# Whats this country's obsession with suing?



## Perseus (Jul 29, 2003)

Can someone please explain to me why people in this country sue so much? It completely rediculous. "Oh my God, a paper clip I bought from Staples landed on my finger and gave me a microsopic cut so I will sue Staples for $50,000,000!!!" Slight exaggeration there....has anyone else gotten sick of all of these stupid legal actions taking place??


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## Giaguara (Jul 29, 2003)

Yes.

I wonder when I will see something like these in supermarkets and restaurant:

"Attention: abuse of food may cause health problems. We take no responsability of the improper use of the alimentaries we sell."

"Attention: eating not enough or too little may cause health problems for you. Use the food at your own responsability. The [store] takes no responsability of how you use it."


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## dlloyd (Jul 29, 2003)

Don't forget, Perseus, that not everyone here is a U.S. Citizen...


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## Perseus (Jul 29, 2003)

I know that dlloyd. Don't worry so much about it, it's not such a big deal.


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## chemistry_geek (Jul 29, 2003)

Ding ding ding ding.  The answer is M O N E Y!  A quick buck, taking advantage of someone else's neglegence, ripping them off, to take what you are legally entitled to, you get the idea.

You know, sometimes it's not even about money, it's about attitude and how the situation is handled.  Example:  One night when I was going to work, a girl was not paying attention to the road infront of her and struck my car at a stop light.  She didn't do any damage to my car and explained that she was trying to control her dog in the car.  I was alright with her, but hten her boy friend behind her got out and started yelling at me saying it was my fault for stopping.  I told him that, legally, it was her responsibility to not hit me.  He kept yelling at me so I pulled out my cell phone and promptly called 911 and requested assistance.  The girl was cited for the incident.  On the way back to my car the girl's boyfriend said "Merry Christmas" since it was a few days before Christmas, and I replied that I would have let it go if he hadn't been a jerk to me.


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## Perseus (Jul 29, 2003)

I knew someone that got permanent damage to his stomach or something after eating a meal at McDonald's. His family sued, and won. It was proven that the damage was caused by the food itself. I think this kind of case is acceptable.  There was nothing he could have done at the time to know or prevent the damage that the food was going to cause. A lot of people sue over situations that could have been preventable...I mean the guy that was suing because he became obese from fatty foods, that kind of stuff is rubbish. 

It seems the situation you were in was handled quite well. What would you have done if the girl or the girl's boyfriend actually hit you?


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## Giaguara (Jul 29, 2003)

obese people should sue supermarkets, not macdonalds unless they get all their food only at macdonalds.


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## voice- (Jul 29, 2003)

I find the example from Ricky Lake fun. A mother, son and daughter sued McDonalds for being fat. The mother took them all there 3 days a week cause she didn't feel like cooking. A lawyer suggested the children could also sue the mother for giving them unhelthy food...

Suing has gone WAY over the line. It was intended to prevent injustice, now it's used to gain the quick buck from HOLES in the law...


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## Arden (Jul 29, 2003)

That's exactly why people sue.

It's like when someone breaks into someone else's home and gets hurt, whether from a shotgun to the leg or simply broken glass.  He can then sue the homeowner, even though he was trespassing, breaking and entering, and possibly even committing assault.  And people win these cases!  It's lose-lose for the homeowner!  It's really a sad state of affairs.


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## Reality (Jul 29, 2003)

Did a little search, found some outrageous cases. These are only from U.S I take also. Trust me on one thing though, the Europe is father to cases similar to these. Like getting suied for not making your pigs happy.

January 2000: Kathleen Robertson of Austin Texas was awarded $780,000.00 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a  toddler who was running amuck inside a furniture store. The owners of the store were understandably surprised at the verdict, considering  the misbehaving tyke was Ms. Robertson's son.

_June 1998: A 19-year-old Carl Truman of Los Angeles won $74,000.00                and medical expenses when his neighbor ran his hand over with a  Honda Accord. Mr. Truman apparently didn't notice someone was at   the wheel of the car whose hubcap he was trying to steal.

October 1998: A Terrence Dickson of Bristol Pennsylvania was exiting a house he finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not able to get the garage door to go up, 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,  so 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. This upset Mr. Dickson, so he sued the homeowner's insurance claiming the situation caused him undue mental anguish. The jury                agreed to the tune of half a million dollars and change.

October 1999: Jerry Williams of Little Rock, Arkansas was awarded                $14,500.00 and medical expenses after being bitten on the buttocks  by his next door neighbor's beagle. The beagle was on a chain in  its owner's fenced-in yard, as was Mr. Williams. The award was less than sought after 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.

May 2000: A Philadelphia restaurant was ordered to pay Amber Carson  of Lancaster Pennsylvania $113,500.00 after she slipped on a spilled  soft drink and broke her coccyx. The beverage was on the floor because  Ms. Carson threw it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument.

December 1997: Kara Walton of Claymont, Delaware successfully sued                the owner of a night club in a neighboring city when she fell from the bathroom window to the floor and knocked out her two front teeth. This occurred while Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the window  in the lady's room to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge. She wasawarded $12,000.00 and dental expenses


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## Arden (Jul 29, 2003)

Those are some pretty extreme cases.  There should be a law that says you can't sue an establishment if you do something stupid, and you are the only cause of your getting hurt.

Robertson should learn how to control her child.  Is she going to sue herself or her husband if she trips over him at home?
Truman was trying to steal a hubcap.  It's his own fault he was in that situation; he should get nothing from that but a fine or some jail time.
Dickson was stupid enough to break into someone's home and get trapped.  It's his own stupidity that caused him "mental anguish;" why should he profit from that?
Williams should have known better than to provoke an unintelligent animal to the point that it had to defend itself.  Plus, he was probably trespassing.
Carson caused the mess in the first place, and she was stupid enough to slip in it.  She should sue her boyfriend for instigating her to throw her drink at him.
Walton was too cheap to pay the cover, and too stupid to just accept that and go home.  It was her own fault that she got her teeth knocked out; she should have been forced to pay the cover charge and sent home.

We are the masters of our own fate, and the choices we make determine where we will be in the next 5 minutes, the next 5 days or the next 5 years.  People should be smart enough to realize that what they are doing is stupid and not to do it, but they aren't, so that's why they do these things in the first place.  And the juries should be smart enough to see how stupid the instigators were and not reward them for their stupidity.

Reality: Thanks for the stories!  Do you have a cite?


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## chemistry_geek (Jul 30, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Perseus _
> *It seems the situation you were in was handled quite well. What would you have done if the girl or the girl's boyfriend actually hit you? *



I would have tried to remain some place very public where witnesses would be able to observe the situation.  I still would have called 911 if one or both became violent with me.  At that point the situation is not just an automobile accident, but also assault.  And I'm pretty sure that carries some jail time or at least some hefty fines.  Of course, a lawyer would be involved and would recommend and pursue "further action" to obtain "what I'm entitled to".  Money (fines) can have an incredible effect on people when it is used as a means of punishment.  When resources are taken away from you because of your actions, you tend to think more carefully before acting on some fleeting thoughts.

I think I read this on the internet, but in Finland or one of the norwegian/scandinavian countries, speeding tickets don't have a fixed amount as they are here in the USA, i.e., $75 from 1 to 5 mph over the speed limit, $150 from 6 to 10 mph over the speed limit.  In the those other countries, the speeding ticket is based on your annual income.  If you're a millionaire, your ticket is several thousand dollars.  Now that's the way it should be!


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## Giaguara (Jul 30, 2003)

> _Originally posted by chemistry_geek _I think I read this on the internet, but in Finland or one of the norwegian/scandinavian countries, speeding tickets don't have a fixed amount as they are here in the USA, i.e., $75 from 1 to 5 mph over the speed limit, $150 from 6 to 10 mph over the speed limit.  In the those other countries, the speeding ticket is based on your annual income.  If you're a millionaire, your ticket is several thousand dollars.  Now that's the way it should be!



Yes. In Finland they are related to your income - but I don't know what is the minimum amount for a speed ticket. If you get a speed ticket in Finland and you aren't resident there, you don't have to pay it - at least it worked in the 1990s. If you resided in other countries, the expenses for them to get their money were high so they never bothered to do anything. This might have changed since EU. (?? anyone knows?) Also, there you can get a ticket for riding a bicycle on the wrong way! You are supposed to drive only the way the cars are allowed to go - and count this as why it pisses me off to see people that are 12 years or older to ride their bike where you are supposed to walk - your place is where the cars go unless there is a bike road! With no income and no residency there the bike ticket was about 22 $ .. want to try?


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## Giaguara (Jul 30, 2003)

- Why did Ms Robertson sue the furniture store if she was unable to control her own brat? Her brat should sue her because she probably did hurt a lot more him than him her. Besides, if the one causing the injury was her brat, the kid should pay, not the store.  Maybe she could also ask more money, such as rental of her womb .. lets say 10'000 $ x 9 months, and then assisted care lets say 25 $ / hour from 0 to 18 years.. how many hours of care will that be? maybe in media 4-6? how many hours a day do kids need care? probably the kid has also insulted her when he was like 4, she should sue him for every insult too.. and due to her pregnancy she must have lost her body and become fat, she should ask money for that too .. and the suffering of her broken body image ... and the lost working days when she wasn't able to work due to the pregnancy or the brat's fever...

- Why can anyone trying to steal anything gt money sewing for getting injured? Do we soon start to see "If you are trying to steal or destroy the property of XX you are at your own risk. If you get shot, beaten by a dog, beaver, bear, wild lion or a shark, it is your own risk. You have been warned. We take no responsability of you while you are trying to steal, destroy etc XXs property."

- to be attached close to animals: "Do not disturb the animal. If you attempt to disturb it, we take no responsability of the animal possibly defending itself or giving you back what you wanted. If you get injured, you asked for it."

- Ms Carson's case is absurd. If anyone else slipped to her drink, the same 30 seconds after her dropping it on the floor, i think the payer should have been HER. It is impossible for a restaurant, even with only those 2 clients, to clean the mess she caused in 30 seconds. Do we now need signs like "Do not spill yuour drink on the floor. Do not step on anyone else's drink."

- Ms Walton .. huh. Well. I was beaten up last year, woke up with no money and no documents in a hospital in France and a tiny bit of my front teeth was missing, must have lost it while beaten. I don't know who beat me. Do I sue now the city of Paris for having allowed the beting up to happen in a public place? And the police because they have not caught the bastard? Who do I sue to get a ridiculous amount of money for having been beaten up, having been depressed and in pain after that, and to have that tiny bit of my tooth fixed? I have no insurance and no $ to fix it still ...


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## Reality (Jul 30, 2003)

> _Originally posted by arden _
> *Reality: Thanks for the stories!  Do you have a cite? *



NP. I founf theme here http://www.jokeave.com/funp/court/index.php. They have some other funny stuff but this was all they had on court cases.


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## bobw (Jul 30, 2003)

Lawyers make the Laws in the US. Lawyers profit from law suits. Not going to change. Although, Congress is looking into passing a law that would prevent fat people from suing places like McDonalds.

Should be a law passed that would prevent stupid people from ever talking to a lawyer. The people that eat too much, spill hot coffee on themselves while driving, get caught in someones house while robbing it and get the crapped kicked out of them. 

Ever since Lawyers were allowed to start advertising, it's gotten out of hand. 

Lawyer's, the only thing lower than whale sh*t!!


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## Reality (Jul 30, 2003)

Here is a new one to watch out for. 

http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/07/30/rape.law.ap/index.html

Take note fellows, though to you it's just the fun of getting some. She can change her mind and call it rape. :S


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## Giaguara (Jul 30, 2003)

some fun from that same site:

"Colorado                Springs: A guy walked into a little corner store with a shotgun                and demanded all the cash from the cash drawer. After the cashier                put the cash in a bag, the robber saw a bottle of scotch that he                wanted behind the counter on the shelf. He told the cashier to put                it in the bag as well, but he refused and said "Because I don't                believe you are over 21." The robber said he was, but the clerk                still refused to give it to him because he didn't believe him. At                this point the robber took his drivers license out of his wallet                and gave it to the clerk. The clerk looked it over, and agreed that                the man was in fact over 21 and he put the scotch in the bag. The                robber then ran from the store with his loot. The cashier promptly                called the police and gave the name and address of the robber that                he got off the license. They arrested the robber two hours later."

"A woman                was reporting her car as stolen, and mentioned that there was a                car phone in it. The policeman taking the report called the phone                and told the guy that answered that he had read the ad in the newspaper                and wanted to buy the car. They arranged to meet, and the thief                was arrested."


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## Perseus (Jul 30, 2003)

I've watched TV programs that have the world's stupidest criminals on them, with stories like that. One criminal even decided to hide in a trunk full of ice!!! I think he practically froze to death. 

Ever see programs like  that?


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## Reality (Jul 30, 2003)

The only programs I ever see like that are the Worlds Worst Drivers. They may show maybe 1-2 filmed chaces from the US.


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## chemistry_geek (Jul 30, 2003)

It is fairly well known that most criminals do not have high IQs, otherwise they would find another way to solve whatever dilema they find themselves in.  All you have to do is go to a college library and look up "IQ" and of the many hits that come back on the computer screen, some will involve studies of prison inmates' IQs.  I found a few of the books and started reading some.  Quite interesting reading, certainly IQ isn't the only factor in getting them into prison, but it ranks rather high.  Some of the prison population have other neurological anomalies like being psychotic, insane, and other "mild" features of rigorously defined neurological disorders.


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## bobw (Jul 30, 2003)

Courttv.com;

Resume not required for bank heists                                                                                    

FORT WORTH, Texas                                                                              Perhaps he was on his way to a career fair, but  Frederick McDowell wasn't seeking a job when he walked into a bank with his resume in hand.

According to police, McDowell, 32, used the back of his resume to print a robbery note, which stated that he had a bomb, to hold up a Wells Fargo Bank on July 15.  

After a teller placed a few thousand dollars in his bag, McDowell left the bank  and left his note behind.  

To his credit, McDowell did try to conceal the resume by taping a sheet of black construction paper on the opposite side of the note, police said.  

But when crime scene officers looking for fingerprints peeled back the construction paper they found the second page of McDowell's typed resume, complete with his name and work and education experience.  

According to the resume, McDowell had a high school diploma and had worked clerical jobs. Now he is going to have experience with federal authorities. 

Armed with the revealing resume, police obtained a federal bank robbery warrant for McDowell and followed a tip that led them to the suspect, who was staying at a Motel 6 in Fort Worth, on July 19.

McDowell remains in custody awaiting a hearing in Fort Worth federal court on July 28, according to FBI Detective Carlos Ortega, who does not know why McDowell used his resume to write his note but called it "an odd deal."

McDowell faces charges of bank robbery and could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison if convicted, according to Ortega.


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## JohnnyV (Jul 30, 2003)

The way I see it, there are two reasons for this:

1.  GREED!! Greed is at in all time high in the world, everyone wants everything, people I too worried about what people think and have to have the biggest and best things.  They want to be cool....


2.  Over abundance of lawyers


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## Arden (Jul 30, 2003)

3. They can get away with it!  The above cases Reality posted should all have been thrown out of the courtroom, along with a severe case of the guffaws.  However, they all came out in the idiot's favor!  What is wrong with these people?

It should be a crime to have a name like Rod Blagojevich, the Illinois senator... just kidding, Mr. Blagojehoseva... um, Mr. B.!    But seriously, that is really wacky.  How are they going to determine that she agreed to sex at first, then changed her mind?  Imagine the manipulation power women have now!  They could agree to have sex, then change their minds just to get the guy in trouble.  That is totally wacky!  They'll have to record everything that goes on in the bedroom on cassette tape just to be sure that they agreed at first... and you know what they'll say to that!


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## Giaguara (Jul 30, 2003)

Arden wait that the iPods have the record capacity enabled. Grab your bedroom moments to your iPod just in case you need some proof later .... and then make the greedy, overpaid lawyers fall in love with the iPods ...


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## Arden (Jul 30, 2003)

Yeah... the iPod I don't have, right? 

BTW, what does all the... stuff... at the bottom of your sig mean, G?


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## Giaguara (Jul 30, 2003)

De-code geek code  I should update it though ...


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## Arden (Aug 2, 2003)

You should update your own code, you mean?

I looked through that page, and I think _it_ needs to be updated as well.


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