"The film 'made plaintiffs the object of ridicule, humiliation, mental anguish and emotional and physical distress, loss of reputation, goodwill and standing in the community,' the lawsuit said."


Sounds to me more like it should read:
...."the plaintiffs made themselves the object of ridicule...."

How about that guy that bought a new RV and he was driving down the hwy....He walked to the back of the RV to get something and ofcourse the RV crashed...He went after the right parties and won a major lawsuit, nothing in the manual said that you can't leave the driverseat while ya driving a RV down the road...Duhh...

Having spent the majority of my career in some sort of customer service, we have developed categories of people we deal with. One of them is "I'm stupid and it's your fault." Seems appropriate here.

Point taken. True about the media never giving the correct (and true) facts. Still, sometimes the punitive damage awards are a bit on the high side. I'm sure the skin grafts also were attributed to the fact that lady was elderly. (exactly how old? I don't know) I know that when you are also "frail" as the case may be, you have a tendency to also injure quite easily. Did the other serious injuries require skin grafts also? Any burn is serious, but when it was stated as serious injuries, how bad were the burns? One, two or third degree? I understand totally that you have to hit a pocketbook or two to get a response, but in return we have the trickle down effect. RE: Insurance rates going sky high. What about the gentleman that sued Phillip-Morris because he was "addicted" to cigarettes and that they gave him lung cancer which he eventually succumbed to? Heck everyone knows that cig's cause lung cancer. Sorry, no award there.

all these years, and that is the first true account i ever read of that suit. very interesting how the media uses what it wasnts out of a story to get a desired reaction.

i have had the misfortune of having to retain an attorney or two in my time, and had nothing but postive experiences with them.

i hate people who generalize a group of people.

damn,posted too slow again!!!!

Somebody correct me if I am wrong. From what I remember of that McD/coffee suit, the lady went through the drive through, got the coffee, and put the cup between her thighs as she drove out. Is this correct or am I having a brain spasm?

patatjemet, no court at all today, and I don't think I've ever had a bad day in court. I don't mind your sentiments, they're about as accurate as the completely made up RV lawsuit you site. Never happened.

http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/cruise.asp

Bobber, not familiar with the one you site, but I'm guessing there are some facts left out there as well.

dcg - the injuries in the other cases were significant enought to require medical attention and put McDonalds on notice that there was a problem. You intimate that the punitive damage award was too high. Do you know how much it was? Do you know how much it would need to be to impact a multi-billion dollar corporation? All I'm saying is people need all the facts before they jump to conclusions and you rarely get that from the media.

I posted too slow also SJ. I don't hate lawyers. I think highly of my cousins and most lawyers. I just hate the dumb a**ses that bring forth the suits for THEIR stupididty. RV-guy, what Bobber posted earlier too about the lawn mower dude. Those are the ones I want to throttle. Hey, we all have to make a living! BUT trying to make some easy money is a bit much on my part.
Heck, my best friend from high school got a settlement on the Phen/fen suit. But she IS sick. There are 2 sides to stories. Sometimes 3!

She wasn't driving, she was a passenger.