they are dangerous. Government and big corporations get away with keeping this information from us. They seal public records in court cases and try to keep everything a secret even when victims are successful in holding corporations accountable for defective and hazardous products, they are forced to enter into secrecy agreements which prevent them from informing other consumers of the injuries they defend. This practice of secrecy in tort reform is an example of how corporations can legally put profits over people. Politicians claim that lawsuit abuse destroys jobs, forces doctors out of business and forces companies into bankruptcy. They want to deprive innocent and injured clients of the hope of the judicial system and the access to the courts dictated by our founding fathers in the United States Constitution.
Recently, I had the opportunity to exchange or debate this with a friendly doctor who became a client who was also the unfortunate victim of Pennsylvania medical malpractice. For many years, prior to the alleged malpractice committed upon the victim, this doctor would explain to me the wrongs of lawyers and how the system needs to be reformed and that there should be caps and doctors should not be able to be sued. Unfortunately, when this doctor went in for his surgical procedure, there was a catastrophic event that occurred and the doctor sustained an extraordinarily personal and professional setback. Noticeably and quickly his views post-operatively had changed 180 degrees.He was no longer the tort reformist that so loudly expressed his views against lawyers before his mishap. He was no longer the same whole person he was before his unfortunate and unplanned incident. He was now able to understand the loss of the value of hope and yes, he wanted justice.
Unfortunately, it is not until we are personally placed in a situation or we face the loss of the value of hope or a family member has sustained a serious or catastrophic injury that we personally understand all of the ramifications. If you or a loved one has been injured as the result of a defective product, auto accident or other injury that may have been preventable, please do not hesitate to contact the experienced injury lawyers at the Law Firm of Reiff and Bily. We will help you recover compensatory damages to keep your hope and dreams alive.
