Where will lawyers strike next?

Fresh on the heels of Penn State decertifying several long-standing campus organizations due to liability and lawsuit concerns, now we learn that the West Chester Area School District is cancelling the Peirce Middle School’s annual field trip to Cape Henlopen.

According to district Superintendent Dr. James Scanlon: “From a management standpoint, it is a lawsuit waiting to happen.” (News report on WCHE, 1520 AM, June 11, 2018)

While some are quick to blame the school district for being too cautious, the district is not the cause of the problem.

What has changed over the years that would cause the school district to take such a drastic step?

Lawsuits, lawyers, and a whole lot of money!

The West Chester Area School District made this difficult decision mindful that attorneys are always looking for the chance to strike.

To put it bluntly it is becoming too risky for the district and taxpayers to continue covering this type of overnight trip due to the constant threat of lawsuits.

The propensity to sue in our overly litigious society puts the West Chester Area School District and any large organization with deep pockets right in the cross hairs of plaintiffs’ lawyers.

Unfortunately, the school district is not the only institution wrestling with this.

What has changed over the years that would cause the school district to take such a drastic step? Lawsuits, lawyers, and a whole lot of money!

Recently, it was reported that the Penn State Outing Club, Nittany Grotto Caving Club, and Scuba Club all lost their official University recognition.

A campus recreational review or “risk assessment” deemed the clubs too risky.

What a shame! The Caving Club has sponsored regular trips for 70 years while the Outing Club is nearly 100 years old!

Has hiking, backpacking, canoeing and trail maintenance become riskier over the last century?

Doubtful. What has changed however is plaintiffs’ attorneys urging people to sue at the drop of a hat!

And it’s not just the West Chester School District and ‘dear old State.’ Thanks to frivolous and abusive lawsuits, entire industries have disappeared and the economic cost of goods and services continue to rise as the explosive costs of litigation are factored in. College and middle school students are just the most recent victims.

There are steps that should be taken by the legislature and the courts to stem this tide of lawsuits run amuck.

Contingency fee reform is a good start.

By ensuring a lawyer only receives payment for the actual value he or she adds to the case, there will be less incentive for lawyers to sue. People who are truly injured will keep more of the settlement or verdict and give less to the lawyer.

Changing venue rules to prevent parties from being dragged into the high verdict jurisdiction of Philadelphia, even when that city has no connection to the case, is another step.

There is a reason the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) in 2017 named Philadelphia the Number 5 Judicial Hellhole in the nation!

It is because plaintiffs’ lawyers know there is usually a big pay day in the “City of Unbrotherly Torts!” Passage of House Bill 544, providing limited immunity to property owners who open their land for recreational purposes, might also give clubs some additional recreational options to consider.

All of this begs the question:

Where will the plaintiffs’ lawyers strike next?

Perhaps the Peirce Middle School Drama Club, Fusion Club or Concert Chorale?

Curt Schroder Pennsylvania Coalition for

Civil Justice Reform