The oven bird’s song: Insiders, outsiders, and personal injuries in an american community

© Cambridge University Press 2018. In “Sander County” Illinois, concerns about litigiousness in the local population tended to focus on personal injury suits, although such cases were very rarely brought. This article explores the roots of these concerns in the ideology of the rural community and in...

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Main Author: David M. Engel
Format: Book
Published: 2018
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spelling th-cmuir.6653943832-591752018-09-05T04:40:49Z The oven bird’s song: Insiders, outsiders, and personal injuries in an american community David M. Engel Social Sciences © Cambridge University Press 2018. In “Sander County” Illinois, concerns about litigiousness in the local population tended to focus on personal injury suits, although such cases were very rarely brought. This article explores the roots of these concerns in the ideology of the rural community and in the reactions of many residents to social, cultural, and economic changes that created a pervasive sense of social disintegration and loss. Personal injury claims are contrasted with contract actions, which were far more numerous yet were generally viewed with approval and did not give rise to perceptions of litigiousness or greed. The distinction is explained in terms of changing conceptions of the community itself and in terms of the problematic relationships between “insiders” and “outsiders” in Sander County. INTRODUCTION Although it is generally acknowledged that law is a vital part of culture and of the social order, there are times when the invocation of formal law is viewed as an anti-social act and as a contravention of established cultural norms. Criticism of what is seen as an overuse of law and legal institutions often reveals less about the quantity of litigation at any given time than about the interests being asserted or protected through litigation and the kinds of individuals or groups involved in cases that the courts are asked to resolve. Periodic concerns over litigation as a “problem” in particular societies or historical eras can thus draw our attention to important underlying conflicts in cultural values and changes or tensions in the structure of social relationships. In our own society at present, perhaps no category of litigation has produced greater public criticism than personal injuries. The popular culture is full of tales of feigned or exaggerated physical harms, of spurious whiplash suits, ambulance-chasing lawyers, and exorbitant claims for compensation. Scholars, journalists, and legal professionals, voicing concern with crowded dockets and rising insurance costs, have often shared the perception that personal injury litigation is a field dominated by overly litigious plaintiffs and by trigger-happy attorneys interested only in their fee (Seymour, 1973: 177; Tondel, 1976: 547; Perham, 1977; Rosenberg, 1977: 154; Taylor, 1981; Gest et al., 1982; Greene, 1983). 2018-09-05T04:40:49Z 2018-09-05T04:40:49Z 2018-01-01 Book 2-s2.0-85048667186 10.1017/9781316979716.002 https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85048667186&origin=inward http://cmuir.cmu.ac.th/jspui/handle/6653943832/59175
institution Chiang Mai University
building Chiang Mai University Library
country Thailand
collection CMU Intellectual Repository
topic Social Sciences
spellingShingle Social Sciences
David M. Engel
The oven bird’s song: Insiders, outsiders, and personal injuries in an american community
description © Cambridge University Press 2018. In “Sander County” Illinois, concerns about litigiousness in the local population tended to focus on personal injury suits, although such cases were very rarely brought. This article explores the roots of these concerns in the ideology of the rural community and in the reactions of many residents to social, cultural, and economic changes that created a pervasive sense of social disintegration and loss. Personal injury claims are contrasted with contract actions, which were far more numerous yet were generally viewed with approval and did not give rise to perceptions of litigiousness or greed. The distinction is explained in terms of changing conceptions of the community itself and in terms of the problematic relationships between “insiders” and “outsiders” in Sander County. INTRODUCTION Although it is generally acknowledged that law is a vital part of culture and of the social order, there are times when the invocation of formal law is viewed as an anti-social act and as a contravention of established cultural norms. Criticism of what is seen as an overuse of law and legal institutions often reveals less about the quantity of litigation at any given time than about the interests being asserted or protected through litigation and the kinds of individuals or groups involved in cases that the courts are asked to resolve. Periodic concerns over litigation as a “problem” in particular societies or historical eras can thus draw our attention to important underlying conflicts in cultural values and changes or tensions in the structure of social relationships. In our own society at present, perhaps no category of litigation has produced greater public criticism than personal injuries. The popular culture is full of tales of feigned or exaggerated physical harms, of spurious whiplash suits, ambulance-chasing lawyers, and exorbitant claims for compensation. Scholars, journalists, and legal professionals, voicing concern with crowded dockets and rising insurance costs, have often shared the perception that personal injury litigation is a field dominated by overly litigious plaintiffs and by trigger-happy attorneys interested only in their fee (Seymour, 1973: 177; Tondel, 1976: 547; Perham, 1977; Rosenberg, 1977: 154; Taylor, 1981; Gest et al., 1982; Greene, 1983).
format Book
author David M. Engel
author_facet David M. Engel
author_sort David M. Engel
title The oven bird’s song: Insiders, outsiders, and personal injuries in an american community
title_short The oven bird’s song: Insiders, outsiders, and personal injuries in an american community
title_full The oven bird’s song: Insiders, outsiders, and personal injuries in an american community
title_fullStr The oven bird’s song: Insiders, outsiders, and personal injuries in an american community
title_full_unstemmed The oven bird’s song: Insiders, outsiders, and personal injuries in an american community
title_sort oven bird’s song: insiders, outsiders, and personal injuries in an american community
publishDate 2018
url https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85048667186&origin=inward
http://cmuir.cmu.ac.th/jspui/handle/6653943832/59175
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