JOEL BIEBER'S BLOG

The TB Lawsuits Have Begun

     I am in Charlottesville at my law firm retreat. However, due to the marvels of modern technology, I can check the world of news by clicking through google on my computer. To my "no surprise", a law article popped up about the lawyer in Georgia who flew internationally with the TB diagnosis because he "just wanted to get home". Now the lawsuits are starting as reported by several sources.(here)

     According to this report. Two ladies have already filed for the losses that they suffered while on vacation and for the damages that were caused to family and friends because of their vacation ruins. They are seeking between 30k-50k. The Quebec lawyer beckons to anyone else who may want to join the lawsuit.

     When I saw the suits being filed, I wondered what they were seeking for damages. I have only read the articles and not the pleadings but it seems that they are seeking reasonable losses. I imagine that very few would have volunteered to ride with Mr Speaker on that eventful flight, if they had known the possible risk of TB. When I see his newlywed with her Donald Duck beak on TV, I can't help but wonder why they even think that they can defend exposing all those passengers to that illness.

Old Fashioned Values

     I just came back from a family funeral that was held in a small town in Pennsylvania. I'm told that the population is about 3k.  I remember  when I was a kid, folks would joke that their Howard Johnson only had one flavor of ice cream.  The "welcome" and "thank you for visiting" sign hung on the same tree. It was good to be back there. While I was there, I saw several people stop and wave. As I got out of the car, my door caused the car behind me to have to wait a bit, while I unloaded some luggage. The driver just smiled and waved.

     I came back home last night and was once again in my rush hour traffic to work.  Cars were cutting each other off. Everyone seemed in a hurry and it's not unusual to see someone give the "one arm salute". I certainly did not see anyone smile and wave. It reminded me why bed and breakfasts have become so popular. Maybe, restaurants like Cracker Barrel remind us of times past.  In those days, you could smell a pie that was cooling off on the window sill. Now, you just hustle to the grocery store and buy the "store bought" pie. It kinda makes you think back to whether progress is really progress.  Is a remote control really necessary so we don't have to get up and change the channel.

     Maybe old fashioned values would reduce lawsuits.  People taking responsibilities for their actions and looking out for one another instead of looking for a reason to blame someone else. Unfortunately, corporate America talks about being good neighbors and being in good hands, but in my world, it seems differently. That's why, when I just read that an airline did not want to take full responsibility for a plane crash, it didn't surprise me.

     Comair issued a statement yesterday that they were "partially" responsible for the crash in Kentucky. That's the one where the pilot took the wrong runway and had too short of an area that took off. As a result, all were killed but the co-pilot. Sure there might have been other things that could have been done but why can't the airline just say "we're sorry and we made a mistake". Don't you wish for old fashioned values when we looked out for each other and when someone did wrong, they simply accepted responsibility. My dad always told me that I would someday wish for the good old days. I guess that day has arrived!