Dec 23, 2003

Happiness has a monetary value.

Ok. So let's assume you're a single mom raising your kids with little or no help from anyone. How do you factor that into the "how much additional salary people demand to assume additional risk" formula? Are we talking risk of the job, or risk of losing the job? Does "willingness to spend" include ability to spend? I might shell out $1,000.00 for an alarm if I had $1,000.00 to spend on an alarm rather than have pay the electric bill that would enable it to work.

How do you factor "lost happiness?" Do you includes statistics on the average divorce rate and realistically evaluate the number of times long-married couples are intimate when determining loss of consortium? If so, I'd think damages would be a lot lower.

Not one of us is guaranteed happiness. Not one of us is guaranteed that our world will stay a place that will give us joy every day for the rest of our lives.

The only thing we are sure of is that if jury awards for continue to rise to include "hedonic damages" good doctors will leave the profession when they can no longer afford malpractice coverage. Parents will no longer have to be diligent when watching their children since so many things that inattention allows to happen will be somebody else's fault. People will no longer be required to develop a little common sense.

Great. A world full of selfish, lazy, demanding, helpless idiots.

Yes, there are some situations where compensation for medical expenses is not enough. But let's stop going overboard. Sometimes you just have to play the hand you're dealt.

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