Litigious Society Research Paper

The litigious society of America is everywhere in the news today and throughout the past, a person suing a large company for wrongdoing and getting awarded a large sum of money. A.H. Hermann stated in his article Why is the United States of America so Litigious? For the Business Law Review of 1991 stated (Hermann 1991) “There is no need to start this article by showing that the citizens of the United States are the most litigious race on earth: the number and prosperity of their lawyers, the proliferation of courts which keep busy are notorious. When one inquires why it should be so, the answer usually points strongly to the rugged individualism of the population to the constitution which provides a frim basis for the defense of the rights of the individual, and also to the history to the history in which lawyers, rather than aristocrats, played a leading role.” The American litigious society will have to change in order for the justice system to fulfill its purpose of upholding the rights of the citizens.

According to Webster dictionary “litigious: too ready or eager to sue someone or something in a court of law, tending or likely to engage in

lawsuits”. Meaning that people are ready to take advantage of any situation that might could have been easily solved in an obvious way. People and corporations feel the need to protect themselves from this so they may put wording in bold print or make you sign a document so that they are no longer liable for the situation.
"Is there a doctor in the house?" was the famous cry in London's West End if a theatergoer suddenly collapsed. If that happened on Broadway today, an off-duty physician would probably burrow deeper into his seat. Where doctors of old saw patients in distress, today they see potential plaintiffs. No wonder the slightest bruise might prompt your doctor to order an MRI rather than an ice pack. The Quarterly Journal of Economics estimated recently that the practice of "defensive medicine"--doctors prescribing treatments, X-rays and life-support principally to pre-empt legal action--costs some $50 billion a year ("Litigious America", 2001).
Americans have placed the litigious society on themselves. This has come about as the outcome from decades of Americas using their rights as consumers and individuals ("Litigious America", 2001). The rights of the consumer are “the right to be sold reliable and safe products, the right not be abused by people in position of authority, the right to be compensated for any harm done to them by the actions (or inaction) of others” ("Litigious America", 2001). As a consequence, Congress and many of the states have made new rules and laws that hold people more accountable for “sins of omission” and commission ("Litigious America", 2001). If Americans would own up to their own mistakes perhaps American society would not be so litigious.
Other countries around the world are not the same as America, these countries are not so quick to sue. As they find their own courts are not quick to bring the charges to court to be effective in a timely manner ("Litigious America", 2001). These court make sure that the people are positive that they want to sue because their court systems could take decades to rule on the suit ("Litigious America", 2001). In civil cases, many European countries adopted a "loser pays" rule ("Why We Sue", 2016). If someone sue and lose, then that party has to pay the other side's costs ("Why We Sue", 2016). This obviously makes people think a lot harder before they decide to file a suit ("Why We Sue", 2016). In America, the abundance of lawyers (Americas most popular profession) and a strong, well up-held judicial structure means that no one has a reason not to pursue something that they think they can win in court ("Litigious America", 2001). In fact, the tendency of juries to award incredible amounts in damages encourages lawsuits to become more popular ("Litigious America", 2001). It is popular in America since it is easy to make money for the client.
Americas litigious society has caused many companies and private parties to go bankrupted or suffer a major financial loss ("The Last Week ", 2016).

Blitz USA a major producer of portable gas cans was forced to declare bankruptcy and close their doors after product liability lawyers got involved ("The Last Week ", 2016). The lawyers got hold of a hand full of injuries involved with the portable gas cans produced ("The Last Week ", 2016). In the end the Blitz USA lost and was forced to pay more than $30 million in defense and damage fees which was enough to take the company under ad declare bankruptcy after more than 50 years of business ("The Last Week ", 2016). The extremely popular American fast food McDonald’s was required to pay an outstanding amount of money over a hot coffee incident ("Litigious America",

2001).
Everyone knows the case of the elderly coffee drinker who collected a fortune ($2.9 million, later reduced to $640,000) from McDonald's after spilling coffee on herself that she said was too hot. The company paid, and McDonald's coffee cups now bear the legend “caution: this cup contains an extremely hot beverage” ("Litigious America", 2001).
Americas litigious society stems from there rights as a nation and the large court system that is willing to support their right to be litigious. This has caused the nations large companies to become very protective of themselves so the company will not have to pay a large fine or go bankrupt. Yet this is very different form many European countries that have made if very difficult for the party to purse the suit very far.