Is suing someone wrong?

[InsuranceGuy]

I believe I read in the Bible that we shouldn't sue one another. There is a lawsuit I can file, and win, against the doctor(s) who misread my scans and declared me cancer free. He didnt just misread the scans, he tried to hide his mistake, ultimately costing me my life.

A law firm wants this case badly and has assured us it would be settled out of court, giving my family plenty of financial security. We do not want to do it if it is no biblical to do so though. I have forgiven the doctor, so a lawsuit seems rather dumb to me. That said, i am dying because of his many mistakes. My family will not have me around for support soon, financial or otherwise.

Thoughts?

 

[Dave]

I don't know. Suing maybe a way of cracking down on stuff like this to keep people on their toes so it does not happen again. It seems like thats the only way to get through to some companies and people is to hit them in their wallets to make them more accountable. If the Bible says its wrong then I can see not going forth with it. I am praying for an answer for you.

 

[Sojourner414]

I believe I read in the Bible that we shouldn't sue one another. There is a lawsuit I can file, and win, against the doctor(s) who misread my scans and declared me cancer free. He didnt just misread the scans, he tried to hide his mistake, ultimately costing me my life.

A law firm wants this case badly and has assured us it would be settled out of court, giving my family plenty of financial security. We do not want to do it if it is no biblical to do so though. I have forgiven the doctor, so a lawsuit seems rather dumb to me. That said, i am dying because of his many mistakes. My family will not have me around for support soon, financial or otherwise.

Thoughts?

Dan,

The part in Scripture you're referring to is here, in 1 Corinthians chapter 6:

"Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church? I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren, but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers? Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? On the contrary, you yourselves wrong and defraud. You do this even to your brethren." (1 Corinthians 6:1-8, NASB, emphasis mine)

What Paul is talking about here is concerning suing fellow Christians (brethren) over matters in secular courts; instead of taking matters between each other to a law court, we are to settle them instead according to the Church model. Now, with that said: Paul used the courts himself when he was wrongfully arrested and was about to be whipped:

"They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live!” And as they were crying out and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air, the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, stating that he should be examined by scourging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. But when they stretched him out with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” The commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” The commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.” Therefore those who were about to examine him immediately let go of him; and the commander also was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had put him in chains. But on the next day, wishing to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the Council to assemble, and brought Paul down and set him before them. " (Acts 22:22-30, NASB, emphasis mine)

Paul used the law to protect himself from being wrongfully tortured and imprisoned. In that instance, what he did was from a right heart.

So the thing here is to ask: "Am I in the right to sue in this matter?" While I cannot advise you legally, the best advice I can say is this: bring this before the Lord in prayer with Scripture in mind. Wait on Him to see how He moves you to act in this matter. That's the best I can give you, bro.

 

[InsuranceGuy]

Dan,

The part in Scripture you're referring to is here, in 1 Corinthians chapter 6:

"Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church? I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren, but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers? Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? On the contrary, you yourselves wrong and defraud. You do this even to your brethren." (1 Corinthians 6:1-8, NASB, emphasis mine)

What Paul is talking about here is concerning suing fellow Christians (brethren) over matters in secular courts; instead of taking matters between each other to a law court, we are to settle them instead according to the Church model. Now, with that said: Paul used the courts himself when he was wrongfully arrested and was about to be whipped:

"They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live!” And as they were crying out and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air, the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, stating that he should be examined by scourging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. But when they stretched him out with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” The commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” The commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.” Therefore those who were about to examine him immediately let go of him; and the commander also was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had put him in chains. But on the next day, wishing to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the Council to assemble, and brought Paul down and set him before them. " (Acts 22:22-30, NASB, emphasis mine)

Paul used the law to protect himself from being wrongfully tortured and imprisoned. In that instance, what he did was from a right heart.

So the thing here is to ask: "Am I in the right to sue in this matter?" While I cannot advise you legally, the best advice I can say is this: bring this before the Lord in prayer with Scripture in mind. Wait on Him to see how He moves you to act in this matter. That's the best I can give you, bro.

Thank you. This is exactly what I was looking for.

 

[Goodboy]

I believe I read in the Bible that we shouldn't sue one another. There is a lawsuit I can file, and win, against the doctor(s) who misread my scans and declared me cancer free. He didnt just misread the scans, he tried to hide his mistake, ultimately costing me my life.

A law firm wants this case badly and has assured us it would be settled out of court, giving my family plenty of financial security. We do not want to do it if it is no biblical to do so though. I have forgiven the doctor, so a lawsuit seems rather dumb to me. That said, i am dying because of his many mistakes. My family will not have me around for support soon, financial or otherwise.

Thoughts?

That's a hard question to answer as the answer depends a lot on the reason one is suing.

For example my son and some other friends of mine both had a situation where they had a minor fender bender that was their fault. In both cases, the people they hit had minor damage to their car and stated, "Don't worry about it, it is such a minor dent" and went their way. Later on when these people realized the amount of money they could receive, they then ended up suing.

I had a case where my family (my wife and kids and my sister and her daughter) and I where hit by a car while in a van. My sister who was not hurt decided to sue for the money. Her lawyer called me and assured me I could also sue and get some money. The problem was that neither my family nor I were hurt. So we did not sue, even though we could have received over $15K.

You surely have the right to sue based on what happened. The thing that stood out to me is when you stated that you forgave him. I don't think there is a right or wrong answer in your case, I think you have to search your heart. I would say if you plan to sue just for the money, meaning you would not sue if you did not need the money. In that case, I would suggest not suing.

 

[InsuranceGuy]

I likely wont be around to know much about the lawsuit, but my wife seems to be dead set on this. She harbors a lot of anger over this, as does my daughter. My wife at least has forgiven the doctor, but when she looks at lost income over another 20 year period, she isnt thrilled. She is also mad and wondering how many times he has done this and not been punished.

 

[Tall Timbers]

I believe I read in the Bible that we shouldn't sue one another. There is a lawsuit I can file, and win, against the doctor(s) who misread my scans and declared me cancer free. He didnt just misread the scans, he tried to hide his mistake, ultimately costing me my life.

A law firm wants this case badly and has assured us it would be settled out of court, giving my family plenty of financial security. We do not want to do it if it is no biblical to do so though. I have forgiven the doctor, so a lawsuit seems rather dumb to me. That said, i am dying because of his many mistakes. My family will not have me around for support soon, financial or otherwise.

Thoughts?

I think the Bible talks about not taking your "brother in Christ" to court, but to settle things between yourselves. See 1 Cor 6:1-7

I think the information provided at this link by a Christian lawyer may help you decide on this matter: http://www.christian-attorney.net/christians_lawsuits.html

 

[Goodboy]

I likely wont be around to know much about the lawsuit, but my wife seems to be dead set on this. She harbors a lot of anger over this, as does my daughter. My wife at least has forgiven the doctor, but when she looks at lost income over another 20 year period, she isnt thrilled. She is also mad and wondering how many times he has done this and not been punished.

I don't know all the details and I am not looking for you to tell them to me. That said, if this is a case of obvious malpractice, meaning he was careless or did not follow the correct procedures, then I might lean toward suing. If this was just a mistake which we all make, then I am not so sure you should sue. Either way as I stated before, you need to decide for yourself after searching your heart. I nor do I believe anyone on this forum will blame you for whatever it is you decide.

Note: To keep peace in the house, you might have to go with whatever your wife decides!

 

[Annie]

I believe I read in the Bible that we shouldn't sue one another. There is a lawsuit I can file, and win, against the doctor(s) who misread my scans and declared me cancer free. He didnt just misread the scans, he tried to hide his mistake, ultimately costing me my life.

A law firm wants this case badly and has assured us it would be settled out of court, giving my family plenty of financial security. We do not want to do it if it is no biblical to do so though. I have forgiven the doctor, so a lawsuit seems rather dumb to me. That said, i am dying because of his many mistakes. My family will not have me around for support soon, financial or otherwise.

Thoughts?

I would pray on it but it certainly sounds like a case to me. I'm so sorry this happened to you

 

[InsuranceGuy]

I think the Bible talks about not taking your "brother in Christ" to court, but to settle things between yourselves. See 1 Cor 6:1-7

I think the information provided at this link by a Christian lawyer may help you decide on this matter: http://www.christian-attorney.net/christians_lawsuits.html

Thank you. The link was informative.

This is a pretty open & shut case that I have been reluctant to sign off on because I know people make mistakes. This was not just a mistake though. It was a blatant mistake that was then covered up. We already have the proof, which is why the attorneys want the case so badly. I will pray on this. Thank you all for the replies.

 

[mattfivefour]

The fact he did not just make a mistake but was aware he had made it and then attempted to cover it up so as to not have to face the consequences causes me to lean toward the lawsuit. Certainly I do not see any Scripture against it-- not just the letter but the spirit. But God will direct you as you lean on Him as to what to do.

 

[Andy C]

I have never entertained the idea of suing anyone, even though there were a few times I would have won.

The facts as you present them, I would not hesitate for one moment to sue them. A mistake that was then covered up and ultimately will cost you your life, will have life long emotional and FINANCIAL consequences for your family.

 

[pixelpusher]

The fact he did not just make a mistake but was aware he had made it and then attempted to cover it up so as to not have to face the consequences causes me to lean toward the lawsuit. Certainly I do not see any Scripture against it-- not just the letter but the spirit. But God will direct you as you lean on Him as to what to do.

I have never entertained the idea of suing anyone, even though there were a few times I would have won.

The facts as you present them, I would not hesitate for one moment to sue them. A mistake that was then covered up and ultimately will cost you your life, will have life long emotional and FINANCIAL consequences for your family.

I agree.

Father, please show our brother how best to proceed.

 

[Jan51]

In the Old Testament we find much about God desiring men to act righteously and to do justice. God is very concerned about justice. The Law of Moses also requires restitution from those who have dealt falsely with others. The entire Bible continually references the concept of reaping what you sow. So I don’t see anything unbiblical in your case.

 

[Sojourner414]

The fact he did not just make a mistake but was aware he had made it and then attempted to cover it up so as to not have to face the consequences causes me to lean toward the lawsuit. Certainly I do not see any Scripture against it-- not just the letter but the spirit. But God will direct you as you lean on Him as to what to do.

Thank you bro, and everyone else. I didn't want to advise Dan to do so because I tend to be a bit vindictive in my own perspective when it comes to being wronged. So that's why I said to pray about it.

 

[Randy - Saved by Grace]

Thank you. This is exactly what I was looking for.

Agree

 

[antitox]

There's nothing wrong with demanding justice. Each situation should be looked at and assessed whether how it should be handled. A key statement by Paul in 1 Cor 6 is: "And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?" Notice he mentioned trivial. What was going on is these petty cases were being taken to law outside the church. So Paul saw it not only as unnecessary, but they were small things that could be settled in the church without going before unbelievers.

 

[Kerbluey]

Praying you know what to do. I’m so sorry and am horrified. The doctor needs to be out of a job either way.

 

[Carl]

Please Lord show Dan Your Heart on this matter.

 

[endofdays]

Good question