You know I could go on forever about things like being burned by hot coffee.
The insurance companies and defense bar have done a great job spinning the famous McDonald's spilled coffee case. But do a little research sometime and you will learn that: (1) McDonald's knew that its coffee was way too hot to come into contact with human skin without causing burning, but chose to make it hotter to squeeze more coffee from the same amount of grounds, (2) McD's knew that many people use its drive-throughs and the first place they place their coffee is their laps, (3) McD's employee wa snegligent in affixing the lid to the coffee cup (the main purpose of which is to protect against spilling hot coffee onto people), (4) the woman received "serious" injuries and had to have several follow up medical procedures to address her injuries, (5) the jury award was equal to one day's coffee profits for McD's, and (6) McD's could have settled the case much more cleaply and chose not to do so.
The rare, humongous jury verdicts are not driving up the "costs" of insurance. Rather, the insurance companies' successful exploitation of a few publicized cases just lets them charge more and make more. Ask yourself: How many insurance companies have gone out of business because of these high awards? Answer: Zero.
His "frivolous lawsuit" involved his claims for physical and emotional injuries arising from being kidnapped in June 2001, tortured and held hostage for ransom for eleven days by his ex-brother-in-law and others. $1.5 million for compensatory damages, and $5.5 million in punitives. My client will probably see very little of it, as the "bad guys" are in jail and had little in the way of assets. I did not charge him anything.
Oh, please!
Let me guess: you're a lawyer and you think Joint and Several Liability is a great thing?
Who spun the AT&T Phonebooth suit, the tobacco suits, the asbestos suits, the implant suits, the gun manufacturer suits, etc.? The people who bring these sorts of suits belong in jail, not in fancy Park Avenue apartments.
ML/NJ
The old bat parked the hot stuff between her knees
She was being driven, was a passenger at the time. Shouldn't she have sued the driver? Guess what, the driver was a family member. No deep pockets.
Anyone parking hot coffee between her knees in a moving car needs a KEEPER, not caffeine. Making it MacDonald's fault was a travesty, however hot they make their coffee.