https://www.overlawyered.com/2006/03/alexandra-shaw-and-the-princeton-bell-tower/ Chronicling the high cost of our legal system Wed, 22 Mar 2006 12:54:40 +0000 hourly 1 https://www.overlawyered.com/2006/03/alexandra-shaw-and-the-princeton-bell-tower/comment-page-1/#comment-2456 Wed, 22 Mar 2006 12:54:40 +0000 http://overlawyered.com/wpblog/?p=3242#comment-2456 New Jersey is long past the point where compensation for injury is determined by fault. Yes, the law books still talk about fault, but the way it works is, if you’re hurt you get paid. I haven’t seen the most recent numbers, but I believe that less than 1 percent of all personal injury cases are tried. An equally small percentage are dismissed on summary judgment. The rest settle, and everyone in the system is happy with that, including the plaintiff’s bar, the defense lawyers, and the judges. In the process, of course, we reward irresponsible, characterless behavior such as that of Ms. Shaw, who possibly should have know that trespassing into a construction zone, in the dark, while drunk, wasn’t a good idea. And what about the injured person who has the character to take responsibility for his actions, and who actually believes that you don’t sue if you’re at fault? In New Jersey I believe that the term for that person is “sucker.”

]]>