Finally having an effect

Our main goal is, of course, always to get the best outcome possible for our clients. Beyond that, though, a secondary goal is to protect possible clients from injury. Indeed, that is the foundation of the tort system: to shape incentives to prevent future injuries.

It works like this: one disincentive to dangerous conduct is that it may hurt other people; those people, when hurt, often have a cause of action against the person who caused the injury. The possibility of that cause of action--knowing that one could be sued--hopefully leads us to be careful in our every day lives. If we fail to be safe, we may not only hurt someone else, but we may also be a defendant in a lawsuit.

Over time (depending on how stubborn the defendant is), once enough lawsuits have been filed, litigated, and brought to trial, repeat-defendants often attempt to change their behavior prospectively in an effort to cut down on the injuries it causes. When this happens, the tort system is at its best: it is causing defendants to alter their conduct to cause fewer injuries. It appears that this may be happening with MUNI.

As the Chronicle recently reported, MUNI accidents have cost the City dearly. Since 2002, MUNI has paid out about $66m to the people it has injured. Now, according to the Chronicle, MUNI believes that "improving [its] safety record is a top priority - not just because of the costs of the lawsuits and claims, but also because of the toll accidents take on the public and operators." Having worked with several MUNI-injured clients at Walkup, I can definitely attest to the toll such accidents take on the public. We can only hope that MUNI really does change its ways and make itself safer--that's what everyone wants. Rich explains this point well in one of our firm videos.