Frivolous lawsuits cost us all

“In 1992, a seventy-nine year old Albuquerque woman (Stella Liebeck) bought a coffee from a McDonald’s drive through. Her grandson was driving and he parked the car so she could add cream and sugar to the drink. She put the cup between her knees and pulled the lid toward her – inevitably the coffee spilt in her lap. She sued McDonald’s for negligence because she claimed the coffee was too hot to be safe. Unbelievably the jury found that McDonald’s was eighty percent responsible for the incident and they awarded Liebeck $160,000 in compensatory damages. But it gets worse: they awarded her $2.7 million punitive damages! The decision was appealed and the two parties ultimately ended up settling out of court for a sum less than $600,000.” Source

This didn’t start the run of frivolous law suits, but it is surely one of the more ridiculous to have succeeded. And it annoys the fire out of me that my milkshakes now have warnings, “Caution: Contents May Be Hot” on them because of it.

“Here’s an interesting scenario: A bar patron purchases and consumes multiple alcoholic beverages at one establishment before being refused service at another because he is intoxicated. He then makes the decision to drive, loses control of his vehicle, and kills a pedestrian. Afterward, the father of the individual killed sues the first establishment for negligence, and wins.

“It may sound like a movie plot, but that’s exactly what happened in Cimino v. The Milford Keg, Inc., 385 Mass. 323 (1981). In that case, a jury found that the bartender was negligent in serving a patron who was exhibiting “drunk, loud and vulgar” behavior and was “visibly intoxicated,” and therefore the death of the pedestrian was proximately caused by the bartender’s negligent act under the state’s Dram Shop Laws.” Source

This one was caused by the grief of a parent looking for someone with deep pockets to blame. When I was in college, two-for-one drink specials were not unusual. A group would go to our favorite pub/restaurant. We’d each order a different drink with dinner, keep one and put the other in the middle of the table for someone else to try. If it was really interesting, we’d pass it around the table. It was fun, it was harmless, and we always stayed long enough to be sober before we left, and usually had one or more designated drivers besides.

After this lawsuit, two-for-one drink specials were a thing of the past. You could get half-price drinks, but not two-for-one drinks. Also, the bars were not allowed to serve you more than one drink at a time. (MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) was also responsible for the changes in some of these laws. I am not saying they are bad changes. They’ve saved the lives of a lot of idiots who don’t take responsibility for themselves and the people who were in their way.)

Let me be clear on one thing. Businesses never pay for these lawsuits. They always pass the costs on to their consumers. Prices go up, insurance companies jack up their rates, and we just end up with less spending power because people either don’t take responsibility for their actions, or they think they are entitled to a lot of money for a tiny grievance.

And don’t think these things just happened in the past. Business News Daily printed their list for the top 10 ridiculous lawsuits of last year:

The top ten Most Ridiculous Lawsuits of 2011 are:

• Convict sues couple he kidnapped for not helping him evade police
• Man illegally brings gun into bar, gets injured in a fight, then sues bar for not searching him for a weapon
• Young adults sue mother for sending cards without gifts and playing favorites
• Woman disagrees with store over 80-cent refund, sues for $5 million
• Mom files suit against exclusive preschool over child’s college prospects
• Man suing for age discrimination says judge in his case is too old
• Obese man sues burger joint over tight squeeze in booths
• Woman sues over movie trailer; says not enough driving in “Drive”
• Passenger’s lawsuit says cruise ship went too fast and swayed from side to side
• Mother sues Chuck E. Cheese – says games encourage gambling in children

These things will not end until society, as a whole (that means US), makes it stop.  That means everyone taking responsibility for their actions.  That means using the courts to redress true wrongs, not to line one’s pockets over an $0.80 refund.  If you don’t like Chuck E. Cheese, DON’T TAKE YOUR KIDS THERE.  If you are committing a crime, you do NOT get to sue those against whom you are committing the crime (there’s one from a few years back where the burglar came in through a skylight, broke his leg falling, and sued the homeowner–don’t think he won, though).  If you had a bad parent, get counseling, divorce your family, move out, and move on.

In other words, it’s your life.  Live it, own it, take responsibility for it.  If you don’t like it, change it.  Don’t tell me you can’t.  There’s always a choice, a way to make a change, even if it is a choice you don’t like.

I have a friend who had polio at the age of 6 months.  It left her a quadriplegic, with limited use of her arms, no use of her legs, and lifelong problems with asthma.  Did not stop her from earning a living because she could type.  Yes, she needed modifications: electric wheelchair, ramps, assistance with dressing, bathing, getting in and out of the chair each day, etc.  But she worked, did embroidery, sang in the church choir (like an angel), and is one of the sweetest women I know.  Until post-polio syndrome kicked in and made breathing difficult (she’s been on a ventilator 24/7 at a nursing home for the last few years), she was taking the world by storm.  She’s a truly nice person to this day.  I’ve never heard her say that anyone owes her anything, other than the paycheck for work done well.

She’s the reason I don’t give street-corner beggars money, unless they are obviously one of the unfortunates with mental illness (most of whom I’ve seen for years).  She’s the reason I don’t give in to “pity parties” often when my back is misbehaving.  Yeah, it hurts to stand, but it’s always hurt to stand and I can stand.  There are things I can’t do any more, but there is so much I can and there are so many who can’t do what I can.

You can, too.  Find what it is and do it.