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Filthy Rich Trial Lawyer Watch

Ever wonder how filthy rich trial lawyers get that way? An important clue emerges from the Rocky Mountain news:

Boy, 8, sued in ski crash
Associated Press
Originally published 12:21 p.m., December 20, 2007
Updated 03:42 p.m., December 20, 2007

VAIL ? A 60-year-old man is taking an 8-year-old boy and his dad to court, claiming the third-grader caused a ski-slope collision that left the older man with a shoulder injury.

David J. Pfahler of Allentown, Pa., filed suit in Denver federal court claiming Scott Swimm, of Vail, then 7, was skiing fast and recklessly when they ran into each other in January. Pfahler's suit says he suffered a torn shoulder tendon.

The boy told Pfahler he was sorry and started to ski away when the man grabbed Scott?s legs, cursed at him and said he would sue, Robb Swimm told The Aspen Times.

The whole story lives here.
In fact, little Scott will probably be dismissed as a defendant in the lawsuit, which will likely proceed on the basis of some kind of negligent supervision theory against Mr. and Mrs. Swimm (for letting little Scott run wild on the slopes) and the ski resort (for letting Mr. and Mrs. Swimm let litle Scott run wild on their slopes). While anybody who can afford to live in Vail, Colorado, probably has tons of dough, prying it loose from an 8-year-old is pretty tricky. For one thing, 8-year-olds tend to be broke. For another, most states have laws that allow plaintiffs to sue parents for their children's negligence or malice, but not the children themselves. In any case, to get the really big recoveries, you need to sue somebody who can afford to pay, and that almost always means an insurance company.
Of course, it never hurts to have a good client. We don't know Mr. Pfahler's version of events, but our experience has been that a "good client" is one whose first words after a little boy skis into him are not "Son, are you all right?" but "I'm gonna sue your %###@! pants off!"

Full post as published by West Neanderthal Drive on December 22, 2007 (boomark / email).