ORIGINAL: wernerjd
It all comes down to greed. 20 years ago the lady would have healed up and moved on. Today everyones out to make a buck. Suck it up and move on. Not like he pointed the gun to her head. The bullet traveled half mile. Its a bad deal dont get me wrong, but that bullet probably was deflected and hither. With todayslawers they will get anybody to sue. (Not all Lawersbut most). This isbull#### the way that greed comes out in people.
Hate to disillusion you but I'm a law student and we read cases that go back into the Middle Ages. Folks have been suing each other for hundreds of years.
Big difference though between now and the good old days is;
1- Nationwide TV news spreads what would have been local news all over the country.
2- People will post news on the internet making it available for people who didn't see it on TV.
The theory behind joint and several liability by the way, is that it is preferable that the victim becompensated even it it puts more of the burden on a joint tortfeasor who is able to pay.
Another point to keep in mind please. It is the JURY that awards the damages, not the lawyers and not the judge. Although a judge can reduce a damage award that he/she believes is excessive. (Can also increase it, but that almost never happens.)