Subject:
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Re: Fan Thank You Letter
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Thu, 20 Jun 2002 15:20:36 GMT
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Viewed:
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1079 times
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In lugnet.lego, David Koudys writes:
> Subject: FW: Stella Awards
>
>
> In 1994, a New Mexico jury awarded $ 2.9 million U.S. in damages
> to 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who suffered third-degree burns to her
> legs, groin and buttocks after spilling a cup of McDonald's coffee on
> herself.
Just so people know where I am on this one, Stella did have a legitimate
case in my view. As others have stated, McD had been repeatedly warned that
they were serving coffee that was WAY WAY too hot, and did it for their
convenience.
However I agree with the main thesis. Actions have consequences, the
initiator of actions needs to take responsibility... It's just that in the
Stella case, it was McD that was the initiator of a hazardous action in my
view. Tort law is there to ensure that responsibility happens! It's just
tremendously skewed right now.
> This case inspired an annual award - The "Stella" Award -for the
> most frivolous lawsuit in the U.S. The ones listed below are clear
> candidates.
> 3. October 1998: A Terrence Dickson of Bristol Pennsylvania was leaving a
> house he had just finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not
> able to get the garage door to go up, because the automatic door opener was
> malfunctioning. He couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting
> the house and garage locked when he pulled it shut. The family was on
> vacation.
> Mr. Dickson found himself locked in the garage for eight days. He subsisted
> on a
> case of Pepsi he found, and a large bag of dry dog food. Mr. Dickson sued
> the
> homeowner's insurance claiming the situation caused him undue mental
> anguish.
> The jury agreed to the tune of half a million dollars.
That one I find particularly funny as garage doors, even with openers, are
easy to open from the inside. All it takes is a little common sense.
> 4. October 1999: Jerry Williams of Little Rock Arkansas was awarded $14,500
> and
> medical expenses after being bitten on the buttocks by his next door
> neighbour's
> beagle. The beagle was on a chain in it's owner's fenced-in yard, as was Mr.
> Williams.
Which? On a chain, in the yard or both? :-)
> The award was less than sought because the jury felt the dog may
> have
> been provoked by Mr.Williams who, at the time, was shooting it repeatedly
> with a
> pellet gun.
> My point is when you do stupid things, stupid things will happen. You
> *cannot* legislate stupidity out of existence, nor can you stop people from
> doing stupid stuff. When manufacturers have to put on Superman Halloween
> costumes a warning which states 'Warning-wearing cape does not allow you to
> fly' to stop the lawsuits, I question people's intelligence.
Yep!
> I will never sue anybody due to my stupidity. If I slip on a patch of ice
> and break my neck and end up in bed the rest of my life, whom do I sue? The
> unfortunate sod whose house I just happened to be in front of at the time?
> What if i'm in a field somewhere? The government? What if I'm hiking out
> in the obscure corners of the world and I slip and twist an ankle?
>
> Life happens. If someone is *negligent*, then see what you can do. Coffee
> is hot. It's suppose to be hot. I don't need a warning to tell me it's
> hot--it's hot. It's like sueing the stove manufacturer for damages when I
> put my hand on a heated element.
It's not supposed to be so hot that it weakens or melts the styrofoam. it's
not supposed to be so hot that you can get burned by the vapors. McD coffee
WAS too hot and they did have negligence.
> I'm so proud of my girlfriend right now. She was riding her bike to work
> last week, in the bike lane btw, when a guy, making an illegal U-turn in the
> middle of the street, hit her. She has a broken collar bone now and for the
> first few days was in lots of pain. You know what everybody and their dog
> is saying for her to do? Sue Sue Sue. She's not having any part of it,
> though. The insurance company of the driver is covering all her medical
> expenses, her bike fixing and/or replacement, loss of wages. Why? Because
> that's what insurance companies are for.
Yep. The only time I've ever sued anyone was when I had to sue my own
insurance company because they would not pay when I was injured. I was on a
project in Cincinatti for a summer, had a season pass to Kings Island, and
rode "the Beast" a lot (a great wooden coaster). It has a sign saying "keep
your hands inside the car"
Well I like the extra danger and risk from keeping my hands up. High up. As
high as I can go in fact.
Suffice it to say, the Beast bit me. I had my hands way out and coming into
the covered helix, I hit my finger hard (we were probably going 20-30 MPH at
the time although it feels faster) on the edge of the shed wall. So hard
that it made my whole arm go numb and started immediately raising a blood
blister under the nail.
Coming off the ride I was talking about it to a friend and a lawyer
overheard me, handed me a card and said "call me if you want to pursue legal
action". I looked at him and said (loudly, because that's the sort of guy I
am) "are you kidding!!! See that sign? I got what I deserved and have no
intention of sueing, PKI warned me" which got people around me cheering.
Ever since then the Beast has been my favorite woodie because it's the only
coaster that ever bit me.
> We all pay for it in the long run. Sure, you may have your 2 million
> dollars from your frivilous lawsuit, but in the end, we're all paying for it.
Roger that.
> Dave!!
Hey! You think you rate an extra bang than Dave! No way! There is only one Dave!
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: Fan Thank You Letter
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| (...) Whoops. These are two separate incidents! I ran the paragraph together so it seems like the first sentence refers to the rest. My bad. The first sentence refers to when I was struck by a car as a pedestrian. Michigan insurance law at the time (...) (22 years ago, 20-Jun-02, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
| | | Re: Fan Thank You Letter
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| (...) **snip** (...) Just for my info, can you clarify whether Stella was holding the cup between her thighs (driving a car, perhaps) at the time of the spill? It had been my impression that this was the case, and if so, then tough for Stella; (...) (22 years ago, 20-Jun-02, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Fan Thank You Letter
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| (...) Taken from an e-mail sent to me a few months back: --- Subject: FW: Stella Awards In 1994, a New Mexico jury awarded $ 2.9 million U.S. in damages to 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who suffered third-degree burns to her legs, groin and buttocks (...) (22 years ago, 20-Jun-02, to lugnet.lego)
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