Are attorneys in Las Vegas Nevada saviors or predators? Now the Legislature to decide
The question boils down to one of rights—but whose? The trodden-on, victimized public, who deserve compensation for their injuries and suffering experienced at the hands of a negligent party? Or the rights of those who mind their own business, doing the best they can, and occasionally become caught in the crossfire of a frivolous lawsuit that breaks their bank and ruins their financial future? Attorneys in Las Vegas Nevada are at the center of this debate that’s now swinging its way through Congress and turning into a clichéd battle between Democrats and Republicans.
Maybe it seems that Republicans have been reading too much Shakespeare behind their golden doors of big business in Nevada, but the Dick the Butcher’s quote in Henry VI of macabre priorities (“First thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers”) but to some in congress, the Democrats’ alliances with the trial lawyers seems unfair. Watching as “legislation aiming to protect backcountry outfitters, ranchers and rodeo operators from lawsuits if someone is injured on their property” get blocked five times, local business owners feel vulnerable, exposed. One broken arm falling off a dirt bike, two attorneys in Las Vegas Nevada, one courtroom personal injury case, and a rancher could be ruined.
In such an instance, whose fault is the broken arm? Of course, the best attorneys in Las Vegas Nevada know that such a question is far oversimplified and evidence detailing individual events should be heard before making any deductions. But too many ranchers have been burned by “frivolous lawsuits” to be able to hear the arguments being made by the Democratic-trial lawyer alliance.
Who see it completely differently, by the way. Herb Santos Jr. is the president of the Nevada Justice Association, and he sees protecting the rights of the individuals as a priority over the rights of the businesses: “Once you lose your rights, you don’t get them back,” he reports to the Las Vegas Sun. And the right for innocent victims to seek compensation for injury seems pretty fundamental in America—Santos used the word “constitutional.”
But the issue is highly controversial, and not all attorneys in Las Vegas Nevada are in agreement around it, one way or another. Any business litigator knows all too well that some of the upcoming legislation could have a tremendous impact on his practice—for better or worse. And when the public weighs in, opinions are split as to whether uninsured drivers should be prevented “from winning damages for pain and suffering cause by a car crash.” On the one hand, that driver took a risk for themselves taking to the roads without insurance—on the other, should she be plain out of luck if another at-fault driver causes her leg to be amputated in a crash?
It’s a touchy subject, at best, this idea of limiting lawsuits, but in reality it’s one that will be hotly debated, mulled over, and eventually resolved between two age-old enemies. Will the Democrats and Republicans be able to come together to decide something responsibly?