One of the most interesting lawsuits I ever heard of was one against McDonald’s, for serving scalding hot coffee to one of their customers. Apparently, the customer was handed a cup of coffee that was so hot, she dropped it, and was “severely” burned. After the dust settled, she was awarded some outrageous sum of money for this one minor event that she completely recovered from, without any long term damage. So how did the courts come up with this settlement amount?
The amount of money she was awarded was based on the coffee receipts that McDonald’s sold that day, from all their stores. It was decided that this was more than enough to reward the customer for her inconvenience; and yet was also enough to give McDonald’s a good slap, get their attention, and remind them to be more careful next time. In the end, both sides won.
Another similar example was a case about a building maintenance man that worked for ConEdison in New York back in 1977. He was the main engineer there for 40+ years, and knew how everything worked inside and out. He eventually retired and went on to live his life, paid for by his meager ConEd pension.
Not long after he retired, ConEdison’s equipment was struck by lighting, experienced a power surge, and shut down. This blackout was historic in that it covered such a large part of the eastern seaboard, and parts of Canada. It only went on for one day back in July of 1977, but the damage that resulted was horrendous. The rioting that went on during that 24 hour period cost the city millions and millions of dollars. They called the retiree back in to see if he could help, and sure enough he knew just what to do. He got the city back into power within 24 hours.
He went back to work, performed the proverbial ‘kick here and jab there’… and the generator kicked right back on. The whole experience took about 3 hours including his travel time. But then he did something that nobody expected- he presented a bill for millions of dollars. ConEdison of course refused to pay it saying that he was only there for a few hours to assess the problem, and it took even less to fix it, so he was not entitled to such a large sum.
In the end, the retired building maintenance manager was awarded exactly what he asked for, because the sum was not based on what he did, but based on what he knew, and the fact that he was the only one who at the time could do it.
ConEdison claimed that they would have had the system back up and running within a day or two, and his service was not worth nearly as much as he said it was. So the court awarded the man the amount of money that it would have cost the city to be without power, for another 2 days.
Pain and suffering; it’s all relative. If you were involved in an accident of any measure, and have been put out- no matter how much, there is a way to determine if you were wronged, and how much that is worth. Awarding a settlement is not just about coming into some money. It is about making people more aware of how they affect those of us around them, and holding them accountable.
In only this way can we build a stronger, safer, more respectful community of people that cares about the world we live in. Contact Ledger Law firm to talk about your circumstances, and see how they can solve your accidental problems. They have the experience to see the big picture. Contact www.LedgerLaw.com at 800-300-0001 today.
