NOW I feel 'sick'!!!!

I think you put your finger on the problem Walter when you said how most will settle rather than go to court. So who is responsible for encouraging frivolous lawsuits, when the defendants who are innocent are continuing to settle regardless of their innocence?

If people would fight back, the criminals would be far less likely to go after them. It's happened many times in many places over the ages. Even Hitler nearly gave up on Warsaw during the uprising there and the thousand or so who stood up to his evil thugs who outnumbered them 1,000 to 1 and had real weapons vs. broom stick handles and rocks. The rebels used sewers to hide out in and it was ungodly what they endured but they nearly drove the monsters out. The same has gone on for years in communities overrun by drugs and gangs. Sometimes the defenders actually win but never without the support from outsiders because the thugs always prey on the weakest, outnumbering and outgunning them, bullies that they are. The same is happening here. There are entire networks of lawyers who are crooked, teaming up with chiropractors and insurance companies to bilk all of the rest of us. Our rates go up, we get sued and have to hire a lawyer, we are cajoled into settling. There is only one answer and that is to stand up to them. People have to stop caving in and fight. Eventually there will be a turnaround. It is FAR FAR from being ALL lawyers. It is only a small number that cause this problem. Presidential candidate Edwards is NOT one of them. There are many lawyers who have taken the high road litigating only justified cases whether they be class action or one on one. There certainly ARE times when the only recourse (other than illegal methods like hiring thugs to break their legs) is to sue for damages when someone or a company inflicts harm and knew or should have known that they were doing so. We see it every day. Currently it's China imports containing lead and such. Bush CUTS the budget so that we have but ONE, ONLY ONE SINGLE INSPECTOR for ALLLLLLL childrens' toys coming into this country. Now THAT IS A CRIME and HE should be sued into oblivion!!! Hundreds of thousands if not millions of children are being destroyed, development retarded, by lead due to BUSH and his PURE IDIOCY. If that isn't a crime I don't know what is.