Its the little know American right to be stupid and not suffer the consequences. Most recent example was lenders and investors that got bailed out consequences for their stupidity in lending so cheaply to people who didn't have a hope of being able to make good on their obligations. Now they are at it again (since GS 10 year paper is trading cheaper than no risk Ginnies, I guess people think that GS is a better credit risk than Uncle Sam LOL).
americans are stupid, but not for suing. americans are stupid because they read these stories about million-dollar lawsuits and, knowing nothing about the case, think things are out of control. no lawyer is gonna take a case unless he's fairly confident he'll win. if the case has no merit, it'll be thrown out. and for the truly stupid and illiterate out there.. yes, the mcdonalds vs. liebeck case had merit. the judge, jury and appeals court all agreed that mcdonalds was at fault.
"...no lawyer is gonna take a case unless he's fairly confident he'll win. if the case has no merit, it'll be thrown out..." You mean like the judge who sued the dry cleaners for ~50 MILLION for losing his pants that they didn't lose ? Or the thousands of people every year who "fall" in grocery stores after they drop the food on the ground ? I used to be a process server and the Safeway HQ in Pleasanton was a regular stop for me ! lol Face it the US court system is broken.
The point was when the suit was filed you did not know that information and neither did the public. So the woman and her lawyer were derided for bringing it initially and when the case went forward THEN then the info you are talking about was made known. At the moment of the incident it was just a woman who put coffee between her legs and drive away got burned and even if the coffee was at the regular hot temperature she would have had some burnt cellulite. So my point was you never know with these cases if there is a true cause of action or not.
yes like the guy who sued the drycleaners ( the guy was a judge) ... for 100 million or something like that...not every case has merit... edit..... http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/LegalCenter/story?id=3119381 edit... http://www.power-of-attorneys.com/stupid_lawsuit_collection.asp?wacky=0
Lawyers are not traders like you and I with respect to tort law and contingency claims. Many lawyers take this million dollar lawsuits for the shot at hitting the big one. Not all of them will be like the law firm of Erin Brokavich fame but that firm hit millions. I know a another firm whose 3 partners in a small firm one a major case and cashed in $2 million and another who participated on the breast implant suits and is set for life. The point is if they take 10 cases and 9 never get any settlement and 1 hits like this, it more than makes their year and many times their career. Remember we never hear about the $10 million cases where the lawyer gets $3 million in contingency fees. It is a tough business, tort law, but for those willing to take all those crazy cases against big corporations, it can pay off huge. Bad state of the profession but it is the only way now many plaintiffs have access to attorneys in class action or tort suits.
Unfortunately there are thousands of lawyers graduating from second tier schools every year or so who cannot get jobs at the big or medium size firm or do not have the resume to get in most jobs. So many of them end up in tort law and plaintiff lawsuits since there is a never ending supply of clients if you dig hard enough. PLenty of those on TV lawyers looking for you if you have been injured in an accident, etc.. are staffed with lots of these professionals who have no shortage of time to sue eveyrone and anyone lol. Negative side of the profession... It is getting so that it is hard to know a bunch of people who have noit sued or been sued over something trivial. With so many car accidents and scummy people/lawyers looking for a buck it will never stop in current conditions. But in defense of the profession, these are not the major segment of the industry. Most lawyers never to trial work or file lawsuits for aliving.
McDonalds was warned about the hot cofee a few times prior to the incident. In reality, the government punished McDonalds and finally got them to cool down the coffee temp. The lady was simply lucky to be the benefactor.