Lawsuits like this one demonstrate why drastic tort reform is needed:

A Jeannette woman who was slightly injured after being struck by a train while walking along railroad tracks sued Norfolk Southern Corp. Thursday for failing to warn pedestrians that trains travel on tracks.

Patricia M. Frankhouser, of 910 Scott Ave., is seeking an unspecified amount in excess of $30,000 from the Norfolk, Va., rail transport company for the Jan. 6 incident that left her with a broken finger, cuts on her hand and pain, according to the suit.

I'm amazed that she was hit by a train and sustained such minimal damages. Perhaps Norfolk Southern Corp. could argue that the claims are fraudulent using evidence from prior human-train interactions.

How do we stop those who take advantage of the loopholes in our legal system? Here are a few ideas:

1. A new law which states that if a judge rules that a lawsuit is frivolous, the defendant is automatically awarded 50% of the original claim amount from the Plaintiff as compensation for libel. (Frivolous will be defined as either an unreasonable claim or an unreasonable monetary demand.)
2. Any lawyer who brings forth a case later judged as frivolous loses their license to practice for 2 years and then must retake and pass the bar exam to get it back.
3. Any lawyer who brings forth a second such case is banned from the legal profession completely, including jobs like assistant, secretary and law office janitor.
4. Out of court settlements are limited to 10% of the original claim amount. (Without any other restraints, this would have a tendency to make the demand amount go through the roof but if the definition of frivolous included a legitimate complaint coupled with an outrageous claim amount, I think that this could help make claims reasonable and make it less profitable to file lawsuits merely to obtain a settlement.)
5. Plaintiffs who file one lawsuit ruled to be frivolous lose the privilege of levying another lawsuit for a period of 10 years.

Again, I'm not a lawyer and I don't play one on television. This is just a few ideas off the top of my head. Obviously, the effectiveness of any of these depends upon an accurate and consistent definition of what makes up a frivolous lawsuit. The point is not to deny access to the courts but to make sure that the courts are available to hear those cases which have merit.