Five Famous Personal Injury Lawsuits to Teach Us Valuable Lessons

Lawsuits can provide desperately needed compensation to cover medical bills and routine living expenses for people unable to work or live a decent life after an accident or injury. However, high-profile cases can teach people valuable lessons about liability issues, negligence, and unacceptable behaviors. One of the most famous cases involved Stella Liebeck. In 1992, she sued McDonald’s after she spilled hot coffee on her lap at a drive-through window. Claiming the coffee was too hot, she sued the fast-food chain for $20,000, but the jury awarded the 79-year-old woman $200,000 in damages, including punitive damages because the coffee was hotter than normal.

An Expensive Lesson for McDonald’s

McDonald’s barely contested the case, thinking they would win. Everyone wants hot coffee, but apparently, not 79-year-olds negotiating a drive-through purchase. Instead, the woman suffered painful burns, and immediate criticism of the award and support swelled to dominate the news. Nevertheless, Liebeck vs. McDonald’s Corp. is among the most famous personal injury lawsuits that teach us a lesson or two about the power of the law.

Other examples of personal injury lawsuits that taught valuable lessons include the following cases.

1. The Defective Door Knob

In New York City, a claims examiner filed his negligence case against Newmark Realty and 40 Worth Associates. In 1999, Cedric Makara entered a public bathroom without a doorknob, but a second person tried to enter while he was leaving. To exit the bathroom, Makara put his hand through the hole where the door was supposed to be. However, during the unexpected encounter, Makara injured his thumb, which required surgery, and he claimed he couldn’t work for six months. The jury agreed and awarded him $3 million. In addition, his wife was awarded $750,000 because of lost work and suffering.

The lesson here for anyone who wants to learn is to keep all public places and amenities tip-top shape. Otherwise, people get hurt, and lawsuits ensue.

2. Escola vs. Coca-Cola

The case of Escola vs. Coca Cola is legendary in personal injury law. You may believe that a “cola” would come out on top no matter what the plaintiff says and proves, but you would be wrong. In 1944, waitress Gladys Escola was stacking glass bottles of Coca-Cola in the cooler when one of the bottles spontaneously exploded. The broken glass cut her hand badly, damaging the underlying muscle, nerves, and blood vessels. Helped by her injury attorney, she sued Coca-Cola to recover damages for her injuries. She subsequently won her case and an appeal.

Escola vs. Coca-Cola is required to study for first-year law students in almost all universities. It is because the landmark lawsuit helped to build the foundation of what we now know as “companies’ responsibility for the safety of their products.”

3. Israeli Weathercaster Sued for Inaccurate Forecast

In one of the strangest personal injury cases in legal circles, a woman sued an Israeli weathercaster based on an inaccurate forecast. According to a news post, the weathercaster predicted a sunny day, but it rained buckets. The plaintiff subsequently caught the flu, and the medications required for treatment took a hefty amount of money. Moreover, she sued for missed workdays, medical treatment, and stress. To everyone’s shock, the TV station settled the case for $1,000, and the weathercaster apologized to her, just as she requested.

The legal precedent – in Israel, at least – is interesting to study. If we would all sue the weathercasters every time their predictions prove inaccurate, asking them to pay and apologize, we would probably see the demise of television (and weathercasters) as we know them. However, such similar cases already appeared in Belgium and Wales. You can even consult a paper on weather casting liability and the likelihood of such lawsuits becoming an issue in the U.S.

4. Dr. Phil Sued for a Dog Bite

Phil McGraw, better known as Dr. Phil, and his wife Ali McGraw were sued for a dog bite for $7 million by Janet Harris, a family friend. As you can imagine, the press had a field day with this topic, especially because Janet spent a week attached to an IV fighting with severe infection while the McGraw’s were buying a 30 million dollar mansion in Beverly Hills. Initially, Dr. Phil talked Harris out of filing a complaint because of the negative publicity. However, failing to get medical treatment caused the bite to infect. Harris sued because of the circumstance, but she later settled in 2013 for an undisclosed amount.

Dog bites and personal injury claims and lawsuits are not issues to trifle with when you are a dog owner.

4. Bret Michaels vs. CBS

In 2009, during the Tony Award broadcast, Bret Michaels, the lead singer of rock band Poison, got hit in the head by a set piece. The injuries he suffered were serious - a broken nose and brain hemorrhage that appeared a few months after the incident. For this reason, he sued CBS claiming that they did not properly instruct him how to leave the stage safely. What was called at that time a “head banger” became a personal injury lawsuit. The court ruled in his favor although nobody disclosed the settlement sum.

Get an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney

You never know what exactly will work when suing for compensation for personal injuries. However, if you are the victim of such an unfortunate situation, remember this advice: seek immediate medical help, document everything, and call a lawyer.

It is crucial to see a doctor and hire a lawyer to help you get the compensation you deserve if you intend to go through everything the legal system will throw at you. Contact a personal injury attorney serving Westbury if you suffered an injury in New York. We’re saying this because, as you most likely know, while most states define negligence the same, you need lawyers from the state where the event occurred. In some parts of the country, contributory negligence is a problem that might prevent you from getting the compensation you need to move on with your life.