If Anybody's Intereted in Lawsuits

[rexbobcat]

This is an example that you can sue for ANYTHING, and become a millionaire out of pity and connivery.

$14.5M for boy's brain injury from metal bat - Yahoo! Sports

 

[Dr_Totenkopf]

I alwase thought that if playing or watching a sport you except all risk of injury, and no one is liable for any injuries you sustain... if not I need to get stabbed by an epee and sue the sword maker, the stabber, and the club hosting the torment.

 

[SamSpade1941]

Only in America can you sue someone for something they did not do to you nor were they responsible in anyway. There WAS a gas can manufacture here in Oklahoma that had been in business for over 50 years. The newest versions of these gas cans as you all well know have warnings stamped into them all over the place, and of course they have that lovely EPA approved safety nozzle which is adult proofed to the point that you can get gas out of the can even when you want it out of the can to fill a lawn mower. Some jerk managed to burn himself using the can to toss gas onto a fire after he took the safety nozzle off the can. Which was one of the things the stamped government warnings said not to do.

Even though these cans were EPA and DOT approved and had all recent mandated changes, disclaimers and warnings in them. The jerk in question who used the can in a non reccomended manner who burned himself was allowed to sue and the settlement put the company out of business. The company was BLITZ who also made many other automotive products.

 

[usayit]

On one hand, I agree that we are law suite happy society and it has had unseen consequences. For example, all the perfectly fine food that establishments throw out because they are past their "sell date" well before their "expiration date" for fear of lawsuits. Meanwhile, we still have the hungry homeless.....

On the other hand, calling a teenager who has suffered a brain injury severe enough that his mother has to wipe his a$$ on a daily basis for possibly the rest of his life a "conniving millionaire" is a bit over the top. I guarantee you that each and every one of us would be desperate to find care for our child in such a situation. This is the type of stuff that can turn a middle class or even affluent family into perpetual bankruptcy and a lifetime of despair.

There are thousands of better examples to prove this point. You picked one with such little regard.

No... I would have rather not seen this go through the court system in the form of a lawsuit but as a society voluntarily give a helping hand. You want to point our problems??? Point to society that backs this behavior... not some brain injured kid.

>> The measure of civilization is how it treats its weakest members. <<


God forbid that something similar happens to you BUT if does, I sure hope you remember the high horse you put yourself on when faced between a miserable quality of life versus funding assistance through possible lawsuits. I fully expect you to stick to your convictions and choose misery.

 

[PhotoWrangler]

While I'm sorry that the boy suffered a brain injury... that lawsuit is ridiculous. If this sets precedence, then I think I'll sue the manufacturer of my coffee cup because the coffee pot brewed the water too hot.

 

[usayit]

As for quoting the incident when a lady sued McDonalds for hot coffee... the media failed to inform the public of the details of the lawsuit. They did so to drive up emotions in their readership without regard to presenting the facts fairly. You should read it in detail.. it may change your mind.

 

[PhotoWrangler]

I wasn't quoting the McDonalds case. What I was trying to exhibit is that I was going to sue company X because of something that Y and Z did, or did not do.

 

[usayit]

I wasn't quoting the McDonalds case. What I was trying to exhibit is that I was going to sue company X because of something that Y and Z did, or did not do.

Ah.. in that case, I am almost 100% certain you would loose the case.


from the article linked.

Stephen D. Keener, president and CEO of Little League Baseball Inc., said the settlement guarantees that ''Steven Domalewski will receive the lifetime care he will require as a result of this tragic accident, a type of accident that is extremely rare in youth baseball.''

 

[PhotoWrangler]

Ah.. in that case, I am almost 100% certain you would loose the case.

Apparently not. The parents won the case by suing the Bat Manufacturer (X), for something that the ball (Y) and other player (Z) did.

 

[usayit]

Ah.. in that case, I am almost 100% certain you would loose the case.

Apparently not. The parents won the case by suing the Bat Manufacturer (X), for something that the ball (Y) and other player (Z) did.

They didn't win the case... it was a settlement. The family's dire situation apparently played a role in the CEO's decision. A dire situation wouldn't be applicable in your coffee scenario. The CEO also eluded that he wasn't worried about setting a precedence since it is "extremely rare" event. Hence why I quoted that tid bit from the article.

If you do a little bit of googling you will find several entities banning metal bats for the same similar reasons... the little value it added to the game didn't outweigh risks.


NOTE: I too don't agree with the lawsuit but I take offense to using this kid's injury to prove the point. Society has left this family with little assistance nor choice.


>> The measure of civilization is how it treats its weakest members. <<

 

[rexbobcat]

On one hand, I agree that we are law suite happy society and it has had unseen consequences. For example, all the perfectly fine food that establishments throw out because they are past their "sell date" well before their "expiration date" for fear of lawsuits. Meanwhile, we still have the hungry homeless.....

On the other hand, calling a teenager who has suffered a brain injury severe enough that his mother has to wipe his a$$ on a daily basis for possibly the rest of his life a "conniving millionaire" is a bit over the top. I guarantee you that each and every one of us would be desperate to find care for our child in such a situation. This is the type of stuff that can turn a middle class or even affluent family into perpetual bankruptcy and a lifetime of despair.

There are thousands of better examples to prove this point. You picked one with such little regard.

No... I would have rather not seen this go through the court system in the form of a lawsuit but as a society voluntarily give a helping hand. You want to point our problems??? Point to society that backs this behavior... not some brain injured kid.

>> The measure of civilization is how it treats its weakest members. <<

God forbid that something similar happens to you BUT if does, I sure hope you remember the high horse you put yourself on when faced between a miserable quality of life versus funding assistance through possible lawsuits. I fully expect you to stick to your convictions and choose misery.

It's sad, yes. But I guarantee you my family would not sue a bat maker for making a ball go "too fast."


Also; you're measurement sucks. Sometimes treating its weakest members as you think they all should be treated is not feasible or practical. I'm not saying it's right. In just saying that's how it is. An example would be the Native Americans.

Quit being an ass about it. "I hope you remember your high horse." Please. This is like getting in a car crash and blaming the car manufacturer because you got debilitatingly injured.

Desperation does not exempt a family from from the fact they they profited from a tragedy. I'm very sure their hospital bills added up to being 14.5 million dollars.

Maybe I'm just heartless, but I'm really also really not one to say that I truly care about some random human over the Internet, because I really don't. There are plenty of others going through tough times who don't feel the need to blame their problems on a frivolous aspect of their condition.

It's conniving in the same way that selling the rights of my dead wife's name to a book publisher for 14.5 million dollars right after she died might be.

I just don't think it's ethical. Maybe I am on a high horse for wanting people to take responsibility or already stop trying to blame others for accidents, but I really don't give a flying...About how I'm perceived in this sense.

 

[usayit]

Also; you're measurement sucks. Sometimes treating its weakest members as you think they all should be treated is not feasible or practical. I'm not saying it's right. In just saying that's how it is. An example would be the Native Americans.

Your knowledge of history is sorely lacking.... its not my measurement. Its a notion that has withstood the test of time and has been proven and proven time and time again.


You should re-read what I am saying and try to look beyond the tip of your nose. The blame is misdirected. You are a proponent of social darwinism yet have a problem with a family working the system to survive... two really conflicting views. I am pretty sure that if taken to the end of the court system, the family would have lost but the defendant chose to settle (a win in court doesn't always means a long term win).


PS> this has zero to do with ethics. Morals and Ethics play little role in legal proceedings. They do however help guide the laws written on the books.

 

[mjhoward]

Ah.. in that case, I am almost 100% certain you would loose the case.

Apparently not. The parents won the case by suing the Bat Manufacturer (X), for something that the ball (Y) and other player (Z) did.

They didn't win the case... it was a settlement.

Well they sure as hell didn't lose the case with 14.5M in their pocket!

 

[usayit]

Apparently not. The parents won the case by suing the Bat Manufacturer (X), for something that the ball (Y) and other player (Z) did.

They didn't win the case... it was a settlement.

Well they sure as hell didn't lose the case with 14.5M in their pocket!

I bet 14.5M won't be enough to cover this kids lifetime medical expenses.... You guys make it sound like this kid is going to be living the life of luxury.. that is far from the reality they are facing. Would you trade shoes with this kid? If not, reconsider your position.

 

[mjhoward]

They didn't win the case... it was a settlement.

Well they sure as hell didn't lose the case with 14.5M in their pocket!

I bet 14.5M won't be enough to cover this kids lifetime medical expenses....

and? The bat maker should not be liable for what happened in ANY way. They offer a product and the people that purchase that product decide how and when they will use it. This would be the equivalent of Smith&Wesson, Glock, etc. getting sued anytime someone shoots somebody with one of the products they offer. It's a sport anyway... there are known risks involved. When you decide to engage in that sport, you acknowledge and assume all those risks.