I know USA is a tort-friendly, lawyer- society, but...

Topic: I know USA is a tort-friendly, lawyer- society, but... (Read 4572 times) previous topic - next topic

I know USA is a tort-friendly, lawyer- society, but...

Reply #15 – March 29, 2007, 01:00:38 PM

Quote from: kingcars;137053

I remember hearing about a lawsuit where a guy driving an RV decided to put the cruise control on, then went to the back for some coffee. Needless to say, it got wrecked, and he sued the company....

...and won.

It's not as much the companies' fault for this, but more so for the dumbass people we have living in this world.

EDIT: While we're on the subject of dumb court cases, here's a good one:

A family was away on vacation. A burglar tried breaking in through the garage and somehow got himself locked in the garage. He had to live off of dog food and Pepsi for a week, then turned around and sued the family for malnutrition...and won.

Do you have "actual factual" truth that those were real cases?

For one, I've heard soooo many variations of the RV story I'm a bit skeptical about it.

The other, I dunno. My aforementioned lawyer lady friend calls BS on a lot of those burglar stories, she says several of the rediculous lawsuit tales circulating around are urban legends of sorts.

I know USA is a tort-friendly, lawyer- society, but...

Reply #16 – March 29, 2007, 01:21:47 PM

I'm not blaming the lawyers. I think it is more of a lawmakers problem. If we had a Common sense law we wouldn't have to have all this . Come on people until the late 90's if you went some where and ordered coffee and it didn't get to you hot you would have complained and got some new coffee. But some judge thoght it was a good Idea to give some old lady some money for getting hot coffee that should be hot. Then he gave her a sh#t ton of money when she spilled her hot coffee that she ordered hot and would complain if it wasn't hot. What kind of shiznit it that. It is a place where no one is made to use common sense any more. That is the whole problem.

I know USA is a tort-friendly, lawyer- society, but...

Reply #17 – March 29, 2007, 01:27:27 PM

Quote from: kingcars;137053

I remember hearing about a lawsuit where a guy driving an RV decided to put the cruise control on, then went to the back for some coffee. Needless to say, it got wrecked, and he sued the company....

...and won.

It's not as much the companies' fault for this, but more so for the dumbass people we have living in this world.

EDIT: While we're on the subject of dumb court cases, here's a good one:

A family was away on vacation. A burglar tried breaking in through the garage and somehow got himself locked in the garage. He had to live off of dog food and Pepsi for a week, then turned around and sued the family for malnutrition...and won.

O RLY?

http://www.snopes.com/legal/lawsuits.asp

I know USA is a tort-friendly, lawyer- society, but...

Reply #18 – March 29, 2007, 01:40:13 PM

A lot of this epidemic can be explained using simple math.

There are more people now in the U.S. than ever before (300 million+).
Graduation rates are not great.
Therefore, more dumb people are in this country now than ever before.
The way people raise children is also highly questionable; this doesn't help matters. If things were great then TV shows like "Supernanny" wouldn't exist.

Like it or not, the uneducated exist in large numbers in the U.S. It really is no wonder that there are disclaimers everyone. They shouldn't be. However, until there is a mass installation of common sense across the population, things are likely to continue in a downward fashion.

Likewise, lawyers will do anything to find a loophole if it means a potential settlement in their favor. Their own codes of ethics could use a huge dose of common sense.

I know USA is a tort-friendly, lawyer- society, but...

Reply #19 – March 29, 2007, 01:46:29 PM

I love the towel dispensers in public bathrooms. You know the ones with the cloth towel that goes in a continuous loop. Those around here have a label on them warning you not to stick your head in the loop.
I can only assume somebody must have done this at one time

I know USA is a tort-friendly, lawyer- society, but...

Reply #20 – March 29, 2007, 03:38:27 PM

I for one am a violation of those caution labels, half the time the label makes you wonder what would happen. Im smart enough not to do anything really dangerous, but its stupid people, that decide to do stupid things to amuse them selfs half the time. like the axe cans, i have so many moron friends who set each other on fire with them, hence why the label is there.

I know USA is a tort-friendly, lawyer- society, but...

Reply #21 – March 29, 2007, 03:49:12 PM

Quote from: Ether947;137057

They are just following the law. I would blame the lawyers before them.

I thought they were there to interpret the law, not follow it. That's our duty.

I still think this whole "stupidity" movement stems back to the judges/juries for allowing such cases to happen.

I know USA is a tort-friendly, lawyer- society, but...

Reply #22 – March 29, 2007, 05:39:17 PM

Quote from: Jim_Miller;137073

I love the towel dispensers in public bathrooms. You know the ones with the cloth towel that goes in a continuous loop. Those around here have a label on them warning you not to stick your head in the loop.
I can only assume somebody must have done this at one time

That's why some of them are there, because someone did it, they got sued, and don't want to get sued again. I forget who it was but a comedian did a thing on this and one of the things was there was instructions on the package of how to make pop-tarts. Makes you wonder.

I know USA is a tort-friendly, lawyer- society, but...

Reply #23 – March 29, 2007, 08:15:46 PM

Quote from: stuntmannick;137093

I thought they were there to interpret the law, not follow it. That's our duty.

I still think this whole "stupidity" movement stems back to the judges/juries for allowing such cases to happen.

The lawyers for both sides are there to inform the jury of the law and how it applies to the plaintiff and defendant. Juries are not professional lawmakers and most do not have the foggiest idea of how courtrooms and the legal system operate. They supposedly also don't know who is the guilty party (or if any party is guilty) until they hear the case, as presented by lawyers and as advised by judges.

For example, the plaintiff's lawyer might bring a certain point about that is not relevant or some evidence that may be questionable (in its validity or in the way it was obtained). The defendant's lawyer will immediately object, and if the objection is reasonable the judge will reject the testimony or evidence and will instruct the jury to do so as well. The problem that arises is that although the judge may tell the jury to disregard evidence, the jury is full of common people, and once they've heard it it's hard to forget or disregard it. The lawyer that presented it to begin with knows full well that it'll be rejected, but he also knows it WILL influence the jury, whether it's rejected or not.

That's the problem with the jury system - you're relying on common people that may put more emphasis on compassion than law. They feel bad for the guy that got injured in the accident, so they make him rich.

That Snopes article actually presents some very good arguments both for and against tort reform. What I'd like to see is the so-called "punitive damages" awards (the very large cash sums awarded to plaintiffs when the defendant is found willfully negligent) going to charity instead of the defendant. That way the corporation is still punished, but the money might do some good. For example, if you break your neck by tripping in a Wal-Mart, and it's proven that Wal-Mart knew about that slippery floor for decades, and that many people have slipped on it and gotten injured but Wal-Mart didn't fix it, a punitive damage award should be made toward spinal injury research. That way the guy that broke his neck might someday walk again.

I know USA is a tort-friendly, lawyer- society, but...

Reply #24 – March 29, 2007, 09:33:21 PM

Quote from: blueovalford;137116

I forget who it was but a comedian did a thing on this and one of the things was there was instructions on the package of how to make pop-tarts. Makes you wonder.

Brian Regan

3 sec to zap fry a pop tart its a classic.

Preperation H is another. "Do not take oraly". Who? What? Huh?

I know USA is a tort-friendly, lawyer- society, but...

Reply #25 – March 30, 2007, 12:58:51 AM

Quote from: kingcars;137053

EDIT: While we're on the subject of dumb court cases, here's a good one:

A family was away on vacation. A burglar tried breaking in through the garage and somehow got himself locked in the garage. He had to live off of dog food and Pepsi for a week, then turned around and sued the family for malnutrition...and won.

Reminds me of the movie Liar Liar. Where the old lady says: My friend had a burglar break in through the skylight, and fall and cut himself on a butchers knife. He sued her for $X,000 and won.

I know USA is a tort-friendly, lawyer- society, but...

Reply #26 – April 02, 2007, 10:59:14 AM

cure for stupidity: find stupid person

till either incoherent or dead repeat as necessary.

warning: do not take this if you have to operate heavy machinery, drive short or long distances, walk and chew at the same time or any other situation that may require your immediate attention.

koldhearted enterprises not responsible for any results you may attain.

I know USA is a tort-friendly, lawyer- society, but...

Reply #27 – April 02, 2007, 11:13:21 AM

Take a look at my avatar...
We recieved a piece of equipment at work and stuck on every side was the warning label. It had this picture and another picture. The other picture had guys with the IBM logo on them meaning nobody buy IBM employees should move it.

Ron White said it best. You can't fix stupid.

My Tiburon has some funny labels on it. Let me tell you the back seat is not meant for full grown adults. Midgets yes, but the average adult, no. If you sit in the car with the hatch open you can clearly tell if it closes, it will hit you, yet they still put the label on. The picture shows the profile of the car with an adult sitting in the back with the hatch open. You can clearly see their head and top half of the body sticking out of the car. Between the persons head and the hatch is a red lightning bolt. It's hilarious.

I know USA is a tort-friendly, lawyer- society, but...

Reply #28 – April 02, 2007, 06:34:45 PM

Quote from: EricCoolCats;137068

The way people raise children is also highly questionable; this doesn't help matters.

Ya know whats funny? Soooo many of today's problems can be traced back to one thing: parenting. Media causing violence in children? Well, where the hell are the parents to either A) filter this stuff from their child/ren until they believe they're ready to see it or B) teach their child/ren right from wrong? Kids not graduating? Raise responsable children! If only more people with at least a minimal amount of maturity and brain capacity would raise children...

How many times do you go in public, see a small child do something stupid and/or act selfish or annoying, only for the parent to softly say "Ok now, [name], dont do that again." Or even the opposite end of that. One time I saw a small kid se his knee on the sidewalk and he cried (not loudly either) and his dad kept hitting him hard with a paint stirrer telling him to shut up. Parents like these are what's wrong with today's society.

I know USA is a tort-friendly, lawyer- society, but...

Reply #29 – April 02, 2007, 09:01:45 PM

Quote from: kingcars;137855

How many times do you go in public, see a small child do something stupid and/or act selfish or annoying, only for the parent to softly say "Ok now, [name], dont do that again." Or even the opposite end of that. One time I saw a small kid se his knee on the sidewalk and he cried (not loudly either) and his dad kept hitting him hard with a paint stirrer telling him to shut up. Parents like these are what's wrong with today's society.

And there is the problem with kids: The lawmakers have decided that there is no acceptable way to punish a kid. It's not bad enough that a father or mother can't give a kid a proper whooping when they do something wrong (and I'm not talking about beating a kid for the sake of beating him), but now even the schools can't do a thing. If a kid fails, the parents sue the school. Schools, afraid of lawsuits, allow children to progress when they shouldn't.

A good example of how stupid it is: A friend of mine's father & mother have a nice hedge around their yard. They live near the seedier area of town. A single mother recently moved in, and her three kids have been terrorizing the neighbourhood ever since. They jump in and tear up the aforementioned hedges (as well as other neighbours' hedges), climb on people's cars, abuse local pets, the whole nine yards. My buddy's father has yelled at them, only to have obscenities hurled at him. They came back that night and tore his gate off the fence, right before his eyes. A neighbour has been videotaping the damage these kids are doing. The police have been called several times.

The police. Ya know what they said? "The kids are under 12, so we can't do anything at all". So these kids are free to terrorize the neighbourhood and the people can't do a thing about it. If they tried, THEY'D be charged. The mother of the kids is on welfare and has nothing, so she can't be sued for the damage her kids cause. And the police have spoken to her, but she claims she can't control the kids.

That's justice.

I keep telling these people to call Child Services. If that mother can't control her kids, and if she is allowing them to become criminals, she should lose 'em. Simple as that. I know that if those were MY hedges I'd have 'em strung with razor wire.