Many liberty-minded folks agree that having attorneys willing to take on the risk of advocating for their clients for no up front compensation and a share of the damages is preferable to “regulated” solutions.

How hard would corporations work to buy off the “regulators” if damages were not awarded by juries, but by government bureaucrats?

There is a dangerous movement afoot where Big Pharma is trying to get courts to believe that FDA approval of their drugs “preempts” and exonerates them from any claims for product liability:

http://www.drug-injury.com/druginjurycom/2008/07/preemption-drug-injury-lawsuit-wyeth-v-levine–why-doctors-should-worry-about-preemption–gregory-d-curfman-md-stephe.html

Just exert influence over the FDA, get your drug approved as “safe”, and you have nothing to fear. And your patients have no recourse if subsequently you are found to have operated in bad faith.

Sound good? Not so much…

Sorry The MacDonalds lawsuit was wrong fundamentally.

Very interesting details. Thanks for posting that.

You are absolutely correct that it is sad that such a case would come to represent one of the frivolous lawsuits that have become all too common in our society. I fell into the trap of believing the hype without researching the details.

Again, thanks for the correction.

Enjoy.

First, let’s talk about the true background behind McDonald’s practices before the known incident occurred. McDonald’s had been told by safety experts on multiple occasions that their practice was unsafe. They keep their coffee 40 degrees hotter than the norm. However, despite the unanimous findings of these audits, McDonald’s adamantly refused to change their policy. Additionally, McDonald’s had received over 700 complaints (many involving burns) about this practice. McDonald’s would not back down from their practice.

Lo and behold, two customers drive up. They get their order. Then, they park outside their destination. The passenger (not the driver, as is commonly believed) spilled the contents of the cup as a result of the lid not being properly secured. She sustained 3rd degree burns in her vagina. She had not only an emergency room visit, but underwent cosmetic surgery to repair the damage.

She did not immediately turn around and sue McDonald’s. She contacted them on multiple occasions, throughout her rehabilitation, asking only for repayment of her medical costs. Not for damages. Not for pain and suffering. Medical costs. And, when she did, in fact, file a lawsuit, they again went after only medical costs.

Can you guess what McDonald’s did? They blew her off. By the time it got to court, the situation had escalated. A jury trial ensued. When faced with the facts, they were appalled at McDonald’s behavior, both leading up to the incident, as well as with their complete lack of cooperation afterwards. The jury awarded the victim with one day’s worth of McDonald’s coffee sales. That amounted to either $1.2 Million, or $2.1 Million. I always forget.

However, there was an appeal, and the Appellate Judge reduced the award to around $600K+. Yet, even after that, McDonald’s and the victim settled out of court for an amount which was disclosed as less than the reduced award. For all we know, she only got her medical bills and attorney fees covered.

So, yes, we have a ton of frivolous lawsuits and irresponsible people in this country. Your message could not be more true. However, it is extremely unfortunate that the legal incident which has come to epitomize this mentality in our culture actually represents a true case of justice against a cold, uncaring, abusive corporate entity which conducts itself with irresponsible, reckless arrogance. Let’s face it. If most large corporations were people, they would be labeled as sociopaths, psychopaths, and serial killers.