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If you are in a life-changing accident, in Europe at best you'll receive a few hundred euros a month in disability pay. In US you could sue for millions. I bel

If you are in a life-changing accident, in Europe at best you'll receive a few hundred euros a month in disability pay. In US you could sue for millions. I believe this is the rare occasion where the American way of thinking makes more sense.

usr1106 5y ago
It's not you'll receive. It's can receive if you are wealthy and lucky enough to find a lawyer that wins against the corporation. I have no data, but I bet the lawyers of a corporation win a lot of lawsuits even if the consumer has high medical bills because of a faulty product. I doubt those cases make headlines. I prefer that a decently regulated or public health insurance system covers costs instead of letting the risk to the consumer. The insurance can claim damages from the corporation if there is neglect.
- ricardobayes 5y ago
  Most injury lawyers operate on commissions only. I know a dude who is a personal injury lawyer, he doesn't take any money from the victim, but gets paid a % of the settlement.
  - usr1106 5y ago
    Yes, but that doesn't help too much if you have to pay medical bills and lose the lawsuit. Of course better than having to pay the legal fees of the lost lawsuit, too. But still not as reliable as having a publicly regulated health care or health insurance paying your medical bills in the first place.
rndgermandude 5y ago
>in Europe at best you'll receive a few hundred euros a month in disability pay. Uhmm, no, at least not here in Germany. The amount on compensation is related to the severity of the injury. For things that heal you will get Schmerzensgeld ("pain" money), as well as compensation for things that broke (e.g. your car or bike in a traffic accident). If the injury takes a while to heal, in which time you're unable to work, you get compensated for that as well. If it's lasting damage, you will get disability money. If you need care/help (from grocery shopping and cooking, to full blown 24/7 nurse care) that is compensated as well, and may amount to tens of thousands of euros per month. If you're permanently unable to work you will get compensated for that in a "reasonable" way (you won't be poor), and the liable party will also have to pay your retirement insurance dues[0]. If you requires changes to your living situation[1], you will get "reasonably" compensated as well. And so on. Basically, every damage that can be monetarily valued or at least estimated will be "reasonably" compensated. >In US you could sue for millions. Where you're right is that you won't get rich from such a lawsuit. Regardless, the total amount in compensation you will receive over a life time could as well amount to millions as well. The amounts awarded in the US may seem large sometimes, until you realize that it's a one time thing, and the health and care costs over a lifetime you will incur may still not be covered by that lump sum. The only thing here in Germany that isn't really direct compensation but "extra" money is the Schmerzensgeld, and that's usually a one time pay of a couple hundred bucks for light injuries up to low six figures for major injuries. And it might be harder to "fully" win such a lawsuit too, as in Germany you don't have jury trials[2]. [0] Retirement insurance dues may have to be paid even if the injured party was not working yet, e.g. when the person was still in school. [1] E.g. you need a wheel chair ramp, or move to a wheel chair accessible place, or need to make changes to your bathroom to get in and out of the shower/bathtub. In some cases, defendants were ordered to pay the difference for getting a larger house so family providing some care could move in. [2] Tho, there are Schöffengerichte, with "regular" people sitting on a panel with a judge, usually 2 regular people and 1 judge in the lower courts. While the judge can be outvoted in theory by the 2 other, the judge is part of the deliberations and therefore has great input into the decision finding.
iamtedd 5y ago
Oh, yes. In the commie socialist states you would get effective healthcare regardless of means and without any cost to you, but in The Land of The Free* you receive bill after bill, each adding another 6 figure sum, requiring you to try to talk to the hospital (who, amongst other heinous lines, charged you $2500 for two 200mg paracetamol pills), pleading for mercy to forgive some of the debt, and at the same time talk to a $200/hr lawyer into pressing charges against anyone who was within earshot of the whole incident and aftermath, on the off chance you get less than half the amount awarded. Your lawyer gets the majority of the awarded sum, and then fees on top of that. You get low 5 figures and a permanent diminishing of mental ability. What an advantage. Trust me. I have recent first-hand experience in the healthcare of Australia, and my sister has recent first-hand experience with the (lack of) healthcare in USA. I'm nearly 100% recovered, only because of the recency of injury, while she nearly died for the incredibly rare condition of giving birth, through a surgeon causing internal bleeding during a c-section. And no-one noticing she was dying for hours.
- goldenkey 5y ago
  Unfortunately, the US has a culture of doctor worship. Most people know next to nothing about medicine, so doctors can get away with all kinds of incompetence. As someone else in this thread mentioned, medical mistakes are the 2nd leading cause of death in the US. I am glad to hear your sister survived that ordeal. In the US, doctors that have maimed and killed patients can switch specialties and become a lucrative medical marijuana prescriber: https://www2.mbc.ca.gov/BreezePDL/document.aspx?path=%5cDIDOCS%5c20070301%5cDMRAAABI1%5c&did=AAABI070301234952671.DID https://www2.mbc.ca.gov/BreezePDL/document.aspx?path=%5cDIDO... https://www.laweekly.com/after-almost-30-years-as-a-surgeon-this-physician-became-a-pot-doc/ https://www.laweekly.com/after-almost-30-years-as-a-surgeon-...

usr1106 5y ago

It's not you'll receive. It's can receive if you are wealthy and lucky enough to find a lawyer that wins against the corporation. I have no data, but I bet the lawyers of a corporation win a lot of lawsuits even if the consumer has high medical bills because of a faulty product. I doubt those cases make headlines. I prefer that a decently regulated or public health insurance system covers costs instead of letting the risk to the consumer. The insurance can claim damages from the corporation if there is neglect.

ricardobayes 5y ago
Most injury lawyers operate on commissions only. I know a dude who is a personal injury lawyer, he doesn't take any money from the victim, but gets paid a % of the settlement.
- usr1106 5y ago
  Yes, but that doesn't help too much if you have to pay medical bills and lose the lawsuit. Of course better than having to pay the legal fees of the lost lawsuit, too. But still not as reliable as having a publicly regulated health care or health insurance paying your medical bills in the first place.

rndgermandude 5y ago

>in Europe at best you'll receive a few hundred euros a month in disability pay. Uhmm, no, at least not here in Germany. The amount on compensation is related to the severity of the injury. For things that heal you will get Schmerzensgeld ("pain" money), as well as compensation for things that broke (e.g. your car or bike in a traffic accident). If the injury takes a while to heal, in which time you're unable to work, you get compensated for that as well. If it's lasting damage, you will get disability money. If you need care/help (from grocery shopping and cooking, to full blown 24/7 nurse care) that is compensated as well, and may amount to tens of thousands of euros per month. If you're permanently unable to work you will get compensated for that in a "reasonable" way (you won't be poor), and the liable party will also have to pay your retirement insurance dues[0]. If you requires changes to your living situation[1], you will get "reasonably" compensated as well. And so on. Basically, every damage that can be monetarily valued or at least estimated will be "reasonably" compensated. >In US you could sue for millions. Where you're right is that you won't get rich from such a lawsuit. Regardless, the total amount in compensation you will receive over a life time could as well amount to millions as well. The amounts awarded in the US may seem large sometimes, until you realize that it's a one time thing, and the health and care costs over a lifetime you will incur may still not be covered by that lump sum. The only thing here in Germany that isn't really direct compensation but "extra" money is the Schmerzensgeld, and that's usually a one time pay of a couple hundred bucks for light injuries up to low six figures for major injuries. And it might be harder to "fully" win such a lawsuit too, as in Germany you don't have jury trials[2]. [0] Retirement insurance dues may have to be paid even if the injured party was not working yet, e.g. when the person was still in school. [1] E.g. you need a wheel chair ramp, or move to a wheel chair accessible place, or need to make changes to your bathroom to get in and out of the shower/bathtub. In some cases, defendants were ordered to pay the difference for getting a larger house so family providing some care could move in. [2] Tho, there are Schöffengerichte, with "regular" people sitting on a panel with a judge, usually 2 regular people and 1 judge in the lower courts. While the judge can be outvoted in theory by the 2 other, the judge is part of the deliberations and therefore has great input into the decision finding.

iamtedd 5y ago

Oh, yes. In the commie socialist states you would get effective healthcare regardless of means and without any cost to you, but in The Land of The Free* you receive bill after bill, each adding another 6 figure sum, requiring you to try to talk to the hospital (who, amongst other heinous lines, charged you $2500 for two 200mg paracetamol pills), pleading for mercy to forgive some of the debt, and at the same time talk to a $200/hr lawyer into pressing charges against anyone who was within earshot of the whole incident and aftermath, on the off chance you get less than half the amount awarded. Your lawyer gets the majority of the awarded sum, and then fees on top of that. You get low 5 figures and a permanent diminishing of mental ability. What an advantage. Trust me. I have recent first-hand experience in the healthcare of Australia, and my sister has recent first-hand experience with the (lack of) healthcare in USA. I'm nearly 100% recovered, only because of the recency of injury, while she nearly died for the incredibly rare condition of giving birth, through a surgeon causing internal bleeding during a c-section. And no-one noticing she was dying for hours.

goldenkey 5y ago
Unfortunately, the US has a culture of doctor worship. Most people know next to nothing about medicine, so doctors can get away with all kinds of incompetence. As someone else in this thread mentioned, medical mistakes are the 2nd leading cause of death in the US. I am glad to hear your sister survived that ordeal. In the US, doctors that have maimed and killed patients can switch specialties and become a lucrative medical marijuana prescriber: https://www2.mbc.ca.gov/BreezePDL/document.aspx?path=%5cDIDOCS%5c20070301%5cDMRAAABI1%5c&did=AAABI070301234952671.DID https://www2.mbc.ca.gov/BreezePDL/document.aspx?path=%5cDIDO... https://www.laweekly.com/after-almost-30-years-as-a-surgeon-this-physician-became-a-pot-doc/ https://www.laweekly.com/after-almost-30-years-as-a-surgeon-...