Today We Mourn

[MDowdey]

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend by the name of
Common Sense who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure
how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic
red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such value lessons as
knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm,
and that life isn't always fair.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not kids,
are in charge). His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well
intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.
Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for
kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after
lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only
worsened his condition. It declined even further when schools were required
to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student; however they
could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Finally, Common sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments
became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received
better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to
realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, she spilled a bit in her
lap, and was awarded a huge settlement.


Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust,
his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.


He is survived by two stepbrothers; My Rights and Ima Whiner.


Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.



:::sigh:::

md

 

[terri]

:thumbup:

 

[voodoocat]

:::sigh:::

what he said.

 

[Canon Fan]

Wow, thats basically what I have been saying for quite some time. You put it in such better wording though :thumbup: and :cry:

 

[danalec99]

:thumbup::thumbup:

 

[MDowdey]

i wish i could take the credit for that most excellent piece of prose, but i found it on my harddrive from awhile back. it basically says what im all about.

 

[Tammy]

had me ... till the end....


McFact No. 1: For years, McDonald's had known they had a problem with the way they make their coffee - that their coffee was served much hotter (at least 20 degrees more so) than at other restaurants.

McFact No. 2: McDonald's knew its coffee sometimes caused serious injuries - more than 700 incidents of scalding coffee burns in the past decade have been settled by the Corporation - and yet they never so much as consulted a burn expert regarding the issue.

McFact No. 3: The woman involved in this infamous case suffered very serious injuries - third degree burns on her groin, thighs and buttocks that required skin grafts and a seven-day hospital stay.

McFact No. 4: The woman, an 81-year old former department store clerk who had never before filed suit against anyone, said she wouldn't have brought the lawsuit against McDonald's had the Corporation not dismissed her request for compensation for medical bills.

McFact No. 5: A McDonald's quality assurance manager testified in the case that the Corporation was aware of the risk of serving dangerously hot coffee and had no plans to either turn down the heat or to post warning about the possibility of severe burns, even though most customers wouldn't think it was possible.

McFact No. 6: After careful deliberation, the jury found McDonald's was liable because the facts were overwhelmingly against the company. When it came to the punitive damages, the jury found that McDonald's had engaged in willful, reckless, malicious, or wanton conduct, and rendered a punitive damage award of 2.7 million dollars. (The equivalent of just two days of coffee sales, McDonalds Corporation generates revenues in excess of 1.3 million dollars daily from the sale of its coffee, selling 1 billion cups each year.)

McFact No. 7: On appeal, a judge lowered the award to $480,000, a fact not widely publicized in the media.

McFact No. 8: A report in Liability Week, September 29, 1997, indicated that Kathleen Gilliam, 73, suffered first degree burns when a cup of coffee spilled onto her lap. Reports also indicate that McDonald's consistently keeps its coffee at 185 degrees, still approximately 20 degrees hotter than at other restaurants. Third degree burns occur at this temperature in just two to seven seconds, requiring skin grafting, debridement and whirlpool treatments that cost tens of thousands of dollars and result in permanent disfigurement, extreme pain and disability to the victims for many months, and in some cases, years.

Source
http://www.citizen.org/congress/civjus/tort/myths/articles.cfm?ID=785
http://www.vanfirm.com/mcdonalds-coffee-lawsuit.htm

79 year old Stella Liebeck suffered third degree burns on her groin and inner thighs while trying to add sugar to her coffee at a McDonalds drive through. Third degree burns are the most serious kind of burn. McDonalds knew it had a problem. There were at least 700 previous cases of scalding coffee incidents at McDonalds before Liebeck's case. McDonalds had settled many claim before but refused Liebeck's request for $20,000 compensation, forcing the case into court. Lawyers found that McDonalds makes its coffee 30-50 degrees hotter than other restaurants, about 190 degrees. Doctors testified that it only takes 2-7 seconds to cause a third degree burn at 190 degrees. McDonalds knew its coffee was exceptionally hot but testified that they had never consulted with burn specialist. The Shriner Burn Institute had previously warned McDonalds not to serve coffee above 130 degrees. And so the jury came back with a decision- $160,000 for compensatory damages. But because McDonalds was guilty of "willful, reckless, malicious or wanton conduct" punitive damages were also applied. The jury set the award at $2.7 million. The judge then reduced the fine to less than half a million. Ms. Liebeck then settled with McDonalds for a sum reported to be much less than a half million dollars. McDonald's coffee is now sold at the same temperature as most other restaurants.

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0122-11.htm

(I'm sorry, but I'm all in favor of ending frivolous lawsuits - I just don't think this is a valid example of one.)

 

[4HourNap]

.....................

 

[aggiezach]

Learned about tort laws today in my Business Law class. People sue for the dumbest crap sometimes. RIDICULOUS! Although the McDonalds things was pretty reckless. Thanks for that excellent piece of poetry MD! I would like to think that this thing called common sense will one day be reincarnated in a bolder and more powerful form! Please let this be the truth!

Zach