It isn't that I despise lawyers as a whole and I don't have anything in particular against any one of them personally. Arguably criminal trial lawyers have a place in a society replete with an indecipherable legal system. No, my pith and vitriol is exclusively directed to that sub-human minority class affectionately referred to as personal injury attorneys hereafter referred to as ambulance chasers.
By the very nature of pursuing (pun intended) an AC's job, everything that is noxious, atrocious and execrable, in human nature suddenly comes roiling to the surface. The vices of avarice, greed, cupidity and revenge are the AC's "tools" of temptation.
All situations in life generally have either a positive or negative outcome: Create something useful (good) - waste your time (bad). Make money (good) - lose money (bad). Note how simple this is when presented in black and white. It is my premise that this equation never results in a positive outcome when an AC is interjected. Even in the best of all outcomes - defined as one in which the plaintiff and the defendant mutually judge the outcome to be "fair", the "house" (with its "0" and "00" on the wheel) still takes its share of the scratch.
Most psychologists in our society define the grief process as a universally inescapable linear sequence consisting of four distinct stages: Shock/denial, catharsis, mourning and resolution. The AC is also well aware of this fact. They realize that people in the catharsis stage, a stage that invariably results in anger, may well be looking for someone to blame for their trauma. It's human nature. Bad things don't just happen. Bad people cause bad things to happen (to me).
That's why I was immediately concerned with a bus accident which occurred the other night and was reported on CNN.com this morning. Since then, the story and the archive have been mysteriously removed. Hmmm. [Note to self. Take a screen snapshot of any local story even remotely controversial in regard to the tourism industry] Instead you'll have to take my word for details of the event in question. Namely, a tourist bus carrying mainly Japanese tourists was involved in a low-speed accident caused when the driver suddenly "slumped over" at the wheel. Despite attempts by passengers to take control of the bus, it eventually ended up on its side. I could detect only minor damage to the bus indicating to this crash investigator expert, that the bus was traveling at a rather slow speed when it rolled onto its side. Passengers were taken to local medical facilities complaining mainly of, you guessed it, neck and back pain - one of the most difficult to quantitatively diagnose maladies of the medical profession in this the most litigious society in history.. Hope the tourists are all o.k..
Which brings me the point of this rant. The AC's effect more harm than on simply the defendant. The kind of litigation they proliferate and pander, in turn, affects all of us - either in higher prices or in loss of our freedom to name but a couple. Case in point:
A few years ago, my wife and I enjoyed hiking on a regular basis in a particularly beautiful portion of Oahu called Sacred Falls found in the Kaluanui Valley on the North Shore. The various hiking reference books had this to say about this spectacular trail(The link is to a frames html.(Arrgh) Select "sacred falls"):
This graded trail wiggles into the tight Kaluanui Valley - a narrow gorge with steep towering walls on both sides. The boulder-littered trail barely gets halfway up the entire length of the V-shaped valley before dead-ending into the vertical wall and pool where the magnificent Sacred Falls plunge
. The trail's locale is one of the most heavily-laden with Hawaiian folklore and myth. Kaluanui Valley is sometimes called Kaliuwaa Valley for the legend of the underwater demon struggling to rise into the world via the waterfall's "bottomless" pool. It is also the site of an epic escape by the pig demi-god Kamapuaa.
By the way, with or without the tourist adage, this place was really neat!
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These pictures don't do justice because the scale of this place is immense. The waterfall is about 100 feet high. The walls of canyon are well over 200 feet sheer but the width in the canyon itself is relatively narrow and therein lain the foreboding problem.
When my wife and I hiked into the area we were constantly amazed by the number of signs along the (seven in all) warning of flash flood and falling rock danger. Like most everyone else, we noted them, but paid little attention (though I did keep one eye to sky for rain). The initial trail to the fall is not technically difficult - part of the reason why this hike was popular. Sure it didn't have handrails or escalators and there were some sections that required a modicum of dexterity - stream fording on fallen logs and such - but in retrospect a "family friendly" day hike. The hike's conclusion afforded magnificent views and a deep pool to cool off in at the base of the falls.
My first time there, my eye was immediately drawn to a solar powered cellular emergency phone inconspicuously located near and off to the side of the falls' base - close to the walls of the gorge. The phone itself was "out of order" and I could immediately ascertain the reason; the solar panel was pockmarked with holes from the aforementioned falling rocks. I made a mental note to stick closer to the center of the gorge and away from the sheer walls. |
At one time, flash floods were the most common of dangers on this trail. However, the incident on May 9, 1999 best exemplifies the danger of this and other gorge trails.
It was a Mother's Day afternoon when a surprise rockslide came rumbling down one of the valley's towering walls and pummeled hikers relaxing at the trail terminus. There were eleven fatalities which included children. It took several hours to evacuate the trail including approximately fifty injured hikers. The state's Department of Land & Natural Resources immediately rescinded public trail access and sent in geophysicists to assess the terrain condition. Based on their findings, the DLNR permanently closed both the Sacred Falls Trail and the neighboring Maakua Gulch Trail
I certainly don't intend to make light of this tragedy or the effect that it had on its victims and their families. But as in any tragedy, along came to AC's and the lawsuits - the overall result of which has been the permanent closure of this magnificent site. I've written (even recently) about how difficult it is to legislate a healthy lifestyle. In this case, the State of Hawaii, ultimately chose the most cost effective means of guaranteeing non-liability. They constructed a twelve mile chain-link fence around the entire area. (Yeah, fences are a generally appealing addition to the landscape around here). The upside of this action means that never more will anyone be hurt here(good). The downside is that never more anyone will enjoy this area (bad).
There is no question that getting bonked on the noggin with a bowling ball sized rock will definitely set your vacation back a bit. But who, if anyone, is to blame for so-called acts-of-God? (other than, of course, God). And what about that bus driver? Did God "call him home"? Or was the bus company culpable for not fully realizing his medical problems? These as well as a plethora of similar ones, I guess, are the reason we have AC's and courts.
It's rather sad to imagine a world in which I am legally confined to my living room. That the only wilderness that I will ever experience is from the backseat of a tourist tram (even though I've demonstrated the inherent danger in that). I believe that people should be afforded the right to weigh the circumstances of their actions and be ultimately responsible for their decisions having only personal recourse. Seven different danger signs in this case I think amply demonstrates the states intent to inform the casual hiker of potential risks. If hikers choose to heed that advice - fine. If they don't and choose to take responsibility for their own course, then that's fine too. But when something disastrous occurs, they shouldn't be allowed to sue the state. Man, if I ran the world, things would be different!
I'm running on here. There will be more exploration of these issues but for now, I've gotta call it quits. More later.
3:51:06 PM 
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Welcome To The Club
