Mall Lawsuit Not Frivolous

In response to Hans Kristiansen’s letter (June 6) about the woman who slipped and fell at South Coast Plaza: I am the attorney who represented the woman and contrary to the assumptions of the author, this was NOT a frivolous lawsuit with a minor injury. The evidence proved that she suffered serious and debilitating injuries due to the fall. She required back surgery and suffers from continual pain and physical limitations which restrict her work and recreational activities. An additional spinal fusion surgery, costing $20,000, has been recommended with no guarantee of success.

The evidence proves that she fell as a result of a slippery floor surface which was the responsibility of South Coast Plaza and their maintenance and janitorial company.

The truth of the matter is that insurance companies would like the public to believe that a mythical litigation explosion is driving up the costs and decreasing the availability of liability insurance. Statistics from the 1992 annual report of the Judicial Council of California indicate that personal injury lawsuits have been declining steadily since 1984. In fact, the filing of personal injury lawsuits in Orange County has decreased steadily by approximately one-third since 1989.

It is apparent that the insurance lobby wants the public to believe that personal injury lawsuits and awards have skyrocketed in order to justify inappropriate increases in premiums.

The real reason for increased premiums is that the insurance companies need to subsidize losses in their real estate investments portfolios due to declining property values.It would ultimately be a crime if the unsuspecting public allows their individual rights to be compromised by limitations on the ability to seek fair and just compensation for injuries due to negligence.

LAWRENCE S. EISENBERG

Irvine

Eisenberg is president of the Orange County Trial Lawyers Assn.

* Mr. Kristiansen is guilty of an often occurring error when judging the result of a case in our court system--a complete lack of information. I am a defense attorney specializing in civil litigation of the type involved here. This means that I make my living representing entities like South Coast Plaza.

I am keenly aware of, and defend many, frivolous suits. The matter he referred to was NOT frivolous.

I will not comment on the facts. However, as a judge pro tempore, or volunteer judge, I was the trier of fact in the court-ordered arbitration of the case. I heard all of the evidence, including complex expert testimony, and rendered a finding that the plaintiff bore absolutely no responsibility for a fall which resulted in serious and permanent injury.

Fraudulent claims and over-treatment cost all of us dearly. Persons who should take responsibility for their negligence, but do not, are also a drain on society. In this case, justice was served by the settlement and the condition(s) which did cause the accident will, hopefully, be rectified.

ALEXANDER S. POLSKY

Long Beach