City lawyers blaming the victim

Re: Article “Lawsuits at fault for city’s higher rates,” which appeared in the Dec. 19 edition of Northern Life.

It’s not because the city is involved in risky business that insurance costs are skyrocketing so much as it is about the way we handle risk and deal with victims of negligence.

Accidents are inevitable, but with proper prevention and people skills, the city could save us millions of dollars.

I know that costs are way up because the city is misusing our tax dollars to pay high-priced lawyers. The city pays lawyers instead of settling our claims, no matter how guilty they are.

They pay fancy lawyers instead of putting our money in road safety where it belongs. This is their MO. They simply will not acknowledge fault and will not accept responsibility for their negligence.

It is standard operating procedure for them to deny any wrongdoing and blame the victim. They spend multiple millions of our tax dollars annually against victims of their negligence. When you think about it, we are paying the city to pay lawyers to deny us our rights.

Why is the city so obtuse and obdurate? I think it is because they lack the vision and perspective to be proactive and preventative. I firmly believe that if the city spent a bit more money on inspection and safety, they could save millions in legal and insurance costs.

I also believe that if the city was compassionate and empathetic to victims of negligence, they could avoid costly litigation.

The city needs to stop lawyering up, demonizing the victim and denying any wrongdoing. That is not good social and economic policy.

Conrad Joseph
Greater Sudbury