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* My Crain’s Chicago Business column…
Wealthy trial lawyers could very well end up being the unsung heroes of Illinois residents who earn only the minimum wage.
Why? It’s all about leverage.
Ever since GOP candidate Bruce Rauner was caught saying he would cut the state’s minimum wage, or even abolish it altogether, he has claimed that he really wants to increase the minimum wage to $10 an hour, but only if it’s tied to things like tort reform and an overhaul of the state’s workers’ compensation program.
Trial lawyers make their money by suing people and corporations, whether it’s a doctor who allegedly committed malpractice, a corporation that allegedly polluted a local water supply or a company that employed a worker injured on the job.
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posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Nov 17, 14 @ 11:03 am
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Brilliant insight Rich.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Monday, Nov 17, 14 @ 11:17 am
Plus they have always been aligned with Labor, so it is a no brainer for them.
Comment by Jaded Monday, Nov 17, 14 @ 11:23 am
Respectfully, I have yet to meet a workers’ compensation lawyer “living in a lakefront mansion.”
Like the balance of society, among trial lawyers (just like “CEO’s” and “technology starts-ups”) there is an exceptional group–the 1%, the 2% or the 10%–and there is the rest.
The rest earn a solid, respectable living but could hardly should be classified as wealthy in the “lakefront mansion wealthy” sense of the word. Just sayin’.
Comment by Matt Belcher Monday, Nov 17, 14 @ 11:29 am
===“living in a lakefront mansion.”===
Those were my editor’s words. I had originally written Beverly.
Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Nov 17, 14 @ 11:30 am
Depends on the “the lake.”
Lake Geneva? Yes, some PI guys have very impressive summer places. Lake Michigan? I don’t know of any that do. For some reason, it seems that most PI guys I know live in the burbs.
The related factor is that a lot of PI guys get referrals from unions. Iron-worker hurt on a job? Then call the union’s favorite lawyer.
If they can slow tort reform (whatever that means — the GOP tried it before and it failed) and kiss up to unions, they’ve done well for themselves.
Comment by Gooner Monday, Nov 17, 14 @ 11:40 am
Was the addition of “allegedly” your work or the editor?
Doctors, hospitals and corporations do hurt people. And generally the system protects them pretty well if they didn’t do something egregious.
The AMA and IMA aren’t incompetent.
Comment by Carl Nyberg Monday, Nov 17, 14 @ 11:42 am
Isn’t Blue Island near a lake?
Comment by Bill White Monday, Nov 17, 14 @ 11:45 am
I think Rauner will have a tougher time getting the docs to take a haircut on workers comp.
Comment by Wordslinger Monday, Nov 17, 14 @ 12:07 pm
If medical mistakes continue to be the third leading cause of death in this country it will be difficult to justify medical tort reform in Illinois.
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/deaths-by-medical-mistakes-hit-records
Comment by Enviro Monday, Nov 17, 14 @ 12:24 pm
Wordslinger hits on one of the real powerhouses which will resist work comp reform: the docs.
Also, don’t forget the work comp insurers, who certainly profit from the current system, so long as businesses can pay the premiums.
And don’t be so sure that the insurance industry is so hot on “tort reform”. A perceived out of control litigation environment drives increased premiums and profits. In my view, insurance company complaints regarding Illinois’ litigation environment seem to be “crocodile tears”.
The lawyers are on the lower level of Illinois’ work comp and litigation food chain.
Comment by Cook County Commoner Monday, Nov 17, 14 @ 12:27 pm
===I think Rauner will have a tougher time getting the docs to take a haircut on workers comp.===
In the Peoria debate (about the 30-minute mark), the Governor-elect indicated an interest, if not an agreement, to consider an insurance exchange/fund operated by the State, where the State would step into the shoes of an insurance company and offer coverage to small business employers.
These type of funds are already operating in 24 other states.
Besides offering affordable, transparent insurance premiums, this addition to the system would provide real sunshine into the true “cost” versus “profit margin” of the insurance premium.
Because when the GA cuts benefits and medical costs by 30% and the rates do NOT go down, the only reform still needed insurance “premium reform.”
Otherwise the insurance company will just pocket any savings for itself. As just has been demonstrated.
Comment by Matt Belcher Monday, Nov 17, 14 @ 12:36 pm
The minimum wage increase is a concrete number and should be pushed for a vote.
Tort reform is a hazier concept to me. I admit I don’t know much about it. I hear about tort reform when people mention a possible GOP alternative health insurance plan in place of Obamacare. Haze, man.
How much tort/workers’ compensation reform must be done in Illinois, and what are the numbers? We already know what the minimum wage increase would be, so I hope we don’t delay in trying to pass it.
Comment by Grandson of Man Monday, Nov 17, 14 @ 2:21 pm
Right now, IL has one of the highest minimum wage in the nation, higher than Hawaii and NY. Watch small businesses cut back on hours, not hire as much, increase their costs(if possible)and demand more and more productivity.
Comment by anon Monday, Nov 17, 14 @ 2:30 pm
More than a tad offensive. There is only a tiny % of trial attorneys in Illinois who are the “wealthy trial attorneys” of whom you speak. The rest of us work 10-14 hour days just to earn an above-average wage and payoff student loans. And let’s make sure that when your mother or grandmother falls in one of Rauner’s nursing homes that you know exactly which “wealthy trial lawyer” you can call. But you’d better hope a) the home has insurance because they are not required to carry it thanks to NH lobbyists and Corporate owners like Rauner and b) that Tort Reform hasn’t taken over, because if it has, even if the home has insurance, you or your mother likely won’t see much.
You all hate “wealthy trial lawyers” until you need one. Most of us are working tirelessly for justice for injured or killed victims or their families. We already turn down case after case of actual negligence simply because the damages don’t warrant the expense we face in filing a suit. Really, do your research, then write.
Comment by Trial Attorney Monday, Nov 17, 14 @ 3:10 pm
***You all hate “wealthy trial lawyers” until you need one. ***
I certainly don’t hate them, as a very close family member works for one. I don’t like it when certain people throw around buzz phrases like “wealthy trial lawyers” and “government union bosses.” Those phrases are meant to stoke antagonism and resentment, and they obscure the facts.
Comment by Grandson of Man Monday, Nov 17, 14 @ 3:54 pm
Yes, and let’s not talk about the minimum wage workers who lose their jobs because under the new rate their employer just can’t justify keeping them on–or, more numerous, the future jobs that won’t exist.
The thing is, the minimum wage, like almost everything else that comes from politics, does not create value, it just redistributes what is already there, usually with some loss of efficiency. So, some gain (and great for them) and some loose (we just won’t talk about that).
I would love to see a pol with some ideas about how to actually create value instead of just redistributing it–I hear they may exist in some other States.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Nov 17, 14 @ 4:29 pm
Anon 4 :29, do you at least get a stick of gum with those economic comics you’re reading?
Nothing brings out the willful stupid like talk of the minimum wage.
For those who believe that a bump in the minimum wage will throw people out of work, they must believe those jobs were not necessary to begin with. Mickey Ds and Walmart were feather bedding out of fhe goodness of their hearts.
Labor is a cost of doing business, as are countlesss other things, including the billions in fines for non-prosecuted fraud the banks have been shelling out.
How are the banks doing these days?
Comment by Wordslinger Monday, Nov 17, 14 @ 4:42 pm