Not Exactly Jackpot Justice
| March 7th, 2016
There’s a phrase out there used to attack personal injury lawyers called “jackpot justice.” Wrapped up in those two words are a host of accusations aimed at the legal profession itself. The phrase refers to the supposed greed of accident victims and lawyers looking to cash in on unfortunate events by taking advantage of the legal system. People touting that phrase usually have examples up their sleeves to prove frivolous lawsuits and jackpot justice are a real problem in our court system. The number one case they point to is the McDonald’s hot coffee lawsuit, in which a woman spilled hot coffee on herself and sued the fast food company for millions. We love it when critics use this case as evidence of jackpot justice, because once we bring up the actual facts of the case, their entire argument crumbles. For example, Ms. Liebeck, who suffered 3rd degree burns over 6% of her body, initially asked McDonalds to simply pay for her hospital bills. Only when they refused did she seek legal recourse. In addition, the multimillion-dollar verdict she received was reduced to $480,000 by the judge. Considering she had to undergo expensive skin graft procedures and was scarred for the rest of her life, $480K isn’t exactly jackpot justice. As personal injury lawyers, we’re not looking for jackpot justice for our clients. We’re simply looking for justice. Justice to us means our clients can pay all of their medical bills. It means they can keep food on the table and not have to worry about losing their home. We’re proud of the work we do for the people of California, and if you’ve been injured, we’re ready to put our experience to work for you.
