NICE TO SEE THE SYSTEM WORK

I was in Probate Court the other day in order to get the Court's approval of a minor's settlement. Illinois law provides that when a minor has a cause of action, and it is settled over a certain amount, an estate has to be opened for the minor and supervised by the Circuit Court until the funds are safely deposited in the bank. In any event, I sat there as the judge looked over a proposed settlement for another child. The child was a cute young girl who had suffered a burn injury to the right eye area in a popular Chicagoland area bedding store. The judge was taken aback by the pictures of the injury[which had healed] and also noticed the small scar near the child's eye. Mom and Dad were in court as was the lawyer for the insurance company - the parents apparently never hired a lawyer. The lawyer for the insurance company was trying to convince the judge that the meager little amount they were tendering to the child was sufficient for her injury. And the judge, bless her heart, was having none of it. She told the lawyer for the insurance company that the amount of money they were offering simply wasn't sufficient in light of the injuries and she refused to approve the settlement. She further told mom and dad that although the insurance company lawyer was honest and ethical, the insurance company, when the smoke clears, didn't have the best interests of their child at heart. In fact, the judge suggested, the only real interest the insurance company had was in paying as little money as possible to resolve the claim. The judge went on to tell the parents they should hire a lawyer to represent the interests of their daughter. If I was that insurance lawyer, I would have been embarrassed to be up there saying the settlement was fair. But the insurance lawyer didn't seem embarassed. Instead she seemed annoyed that she had gotten caught.