We Have Turned Into The "sue 'em" Country

[OnlySunshine]

[b] [size=3]82-Year-Old Sues Trader Joe's After Getting Hit By Can Of Tuna[/size][/b]

[url="http://gothamist.com/2012/10/21/grandma_sues_trader_joes_after_gett.php"]http://gothamist.com..._after_gett.php[/url]


[quote]
In what has to be the single most Upper West Side lawsuit in history, an 82-year-old grandmother is suing Trader Joe's after she was whacked in the head by a can of tuna. And for her trauma, she is seeking a mere [b]$350,000 in damages[/b]. So much for Trader Joe's employees being too friendly.

Longtime customer Tatiana Strage claims in her lawsuit that she was shopping among the "screaming banshees" at the UWS 72nd Street location last February when the can fell from a high shelf and hit her on the bridge of the nose. She claims that two workers stood idly by while she bled and complained of head pain and dizziness. Eventually, they did hand her wipes and a Band-Aid, but it seems she expected something more—perhaps a few cheery inquiries regarding what she was up to that weekend, or if she'd seen that really cool documentary on the guys who competing for the world record in Donkey Kong.

Regardless, she feels their callousness warrants $350,000 in damages. Maybe she'll invoke a Seinfeldian Good Samaritan law...or maybe all she really wanted was the employees to apologize.
[/quote]

Seriously, $350k in damages?!? There is no way she is going to get that much, if anything. I really doubt the judge will do anything except laugh and dismiss the case...

Edited October 22, 2012 by MaterMisericordiae

[Nihil Obstat]

To be entirely fair, if my understanding of how this stuff works is correct, they will generally ask for much more than they expect to get, and the other party will offer way less than they know they will end up paying. If she is suing for $350 000, she may be expecting $100 000 or less, which depending on if she needed medical care or not, may or may not be reasonable. Not knowing the situation obviously I cannot even speculate as to whether or not that aspect is frivolous.
When someone I know was rear-ended several years ago, they ended up having to sue the other driver's insurance company to recover medical costs and whatnot. I think the insurance company's offer for settlement was something like 1/10 or 1/20th of just the medical expenses and legal costs. Just common procedure. So obviously the lawsuit had to demand way in excess of the medical costs, so that when they did meet somewhere in the middle, it would actually be a reasonable amount.

Edited October 22, 2012 by Nihil Obstat

[r2Dtoo]

America has been this way for as long I can remember. Where have you been?

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='Nihil Obstat' timestamp='1350949263' post='2496093']
To be entirely fair, if my understanding of how this stuff works is correct, they will generally ask for much more than they expect to get, and the other party will offer way less than they know they will end up paying. If she is suing for $350 000, she may be expecting $100 000 or less, which depending on if she needed medical care or not, may or may not be reasonable. Not knowing the situation obviously I cannot even speculate as to whether or not that aspect is frivolous.
When someone I know was rear-ended several years ago, they ended up having to sue the other driver's insurance company to recover medical costs and whatnot. I think the insurance company's offer for settlement was something like 1/10 or 1/20th of just the medical expenses and legal costs. Just common procedure. So obviously the lawsuit had to demand way in excess of the medical costs, so that when they did meet somewhere in the middle, it would actually be a reasonable amount.
[/quote]

It still seems entirely ridiculous to sue for a falling can of tuna. Unless someone was rocking the shelf or someone threw it at her, it was unintentional and, at best, negligent. I sincerely doubt that she gained massive head trauma from the can hitting her on the bridge of the nose. I can definitely see how a nosebleed could occur but not dizziness or head pain unless she had a pre-diagnosed medical condition. I think this is the case of turning a molehill into a mountain.

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='r2Dtoo' timestamp='1350949565' post='2496095']
America has been this way for as long I can remember. Where have you been?
[/quote]

Here.

No, really. I meant to be sarcastic but I guess it didn't turn out that way.

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='MaterMisericordiae' timestamp='1350950158' post='2496100']

It still seems entirely ridiculous to sue for a falling can of tuna. Unless someone was rocking the shelf or someone threw it at her, it was unintentional and, at best, negligent. I sincerely doubt that she gained massive head trauma from the can hitting her on the bridge of the nose. I can definitely see how a nosebleed could occur but not dizziness or head pain unless she had a pre-diagnosed medical condition. I think this is the case of turning a molehill into a mountain.
[/quote]
Could be. I really do not trust reporting on 'sensationalist' media stories like these, so I am reserving judgement. But it does not sound to me to be entirely out of the realm of possibility that there is a legitimate claim here.
Just as a for instance, if her nose was actually broken by the falling can, it could have required surgery which, given the corporatist health care system in the US today, could have carried with it a hefty medical bill. I do not know, and really have no way of knowing.

[tinytherese]

What's really dumb is when you see a ridiculous warning on a product like a bag of nuts that says, "Warning: contains nuts," is because someone lacked common sense, sued, and won. There was also that guy that sued McDonald's for making him obese. Come on people, quit blaming others for your mistakes.

*Please note that I am merely commenting on silly lawsuites in general, not this particular case because we do not have all of the details.

[Groo the Wanderer]

she should be shot for failing to duck said can of tuna


was it packed in oil or spring water? that makes all the difference, you know.

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='tinytherese' timestamp='1350954200' post='2496133']
What's really dumb is when you see a ridiculous warning on a product like a bag of nuts that says, "Warning: contains nuts," is because someone lacked common sense, sued, and won. There was also that guy that sued McDonald's for making him obese. Come on people, quit blaming others for your mistakes.

*Please note that I am merely commenting on silly lawsuites in general, not this particular case because we do not have all of the details.
[/quote]

Amen! People are not perfect but we should not blame our mistakes on others. Take responsibility for yourself!

[quote name='Groo the Wanderer' timestamp='1350961154' post='2496173']
she should be shot for failing to duck said can of tuna


was it packed in oil or spring water? that makes all the difference, you know.
[/quote]

[img]http://images.pictureshunt.com/pics/c/cat_laughing-3358.jpg[/img]

[she_who_is_not]

In the words of one of my law professors, "The tort shall inherit the earth."

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='Nihil Obstat' timestamp='1350950539' post='2496104']
Could be. I really do not trust reporting on 'sensationalist' media stories like these, so I am reserving judgement. But it does not sound to me to be entirely out of the realm of possibility that there is a legitimate claim here.
Just as a for instance, if her nose was actually broken by the falling can, it could have required surgery which, given the corporatist health care system in the US today, could have carried with it a hefty medical bill. I do not know, and really have no way of knowing.
[/quote]

Yeah, I can't wait to see what happens when this goes to trial -- if it ever does.

On another site, it says that her son is representing her. I wouldn't doubt that he had something to do with the amount of damages she is trying to recover...

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='she_who_is_not' timestamp='1350965051' post='2496212']
In the words of one of my law professors, "The tort shall inherit the earth."
[/quote]

...and there shall be much wailing and gnashing of teeth...

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='MaterMisericordiae' timestamp='1350965150' post='2496213']
Yeah, I can't wait to see what happens when this goes to trial -- if it ever does.

On another site, it says that her son is representing her. I wouldn't doubt that he had something to do with the amount of damages she is trying to recover...
[/quote]
If it turns out that there is a reasonable case here, and she is not a whack-job, then I am willing to bet that it will be settled out of court.
Of course I am not a lawyer, so that may be an incorrect guess.

Edited October 23, 2012 by Nihil Obstat

[PhuturePriest]

Suing people in this country is so ridiculous that Weird Al made a song out of it. You know the song he wrote called "I'll Sue Ya"? If you haven't, here it is with lyrics. ALL of these cases he says are REAL, and really happened. They are not fake lawsuits for fun, they are 100% authentic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_vrzsgdktY

Edited October 23, 2012 by FuturePriest387

[emmaberry101]

My father is a defense lawyer and defends large companies in cases like this all the time. What's the worst is that lawyers get a bad rap because of sensationalists cases like the one stated in the OP, but what people tend to gloss over is the fact that the lawyer is just doing their job and representing the client. Often, they are not the slimy ones, it's the lady who slips on a puddle outside Walmart who wants to make a quick million dollars off them.

Of course, lawyers [i]can[/i] be slimy. So can chiropractors and accountants and truck drivers. But the profession itself is simply to seek justice on behalf of the client and their situation.

It is surprising how many people are eager to make a quick buck off a fall in a company's parking lot... Even more surprising is the amount of people who have the mindset that, "even if the company does not owe this person any money, they should just give them a couple hundred thousand, because they can spare it."

An example of a typical (ridiculous) case my dad will defend a company for is a fight breaking out in a 24 hour fast food restaurant. The person who took the brunt of it sues the restaurant because they did not physically get in the middle of the fight and break it up, even though it says in the employee rules and contract that they are not to get involved.

As ridiculous as these cases are, though, I'd much prefer to have to wade through these in the courts than have the government sort out 'worthy' and 'unworthy' cases. In the case of the latter, our religious liberties would be under attack so quickly we would not know what happened! It is definitely the safe and free route to keep the courts open to these cases, no matter how ridiculous.