I have to pass this on

[gekko]

From an e-mail:

> The following are this year's candidates:
>
> 1. Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas, was awarded $780,000 by a jury
> of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was
> running inside a furniture store. The owners of the store were
> understandably
> surprised at the verdict, considering the misbehaving little toddler was
> Ms. Robertson's son!
>
> 2. 19-year-old Carl Truman of Los Angeles won $74,000 and medical
> expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Mr.
> Truman
> apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when
> he was trying to steal his neighbor's hub caps.
>
> 3. Terrence Dickson of Bristol, Pennsylvania, was leaving a house he
> had just finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not able to get
> the
> garage door to go up since the automatic door opener was malfunctioning.
> He couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the house and
> garage locked when he pulled it shut. The family was on vacation, and
Mr.
> Dickson found himself locked in the garage for eight days. He subsisted
> on a
> case of Pepsi he found, and a large bag of dry dog food. He sued the
> homeowner's insurance, claiming the situation caused him undue mental
> anguish.
> The jury agreed to the tune of $500,000.
>
> 4. Jerry Williams of Little Rock, Arkansas, was awarded $14,500 and
> medical expenses after being bitten on the buttocks by his next door
> neighbor's
> beagle. The beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. The award
> was less than sought because the jury felt the dog might have been just a
> little provoked at the time by Mr. Williams, who was shooting it
> repeatedly
> with a pellet gun.
>
>
> 5. A Philadelphia restaurant was ordered to pay Amber Carson of
> Lancaster, Pennsylvania, $113,500 after she slipped on a soft drink and
> broke
> her coccyx (tailbone). The beverage was on the floor because Ms. Carson
> had
> thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument.
>
>
> 6. Kara Walton of Claymont, Delaware, successfully sued the owner of a
> night club in a neighboring city when she fell from the bathroom window
> to the floor and knocked out her two front teeth. This occurred while
Ms.
> Walton was trying to sneak through the window in the ladies room to
> avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge. She was awarded $12,000 and dental
> expenses.
>
> 7. This year's favorite could easily be Mr. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma
> City, Oklahoma. Mr. Grazinski purchased a brand new 32-foot Winnebago
> motor home. On his first trip home, having driven onto the freeway, he
set
> the
> cruise control at 70 mph &calmly left the drivers seat to go into the
> back &make himself a cup of coffee. Not surprisingly, the RV left the
> freeway, crashed and overturned. Mr. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not
> advising
> him in the owner's manual that he couldn't actually do this. The jury
> awarded him $1,750,000, plus a new motor home. The company actually
> changed
> their manuals on the basis of this suit, just in case there were any
other
> complete morons buying their recreation vehicles.

[GameMaster]

Idiots!

It certainly pays to be dumb these days (pun intended).

[manasecret]

Yeah, but I'd bet every one of those are fake.

db

[fingersman]

I would really hope everyone of these is fake ....oh yeah it's not the people that are dumb it's the jury that's dumb for letting the these stupid people win their cases.

If anyone of these cases where presented to me.........I would be thrown out of the jury because I wouldn't be able to stop laughing.............alll of these people should be shovelling sh!t with spoon or a toothpick. j/k

[Crash]

this is one of the only reasons that i can think of why AMERICA SUX... stupid legal system.

[Seven7]

I've heard of the motorhome idiot owners who would set cruise and then go have something to eat, like they thought cruise was auto-pilot or something.

It can be easier and cheaper to settle, rather than go to court.

[Jonbo298]

I've heard about the Beagle incident. But this goes to prove how dumb juries in America can be.

[Angrist]

Man I'm happy I don't live there!

[Happydude]

thats some funny sh!t

[Xantar]

Originally posted by fingersman
I would really hope everyone of these is fake

Well, they are. There are plenty of stupid, real lawsuits, but those in particular aren't true.

Click here.

Notice the exact same phrasings being used in that e-mail. Whoever sent that to gekko couldn't even be creative, it seems.

The American tort system is indeed in bad shape, but you're not going to help matters by complaining about fictional cases. For real stuff, I suggest you subscribe to the Stella Awards. Every case they present you with is backed up with a newspaper article, and they are every bit as awful as the ones gekko posted here.

[Crono]

Lol, even if they're not true, they're funny as hell.

I really don't see how someone could think cruise control was auto drive...that's just plain idiotic, the only other person that would do that is Homer Simpson.

[Seven7]

wasn't there a simpsons episode where Bart was driving but was later in the back seat...then the car plows through a field....

[DimHalo]

those are hilarious! but i wouldn't doubt that there have been similar cases (not quite as exagerated)

[Lord Germano]

There was that simpsons episode where they are in those trucks that drove themselfs. Maybe the guy thought thats what cruise control was.


PS Yes, I did see xantars post and am aware that it is a hoax