Indiana Personal Injury Lawyers
John P. Young is your personal injury lawyer. At Young and Young all we do is represent injured Hoosiers. I would like to share with you one of the most common things I hear from Hoosiers who come to my office, or whom I speak with in their homes or hospital rooms. They are sitting in bed, they may have been in a semi tractor-trailer crash, or a highway crash. They may have even been in a traffic accident with a drunk driver. They are in pain with broken bones, maybe an amputation or paralysis, very serious injuries. They all tell me, “I am not one of those money hungry people trying to get something for nothing” or “I am not ‘sue’ happy”. They say these things despite the obvious necessity for themselves and their families to seek fair compensation from the negligent person who caused their injuries.
My experience is that most people are honest. They will not lie to get something they do not deserve. Of course, there are those out there who will lie, and ruin it for the rest of the honest Hoosiers who need help, but that percentage is very small. In fact the dishonest persons I encounter, maybe one a year, are so easy to detect that they pose no problem. We just tell them the evidence does not support their claim and show them the door. So, why are hard working Hoosiers so likely to apologize for asking for what’s fair? Let’s start with what your mother taught you, and what you teach your children. If you make a mess be responsible and make up for the harm you cause. Is your neighbor being unreasonable for asking you to fix the window you put your baseball through? No, in fact, we all think the person who does not take responsibility for their actions is a bad person.
People feel they need to apologize because in our society personal responsibility has come to mean don’t ask the person who negligently hurt you to make up for the harm they caused, it has come to mean, shut up and take what you get with a stiff upper lip. Why would this silliness ever be acceptable? It is because the insurance companies desire us to think this way. Why would they want us to think this way? Because if jury’s consistently were fair with their peers, the insurance companies would have to pay more in fair compensation and that would hurt their executive bonuses. Don’t feel sorry for them, look around your city, who names are on the biggest buildings? In Indianapolis, it is the insurance companies. Last year there were record profits all around the insurance industry, despite Hoosier families struggling to meet the mortgage and feed their children.
Your mother was and is right. It is everyone’s personal responsibility to fairly make up for the harm they cause. Hoosiers are not, on the whole, greedy. They are hard working honest people. Anyone who says differently either does not live here or is so jaded that their opinions are always angry and destructive. If you have been injured by another’s negligence, John P. Young is your personal injury lawyer. He believes your mother is right, and will fight anyone who says differently.