The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1905-06-14
DAMAGE GRAFrERS

DAMAGE GRAFTERS
Astoria has had experience of what i
termed damage grafters," that class o.
people that want a largo sum Of money
for very small injury, The Seattle p, |
contains an article that will sound
strangely familiar TO Astorians who NJ,
member the Book and other similar cases
Every person familiar with the bust.
ness OF the courts of the country knows
that. within the past few wears and in all
parts of the United States, there has
been a most extraordinary increase in
the number Of damage suits for personal
injuries, 1t is estimated in some quar-,
tiers that such suits constitute fully one.
quarter of all of the litigation before the
state courts of the country, and in some
cities the percentage runs far higher
than this, In short, the cost to the tax.
payers of maintaining the courts of the
country open to litigants has been added
to by at least twenty-five per cent,
through the increase in litigation of this
class.
In the current number of Pearson's
Magazine. Theodore Waters discusses this
subject under the head The Profession
of Getting Hurt" and brings to public
light some extraordinary instances To
prove the correctness OF the caption
which he has taken for an article on the
subject of damage suit litigation.
The present article is but the first of
series. and ii deals principally with con
ditions present in Chicago, where the
damage suit attorney seems most to tlou
ish. At the present time there are TWEEN
ty.six hundred damage suits for personal
injuries pending against the municipality
of Chicago alone. without counting the
number which have been brought against
street railway and other corporations in
the city, and the aggregate claims OF
these litigants foot up $344Ij00O, In
1898 the total number OF such claims
presented against the city was forty'six,
which will give some adequate idea OF
the recent growth of the industry.
At the present time, there are different
firms of attorneys in Chicago which have
each upwards of fifty cases pending |
against the city. 1t may or may not be
considered coincidence that the clients |
of any of these firms employed the
same doctor, and that the extent of the |
injuries sustained in each case will have
to be proved in great part by the testi-
mony of the same attending physician
In the repor: of John +. Smulski, the city
attorney of Chicago, he says:
"It is necessary for a layman to be
present in court and hear the evidence
given by the plaintiff, usually a fearful
woman, and the plaintiffs physician and
the argument of counsel, in order to APP
preciate what terrible injuries a woman
may receive by stubbing her toe on a
loose plank or by fall from a broken
sidewalk. He would learn to his horror
that the aforesaid woman broke a num-
Der of ribs-the evidence of which has Of
.ourse since disappeared and is remem.
1ered only by the plaintiff and her doc
.Ors-that in falling she hit the sidewalk
number of different ways and hit the
,aek of her head, which now causes
lizziness, loss of memory, weakening OF
he sight and loss of hearing; and that
he sprained her ankle, dislocated her
Zip, sustained internal injuries to her
tomach and kidneys and permanently
injured her spine, so that she became a
Opeless neurasthenic. 1t seems but lit.
le short of miraculous for person 30
orribly injured to live
All of this is sufficiently evident Of the
xtent to which the evil has grown. 1t I
oes not appear how the evil is to be {
hecked. Statutes against champerty do a
ot seem to touch the matter, possibly t
or the reason that they are not self I
and it does not seem the duty I
t any one TO enforce them.