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I think you are being a little harsh on the "all agree with" conclusion. From what I could tell she has no interest in anyone agreeing with her that she is in the right to sue and get compensation. She, as Thomas Jefferson so eloquently put it, holds that truth to be self evident.
No, she very specifically wanted ”only” agreement that her pain and suffering was worth at least $100,000.
OK - well I will give you an argument (that would get any lawyer a mistrial - IOW - not allowed).
You're a pretty much healthy senior. And I offer to place 2 very hot pieces of glass on your shoulder/back. One of which results in second/third degree burns. Hideously painful for weeks. Oozing and disgusting for weeks. And - after 8 weeks - you wind up with a 3x4 inch scar that can never be exposed to the sun again. And has to be moisturized daily (because all your oil glands have been destroyed). And you have to be careful for the next 1-2 years in terms of what you wear - what you do (you can't rub/irritate the area) - so you don't mess up your new "baby skin".
I have these 2 super hot pieces of glass in my hand here. How much do I have to offer you to put them on your shoulder and burn a hole in it? Would you take $500 - $1000 for me to burn you and disfigure you permanently? Maybe more? Everyone here - what is the minimum you'd take to prevent me from pressing a scorching hot piece of glass on you? You know - there are some people who are sadists who would gladly pay you $500 to put you in agony. How little would you accept to hurt like he** for a fair amount of time? Robyn
OK - well I will give you an argument (that would get any lawyer a mistrial - IOW - not allowed).
You're a pretty much healthy senior. And I offer to place 2 very hot pieces of glass on your shoulder/back. One of which results in second/third degree burns. Hideously painful for weeks. Oozing and disgusting for weeks. And - after 8 weeks - you wind up with a 3x4 inch scar that can never be exposed to the sun again. And has to be moisturized daily (because all your oil glands have been destroyed). And you have to be careful for the next 1-2 years in terms of what you wear - what you do (you can't rub/irritate the area) - so you don't mess up your new "baby skin".
I have these 2 super hot pieces of glass in my hand here. How much do I have to offer you to put them on your shoulder and burn a hole in it? Would you take $500 - $1000 for me to burn you and disfigure you permanently? Maybe more? Everyone here - what is the minimum you'd take to prevent me from pressing a scorching hot piece of glass on you? You know - there are some people who are sadists who would gladly pay you $500 to put you in agony. How little would you accept to hurt like he** for a fair amount of time? Robyn
I do not know if you will understand what I am asking here.
Who are you really mad at? Is it your hubby who didn't buy the correct glass? Are you mad at yourself because you didn't go to the store yourself? Are you mad because someone did what an ordinary person would do? Whoever sold the glass to your husband.... full time? owner/part owner of store? part timer?
You are really dragging this out and I think you are waiting for someone to jump on your ship.
What happened to you is a terrible thing and I do feel bad for your injuries, treatment, pain.
Sometimes we have to "suck it up" and say it was my fault. I should have done ........whatever........
I know you will blow over my response, but I think it's quite possibly correct.
If I go into a cutlery store to purchase a new knife, I bring it home and cut the end of my finger off, whose fault is that? Should I sue the cutlery for selling me a sharp knife??
Last edited by NYgal1542; 06-04-2016 at 05:15 PM..
Reason: Edited to add last lines.
Do I recall wrong - or have you not filed a personal injury or similar lawsuit before? Yes or no? Remind me of the facts if you did. On our part - my husband and I have only filed one lawsuit in our whole lives. When we lived in an apartment in Philadelphia about 45 years ago. The fire escape wasn't up to code. And a robber entered our bedroom at night when we were sleeping and stole our wallet/purse/money. We sued to break our lease (18 months remaining) - because we wanted to move to a safer place - and get the current month's rent back. The landlord readily settled for both. IOW - neither my husband nor I are particularly litigious people. Robyn
yep , i sure did have a law suite . a woman tree lined her driveway off a community driveway , backed in to the main drag unable to see and hit me on my bike shattering my collerbone . no where near your case .
Here's a twist. I have never seriously considered suing anyone. There was ONE time when I threatened a lawsuit - but it was because of an !@$!!! from an insurance agency that was trying to collect the costs of a damaged trailer.
An employee of a company that provides trucks and trailers for hauling, attached a hitch and connected a trailer to my daughter's vehicle. The rusted POS didn't last very long. She ended up upside down on the side of a mountain whereby a nice truck driver stopped and provided assistance. Her neck was stabilized and she was transported to a hospital. Multiple CAT scans, blah blah blah. Nothing broken. A police office gave her a ticket for failing to control her vehicle. I picked her up at the hospital and we went to see the damage. Her vehicle was totaled. Obviously, I took photos of the vehicle, the trailer and close ups of the now broken rusted POS .
Daughter went to traffic court, argued that she had taken reasonable measures to avoid hitting oncoming traffic and was found not guilty. (The accident occurred on her way to Law School. The Judge congratulated her for winning her first case and wished her the best of luck in school. LOL )
Meanwhile the stupid insurance agent called my house and stated she wanted my daughter to pay about $900 for the damage to the trailer. I went ballistic - told her I was a lawyer - that my daughter was almost killed - and that she had not yet decided whether to sue the truck rental company.
At some point she received a demand letter and we both noticed that the company spelled her name the way we pronounce it which is strikingly different than the way it is spelled. That's when I realized the company or insurance agency did not have a contract, receipt or any documentation regarding the purchase of the hitch, etc. Nice. My daughter had a 3 ft long receipt that allegedly relieved the company of any liability. ha ha.
Done. Well, almost. About 6 months ? later I received a call from a debt collector. The nasty insurance agent had turned over "the debt". Seriously? I explained that my daughter had not yet decided whether to file suit against the rental agency and the debt collector apologized and stated that the insurance agency was not supposed to send those claims for collection. It was finally over. We did not sue.
So - here's the thing. Given the information above you would think that I would not support Robyn's claim. You would be wrong. Just because my family and I don't seriously consider suing anyone does not mean Robyn should give up her right to sue.
Legally speaking, there is NO doubt that the glass company was negligent. Whether a juror thinks that's ridiculous or unfair is irrelevant. A judge would know that this is clearly negligence and this is why Mark would ask the judge for a directed verdict. The directed verdict totally deprives the jurors of the opportunity to find the glass store not negligent.
Robyn didn't ask whether anyone agreed that the glass shop was negligent, she already knew it was. She asked about possible damages. I don't know how much is fair but I do know that a senior's skin is more fragile than a youngster's skin and at least one of the photos looked pretty disgusting.
I've been in Robyn's area of town. If the jury consists of people similarly situated to those in her neighborhood I think she could win a significant but not exorbitant amount of money. Unless the insurance company is as stupid as the one I had to deal with, I'm betting the company's insurance company will settle. Soon.
P.S. Re: halogen lights. I know I had one halogen lamp that went kaput but I have no idea whether my other lights are halogen. Are they only in lamps or could they be in other fixtures as well?
OK - well I will give you an argument (that would get any lawyer a mistrial - IOW - not allowed).
You're a pretty much healthy senior. And I offer to place 2 very hot pieces of glass on your shoulder/back. One of which results in second/third degree burns. Hideously painful for weeks. Oozing and disgusting for weeks. And - after 8 weeks - you wind up with a 3x4 inch scar that can never be exposed to the sun again. And has to be moisturized daily (because all your oil glands have been destroyed). And you have to be careful for the next 1-2 years in terms of what you wear - what you do (you can't rub/irritate the area) - so you don't mess up your new "baby skin".
I have these 2 super hot pieces of glass in my hand here. How much do I have to offer you to put them on your shoulder and burn a hole in it? Would you take $500 - $1000 for me to burn you and disfigure you permanently? Maybe more? Everyone here - what is the minimum you'd take to prevent me from pressing a scorching hot piece of glass on you? You know - there are some people who are sadists who would gladly pay you $500 to put you in agony. How little would you accept to hurt like he** for a fair amount of time? Robyn
I will do your hypothetical one better. Do you know what the average compensation is for the loss of an arm in the United States under workers' compensation? $169,878. Still think your burn is worth $100,000?
I will do your hypothetical one better. Do you know what the average compensation is for the loss of an arm in the United States under workers' compensation? $169,878. Still think your burn is worth $100,000?
Damage awards under worker's compensation are not analogous to the damages that can be awarded under the tort system. Damages under worker's compensation are smaller for several reasons:
1. Pain and suffering damages are not permitted.
2. It is not necessary to prove an employer was negligent or at fault to collect damages. It is sufficient simply to prove one was injured in an accident while within the course and scope of their employment.
3. No defense of comparative fault is permitted to reduce worker's compensation awards.
Damages that are allowable under WC are: 1. Lost wages; 2. medical expenses; 3. permanent impairment.
Apples and oranges is a charitable way to describe the comparison you just made.
I will do your hypothetical one better. Do you know what the average compensation is for the loss of an arm in the United States under workers' compensation? $169,878. Still think your burn is worth $100,000?
what insurers use as payment guides really mean little once litigation hits . the book price to an insurer for my shattered collarbone was 8k . the settlement offer which ended up being made the day before court was 5x that .
no one can predict robynns outcome .
i know if i was on the jury i likely would award her nothing since if not for the fact she made the choice to hire the wrong type of business for repair there would have been no case made . she either knew or should have known that was a poor choice with such a dangerous electrical item. you never bring an electrical item to anyone for repair unless appliance repair is their specialty .
she would not want me serving as expert testimony for the other side , that is for sure . i provided expert reports for the investigation many decades ago for a very high profile case , this time against a very well known corporation that took very very high risks using waterproof enclosed motor controls around sugar dust which were much cheaper , when they really need to use explosion proof enclosures for the controls . many people were killed by some blatant mistakes when the magnesium stearate in the sugar dust ignited and blew the factory up killing 6 .
Last edited by mathjak107; 06-05-2016 at 04:39 AM..
OK, here goes. And believe me, I am prepared for the dumbest question trophy.
I honestly have no good knowledge of any of this.
But it does seem at least at one time there was a saying, "let the buyer beware."
Does that still apply anywhere?
It's not a dumb question at all. I think it's an excellent one. Because it goes to the heart of the concept of contemporary products liability law. The (old) phrase (in Latin) was "caveat emptor". And - for the most part - it no longer exists:
Caveat emptor was the rule for most purchases and land sales prior to the Industrial Revolution, although sellers assume much more responsibility for the integrity of their goods in the present day. People consumed far fewer goods and usually from local sources prior to the 18th Century, resulting in very few consumer protection laws (mostly limited to weights and measures). See "Product Liability: Background" for more historical information about the principle of caveat emptor.
Today, most sales in the U.S. fall under the principle of caveat venditor, which means "let the seller beware," by which goods are covered by an implied warranty of merchantability. Unless otherwise advertised (for example, "sold as is") or negotiated with the buyer, nearly all consumer products are guaranteed to work if used for their intended purpose.
I do not know if you will understand what I am asking here.
Who are you really mad at? Is it your hubby who didn't buy the correct glass? Are you mad at yourself because you didn't go to the store yourself? Are you mad because someone did what an ordinary person would do? Whoever sold the glass to your husband.... full time? owner/part owner of store? part timer?
You are really dragging this out and I think you are waiting for someone to jump on your ship.
What happened to you is a terrible thing and I do feel bad for your injuries, treatment, pain.
Sometimes we have to "suck it up" and say it was my fault. I should have done ........whatever........
I know you will blow over my response, but I think it's quite possibly correct.
If I go into a cutlery store to purchase a new knife, I bring it home and cut the end of my finger off, whose fault is that? Should I sue the cutlery for selling me a sharp knife??
No - I am not exactly sure what you're asking. But I am mad at the stupid employee at the glass store who put non-heat resistant glass in a lamp (and - by extension - his employer). Note that after this incident - the glass company wrote an internal memo to its employees saying that it didn't stock heat-resistant glass - and they should never do a job like this one again. Robyn
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