Scum sucking lawyers

Gonz

Gonz

molṑn labé
Staff member
I am against tort reform. It leaves way too many possible intangibles to hurt the little guy. On the other hand, $2,000,000. for spilling hot coffee between your legs is moronic.

What brings this up is the Doctors on strike thing happening in W VA.

One doctor was quoted on the radio as saying; "My malpractice insurance has risen from $13,000. a year to $53,000. a year & I've never had a (law)suit brought against me."

What the hell is that but a reason for tort reform. No wonder the Dr's are pissed. What can be done to solve this little issue? I know I'm stumped.
 
I want a full tort overturn. We need a loser pays legal system like the English empire. 80% of lawsuits will dry up overnight.
 
punitive damages can go nutso... agreed.

The McDonalds case in question is a muddy one. They had been sued prior and ordered to reduce the temp of the served coffee many times. All of their systems were designed to brew and serve at a degree or two below the boiling point instead of 30 degrees (F) below boiling. McDonalds kept ignoring it thinking that a refit would too expensive. The lawyers smelled blood and took McDonalds to the cleaners because they were able to put McDonalds on the full defensive instead of a matter of personal responsibility.
 
They should make insurance illegal. Thats the real culprit. If it weren't for insurance, people would have to act more responsibly in the first place and be accountable for their actions. If you didn't think you would recover damages for others actions, you'd be more aware of your own... And what settlements did occur, would be more realistic. Medical costs would fall, auto prices would fall, people would drive more responsibly , and on and on...Insurance is evil.
 
Not really. Without insurance, people being sued for poor driving, etc, would simply declare bankruptcy and default on the payments. Insurance ensures that the injured are compensated. And then they whip the culprit like a gov't mule as punishment.

What the insurance companies need is the right to recup the payout from negligent clients.
 
Didn't the main hospital in Las Vegas shut down for a while because all the malpractice insurers had pulled out of Nevada or something?
 
i'd like to see common sense judgements on personal injury cases. 'you tripped over a paving slab and banged your knee and you want 10k?' my insurance gets to go up nice and high because unscrupulous pi companies are putting nonsense through the courts :grumpy:
 
The insurance companies are settling claims to avoid lawsuits & being forced to pay higher settlements or claims. It's the scum sucking lawyers that create the high insurance bills. Insurance has it's own problems, to be sure, but they aren't the problem in this case.

I used the McDonalds case as a prime example of stupidity but there are far more. Look at the warnings on your blow dryer. Is that really necessary? Loser pays is a good suggestion however, what if someone has an actual claim but it's shaky? How many people can afford to take that chance?
 
Don't hate the player.. hate the game. The lawyers are only doing what the laws say they can do. Change the basis of the legal structure wherein they are doing it all.
 
Which brings us back to some sort of tort reform.

What's the lesser of the two evils, Gonz? A chance that the ocassional victim might be undercompensated, or the economic costs to all of us being extracted under the current tort system?

A good, well thought out plan of tort reform would be a godsend to the US.
 
And who's fault was it that they spilled the coffee?

I saw a Family Guy episode where Peter was trying to sell his soul ot the devil for something. Satans assistant was "I'm sorry, but he sold his soul to you in 1969. And again in 1981" and thne the devil sayd "Where's a lawyer when I need one?" and all the people in hell raise their hands because they are all lawyers...
 
Altron said:
And who's fault was it that they spilled the coffee?
Click to expand...
The argument was made that the near boiling liquid went beyond the specifications of the cup it was poured into and possibly contributed to the cup being softend enough that it was predisposed to buckle when handled.
 
unclehobart said:
Altron said:
And who's fault was it that they spilled the coffee?
Click to expand...
The argument was made that the near boiling liquid went beyond the specifications of the cup it was poured into and possibly contributed to the cup being softend enough that it was predisposed to buckle when handled.
Click to expand...

Actually, unc, the lady in question was speeding, driving erratically, and had the cup between her legs when the spill occured. Evidently, she forwent the cup holder and paid the price...which immediately became McDonalds price afterward.
 
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.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top