Although not conducted through the legal system, some battles in China over alleged injury from medical malpractice make for an interesting compare-and-contrast exercise, right down to the role of contingent fees:
Medical personnel advocates complain that the more violent incidents are staged by hired thugs, paid by families of the deceased in hopes of winning compensation from the hospitals. … The Chinese have even coined a word for the paid protesters: yinao, meaning “medical disturbance.”
“It has become a very sophisticated system for chasing profits. Whenever somebody dies in a hospital, the yinao will get in touch with the family and offer their services in exchange for 30% to 40%,” said Liu Di, who is setting up a social network for medical professionals.
2 Comments
Is their system really so different from ours?
I especially like the contingency fees for the rental thugs.
In jury selection, part of my standard comments regarding the justice system is that the courthouse is a substitute for vigilante justice. Without you, the jurors, we would have anarchy with people taking matters into their own hands.
That article is a perfect example.