Normally, you’d think that the law is impartial and unbiased. Well, it is. There are no rights that can be demanded by men that women can’t. And that’s the truth about the law. However, what can’t be controlled are how people are impartial with each other. And there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just how we’re programmed to function.
The world is built upon hierarchies, it always has been. And with hierarchies comes generalizations that help us gauge people in the same way that we skim through a book without having to read its contents in earnest.
While this “skimming” undeniably helps us at times, there are times that these cause us to make unfair and inaccurate assumptions. Other times, these quick reading of a person will grant them a bit of an advantage because we perceive them in a positive light.
Now, there have been reports and observations that gender could very well play a significant role in how personal injury cases are decided. It all really boils down to what is deemed socially acceptable and what is in conjunction with gender roles and traits.
While this notion is slowly changing, one cannot deny that on average, or at least, as it is perceived, there is a gender pay gap with men earning higher than women. And this gender pay plays a factor in how personal injury cases are decided.
Take this into context: When men receive scars, injuries, and disfigurements, they are, in some cases, viewed as battle scars and a sort of medal to be flaunted. The idea of a manly man is one who’s muscular and whose scars are aplenty.
In contrast, women want to be seen as flawless as they can be. They can be seen as delicate people. And it’s this perception that often leads judges and juries to decide in favor of women during personal injury lawsuits. – women are more likely to be awarded a higher compensation for damages than men are. In fact, it’s been proven that women actually receive higher settlements and higher verdicts for scars and disfigurements from an accident. Far more than men do.
Any experienced personal injury attorney must have observed this trend. But really, gender isn’t the only factor that invites bias in the awarding of compensation.
Other factors such as race, age, and socioeconomic status also play a significant role in how cases are decided.
So, what value does knowing this unspoken bias have? Well, for starters, it can be used as a point of reference for how biased the legal system can become sometimes. And well, like any other problem, the first step is will always be to define that problem and to evaluate the roots that it has. It’s basically an echo of an old saying:
“Those who have less in life should have more in law.”
And quite frankly, I don’t buy it. Because you shouldn’t receive special treatment for the accident of your birth. You earn the way you should be treated. Everything you are and everything you will be should be attained by your own merits, not because of who you are, but rather because of what you do.