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Re: Go To School, Get Ahead
Thanks Don: Yep, 700 prior serious injury claims McD knew about. McD knew they served their coffee so hot that if you drank it you'd burn your throat. A 79 year old lady who never sued anyone before spent 8 days in the hospital followed by years of treatment with skin grafts and debridement all over her privates. She asked them to pay $11k, a portion of her medical bills - probably what her health insurance did not pay. They told her to screw off.
She is out of pocket this portion of the medical bills, with all of the credit and other hassles that go with that. She hired a lawyer who laid out the case for McD and tried to get a settlement; they offered $800. They fought tooth and nail for years, ignored a mediator's recommendation to settle for $225k, and told them to screw off again. They spent at least $75k fighting the claim, probably much more, and I gather never offered more than that to the lady.
Despite knowing of 700 claims, including those of prior 3rd degree burns, McD never even bothered to do any safety analysis or alternatives analysis.
The jury awarded $200k, minus 20% for her own negligence (if they'd have said she was 51% negligent she would not have gotten a penny). they also awarded 2 days of McD coffee revenue as punitive damages, which 'tort reform' cut down to $480k.
McD's refused to pay that judgement, and threatened to appeal the case forever, so the old woman settles for some amount likely much less than $600k, after years of lengthy and difficult legal battles.
The attorney probably got, after expenses, somewhere on the order of $100 -150k, which is not terrible for what was probably a good 500 hours of work, spread over several years, which work would have resulted in ZERO income if the jury had decided the old woman was more than 51% at fault. But that is certainly not something most people who spent 7 years and $120k earning a degree would go for as a compensation plan, especially when they have to cover all the overhead, benefits, admin costs, and probably loan their client money to live on and pay medical bills on in the interim too. Oh, and most if not all of the woman's recovery was subject to F***ING INCOME TAX, too! Her health care insurer and doctors got full first money back out of all their efforts as well.
After medical bills, expenses, costs of suit, taxes, etc., she probably scored $150k in pocket...
The news theme for this case reads 'scumbag woman wins $2.7 million for spilled coffee!'
This poor woman gets hate mail and abuse the rest of her life for this case as a 'frivolous lawsuit' posterchild.
and THIS Lawsuit is the BEST EXAMPLE OF LAWSUIT ABUSE?
One of my duties at one time was handling all worldwide litigation for a fortune 500. I was real good at it. Saved millions year over year very quickly.
I can tell you that winning lawsuits and telling people who file them to screw off was often pretty damned easy. Hell, I'd pick low risk claims to force to trial rather than settle, just to test jurisdictions, lawyers, etc., and almost every time the plaintiffs just dismissed the case after a lot of work and walked away rather than bother with trial.
Just food for thought.
McD's knew a number of things in making their decisions: they knew the actual out of pocket expenses. they knew they could hire cheap lawyers to fight to the death. they knew the jury would not be allowed to award more than 3 times out of pocket expenses. Their liability was capped at an amount they evaluated to be less than the desired cost of even bothering to QUESTION whether there was a safer alternative.
McD's coffee is still over 180 degrees... you know, sometimes, it would be nice to give bigcorp an incentive to at least ANALYZE safety and public welfare as one of many concerns in their decision trees.
Or maybe instead someone making $100k in DC should draft and file another regulation in the 'Raiders of the Lost Ark Warehouse' of the CFR, declaring that fast food chains have to keep their coffee at 170 degrees on penalty of a $200 fine, enforceable only by state attorney generals lawsuit, after a $500k study on the subject (paid for by tax dollars, but written by someone in the fast food industry). That's be great. (this is the actual reality of most consumer protection regulations and statutes in the U.S.).
I guess I have let my feelings on this build up a while....
Thanks Don: Yep, 700 prior serious injury claims McD knew about. McD knew they served their coffee so hot that if you drank it you'd burn your throat. A 79 year old lady who never sued anyone before spent 8 days in the hospital followed by years of treatment with skin grafts and debridement all over her privates. She asked them to pay $11k, a portion of her medical bills - probably what her health insurance did not pay. They told her to screw off.
She is out of pocket this portion of the medical bills, with all of the credit and other hassles that go with that. She hired a lawyer who laid out the case for McD and tried to get a settlement; they offered $800. They fought tooth and nail for years, ignored a mediator's recommendation to settle for $225k, and told them to screw off again. They spent at least $75k fighting the claim, probably much more, and I gather never offered more than that to the lady.
Despite knowing of 700 claims, including those of prior 3rd degree burns, McD never even bothered to do any safety analysis or alternatives analysis.
The jury awarded $200k, minus 20% for her own negligence (if they'd have said she was 51% negligent she would not have gotten a penny). they also awarded 2 days of McD coffee revenue as punitive damages, which 'tort reform' cut down to $480k.
McD's refused to pay that judgement, and threatened to appeal the case forever, so the old woman settles for some amount likely much less than $600k, after years of lengthy and difficult legal battles.
The attorney probably got, after expenses, somewhere on the order of $100 -150k, which is not terrible for what was probably a good 500 hours of work, spread over several years, which work would have resulted in ZERO income if the jury had decided the old woman was more than 51% at fault. But that is certainly not something most people who spent 7 years and $120k earning a degree would go for as a compensation plan, especially when they have to cover all the overhead, benefits, admin costs, and probably loan their client money to live on and pay medical bills on in the interim too. Oh, and most if not all of the woman's recovery was subject to F***ING INCOME TAX, too! Her health care insurer and doctors got full first money back out of all their efforts as well.
After medical bills, expenses, costs of suit, taxes, etc., she probably scored $150k in pocket...
The news theme for this case reads 'scumbag woman wins $2.7 million for spilled coffee!'
This poor woman gets hate mail and abuse the rest of her life for this case as a 'frivolous lawsuit' posterchild.
and THIS Lawsuit is the BEST EXAMPLE OF LAWSUIT ABUSE?
One of my duties at one time was handling all worldwide litigation for a fortune 500. I was real good at it. Saved millions year over year very quickly.
I can tell you that winning lawsuits and telling people who file them to screw off was often pretty damned easy. Hell, I'd pick low risk claims to force to trial rather than settle, just to test jurisdictions, lawyers, etc., and almost every time the plaintiffs just dismissed the case after a lot of work and walked away rather than bother with trial.
Just food for thought.
McD's knew a number of things in making their decisions: they knew the actual out of pocket expenses. they knew they could hire cheap lawyers to fight to the death. they knew the jury would not be allowed to award more than 3 times out of pocket expenses. Their liability was capped at an amount they evaluated to be less than the desired cost of even bothering to QUESTION whether there was a safer alternative.
McD's coffee is still over 180 degrees... you know, sometimes, it would be nice to give bigcorp an incentive to at least ANALYZE safety and public welfare as one of many concerns in their decision trees.
Or maybe instead someone making $100k in DC should draft and file another regulation in the 'Raiders of the Lost Ark Warehouse' of the CFR, declaring that fast food chains have to keep their coffee at 170 degrees on penalty of a $200 fine, enforceable only by state attorney generals lawsuit, after a $500k study on the subject (paid for by tax dollars, but written by someone in the fast food industry). That's be great. (this is the actual reality of most consumer protection regulations and statutes in the U.S.).
I guess I have let my feelings on this build up a while....
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