$825: The cost to each person of lawsuit abuse

Lawsuit abuse costs a family of four $3,300 per year, according to Travis Akin of Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch. “I have two children and a wife and I think that money could be put to better use,” he said. During Lawsuit Abuse Awareness Week, Akin is traveling Illinois attempting to inform residents of the costs involved in trivial litigation. Dale Wehrle of Seneca, who has joined Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch, said his son was involved in a lawsuit over $800 in damage. The case dragged on for years and he eventually had to take a job in Nevada, so he could not appear in court. A $12,000 judgment was entered against him because he could not appear, Wehrle said. The plaintiff was allowed to file three different complaints to get one that was accepted. “I talked to my attorney in Morris and he would not take the case because he said, ‘You can't win those cases, they have to be settled by the people involved.'” Akin said trivial cases clog up the courts and prevent the important cases from being heard. But, he added, the public can have an impact on this problem if they become upset enough. In 2005 the Illinois legislature passed medical malpractice reform. “No one thought it would pass, but the people demanded something be done,” Akin said. Akin said for the past two years the state's largest malpractice insurer has not changed its base rates. This has provided stability so doctors are no longer leaving the state and new doctors are starting practices in Illinois. Akin said the law is being challenged in the Illinois Supreme Court and everything could be undone. Illinois also continues to be a magnet for lawsuits filed by personal injury lawyers from other states. “Illinois has the title of lawsuit abuse capital of the Midwest,” he said. “When employers see that Illinois is a magnet for lawsuit abuse, they think twice before relocating or expanding here. “Why would employers want to move to a state where they are much more likely to be targeted with a junk lawsuit than in any other state in the region?” Businesses pass the cost of litigation on to their customers, Akin said. Tillinghast-Perrin released a report this year that showed every person in Illinois pays an extra $825 annually in higher prices just to cover the cost of frivolous, excessive litigation. For a family of four, that totals $3,300. Harris Company, he said, ranks Illinois the fifth worst in the country for lawsuit abuse and “Directorship” magazine ranks Illinois' litigation climate dead last. Municipalities can become the target of abusive lawsuits because people think they have deep pockets, Akin said. The small town of Columbia, Ill., considered passing a special tort tax to pay for defending lawsuits. The village did not actually impose the tax, but the problem was serious enough for it to be considered. Akin said a dozen mayors have issued proclamations recognizing the costs of trivial lawsuits and the importance of increasing public awareness of the problem.