Why are Americans always money hungry for lawsuits?

Question

Yesterday there was a tragedy at Virginia Tech. Today some people are talking about suing the school for financial damages for poor security, and the people who are suing are people who are students that were not killed in that horrific shooting. So I would like to know why some people always have to file a lawsuit. I think these people should stay out of it and let the victim's families get over their losses. What do you think?

Answer 1

I believe that it's part of our increasingly liberal culture, a culture that shirks the duties of personal responsibility in favor of blaming someone else. If I kill someone it's only because society has done ME wrong, my mom didn't cuddle me enough as a child, or George Bush made me do it.

Fast food restaurant make people fat, stuffing their mouths full of all the grease and fat that they can find and then chuckle their way to the bank. Surely it can't just be that it was my fault that I Biggie-Sized 4 meals a day and washed it down with 2 hotfudge sundays. Ronald made me do it!

I have a lousy job, and it must be because I am (fill in the blank here: black, white, purple, female, male, a different religious faith, etc etc). It is simply silly to think that maybe I should work harder, seek out another job, or increase my attractiveness in the market by gaining more education. It's the government's job to fix this! I'm being abused!

It even extends to purely crazy incidents. We have the dual expecation that everyone we come in contact with better perform 100% perfectly, and they should also forgive and forget any kind of mistake that I may have made, I mean accidents happen, right? (to me i mean, not you!) So when a poor 16 year old girl working the late shift trips over a broom in the floor and spills coffee on a patron, then by golly she is going to pay! Sue, sue sue!

The second reason is that everyone wants to win the lottery. After all, I mean Mcdonalds can afford the 2 million for the pain and suffering that the hot coffee caused, and they certainly need to be taught a lesson with another 20 million in punative damages! Everybody is looking for a free meal, a lottery ticket that they can cash in without having to lift a finger. Certainly there are cases where others ARE at fault and should be punished, but they should be handled with common sense.

Speaking of common sense, shouldn't these people wait until an investigation has been completed before lawyering up? Also, if they sue the school and win who really is punished? Do you think that the chancellor/president of the university will go around with a hat asking the security guards, faculty, staff, and aministration to chip in to pay for the 10 million in damages? Think the alumni will pay for it? NOPE. The cost will simply be passed on to the consumers, the students. The school is forced to raise tuition, increase fees, or cut services in order to accomodate their new expenses.

I can imagine that every family who has suffered a loss probably recieved a call from a highly sympathetic, compassionate, caring, eager-to-help lawyer within 24 hours. Ambulance chasers have no shame.

Answer 2

I agree with you. Not a week goes by that i don't read or hear about a lawsuit or settlement over stupid things... I am very saddened over what happened yesterday, especially because i have a brother same age as the kids that were killed yesterday, it is so scary knowing that we are not safe anywhere and anything tragic can happen anytime to our loved ones that i cannot imagine anyone thinking about suing now!!!! People are in pain, in shock why are they even talking about this now!!...... People are just money hungry looking for easy money!

Answer 3

One reason is that now lawyers can advertise. They weren't allowed to until around late '80's I think. I do think Virginia Tech is going to face some suits over not notifying the students right away or canceling classes. They thought it was an isolated domestic incident. So what! When that one guy escaped from a prison and hid at West Virginia, they locked down the whole campus immediately.

Answer 4

However, unfortunate it might be, lawsuits are not always about justice. Lawsuits are often used to affect political change by those with large social agendas.

In this case I could see two possibilities, both of which are related to the "gun issue" in this country.

On the one side you have the "guns are evil" crowd who might try to sue the University for not doing enough to make sure that guns are unavailable on the campus. This, in turn will wind up coming out of the state coffers, which will, in turn give the state an incentive to pass stricter "feel good" (but usually ineffective) gun laws to cover there behinds against further litigation.

On the other side you have the pro gun side who might sue the university and/or the state from preventing firearms from being less readily available for defense by not allowing those licensed to carry concealed weapons to do so on school property. This, in turn will wind up coming out of the state coffers, which will, in turn give the state an incentive to pass laws considered more friendly to those who would carry a firearm for defense against just this sort of contingency to cover there behinds against further litigation.

I think William Shakespeare was right... Kill all the lawyers!

Answer 5

In the US, we used to have control over our political and bureaucratic processes. Now, since big corporations run everything, the only way to effect change is to hurt organizations in the pocketbook.

You will find that the damages are sometimes used to fix the problem, not just to compensate opportunists.

It's not about the money so much as it is to force positive change.

Answer 6

Because entitlement is the new way of life. Personal responcibility is becoming a myth. In America we have no loser pays laws so there's no risk in loosing a law suit or suing for frivalis reasons

Answer 7

I don't know, but it's getting so bad with lawsuits that people can't even do anything without worying about being sued. Sometimes bad things happen, and you need to learn to accept that and move on.

Answer 8

University is something expensive. The first chance people get, they will figth for money.

But there are also those that really deserve it, like the girl from the german class that survived by playing dead, I bet she will need some serious psicological help, and just like her, I bet there are plenty more that will also need that kind of help, but most families don't have the kind of money it takes to pay for that.

Answer 9

Money hungry because the government system takes all of our money, suing is our way of getting the money back. We pay a lot of money to go to school and feel safe, we pay a lot of tax dollars to have safety and when the system fails we want our sh*t back dammit.

Answer 10

i agree with you. however i dont tink its just americans, people in general are money hungry-wherever the money comes from! also not everyone who screams "lawsuit" is in it for the money some just see that as a way to "make somebody pay". VERY interesting question!