Description

Lawyers handle countless injury claims, both large and small, and the media eagerly report tort cases that range from serious to frivolous and even absurd. Yet research reveals that injury victims very rarely choose to pursue lawsuits. Even in countries like the United States that are renowned for their litigiousness, only a tiny fraction of potential injury cases enter the legal system and the vast majority of losses are simply absorbed by the victims without ever contacting or attempting to settle with their injurers. This lecture will offer an explanation for a surprising phenomenon – the absence of legal claims. It will illustrate the theme of “legal alienation” with data from two different settings: the United States and Thailand. Although these two countries differ in very many ways, research on injury victims by David M. Engel and Jaruwan Engel reveals some unexpected commonalities: a distaste for the civil justice system, a reluctance to assert rights, and a tendency for injury victims to blame themselves rather than hold another person or entity responsible for their loss.