Pricey attorneys don?t wow juries

I think most people have heard the old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, that is, unless you are one of the many health care companies who have lost millions in lawsuits over the past few years.

First we had River Park Hospital losing a $7.2 million lawsuit last year (under appeal), and now we have NHC losing $4.2 million, which could balloon to more than $30 million if the jury?s punitive damage verdict is upheld by the appellate courts. On top of that, you have people waiting in the wings, eyeing lawsuits given the recent successes of plaintiffs.

So what?s going on? Well, first off, let me just say these companies aren?t doing themselves any favors by sending their out-of-town attorneys in here to try cases before Warren County juries. I?ve been watching juries here for 17 years, so I?m as close to a local jury expert as you?re going to get in these parts, and I?ll straight out tell you a large out-of-town company doesn?t stand a chance of winning a civil suit here where there is a death or serious injury involved.

Provided there is a minimum amount of proof, the company will end up paying big. Just look at maximum damages against River Park and the over $30 million the jurors wanted to pay out in the NHC suit. All I can do is shake my head when I see these big-city lawyers, knowing as soon as the gavel drops, whichever company they represent will pay millions.

People around here don?t care how a business is set up or which businesses think they have civil immunity. All the juries know is someone here is saying they?ve been wronged and there?s some guy wearing a Rolex and $3,000 suit representing multi-million dollar companies arguing areas of the law they could care less about.

I don?t care if they appeal until the cows come home, even if the defendants win in front of an appellant court, in the end, there will be millions paid in attorney?s fees and millions lost in future business.

So how do they fix it? They need to get rid of all the chiefs and hire more Indians, if I can be so politically incorrect. The business world is full of useless middle management types who do nothing but suck the life blood from companies, justifying their positions by cutting budgets and giving the stockholders bigger dividends.

However, in doing so, they?re distancing companies from the people they serve, alienating folks who will some day sit on a jury who will award millions to the people suing them. These management types also take the places of employees who can actually serve the people, not realizing many incidents and lawsuits come because people feel ignored by the companies and have no other recourse but to file suit.

Instead of hiring administrative types, why not hire more public relations types who can work with the public, answering their questions and putting out fires before they hit their flashpoints? I think hiring such people at $40,000 a year is cheaper than paying attorneys and paying out suits which will be lost here anyway.

And, if worse does come to worse, don?t send in your corporate attorneys and think they will dazzle a Warren County jury. As I count it, they?ve ?dazzled? juries here out of over $35 million from their clients in just the past year. And, if you plan to keep a jury tied up for a week or more listening to a civil action, better start digging deep because that time will cost millions, the tab to be picked up by our old friend the defendant.

Duane Sherrill is a reporter for the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].