Customer falls - no sympathy

[marasbaras]

Of course, the correct answer from the paramedic is:

"I don't know. I am not a lawyer. Would you like us to leave you here while you call yours to measure everything and take pictures?"

[Shards]

"Well, ma'am, technically you can sue, but what you'd earn probably wouldn't be worth the amount of work you'd miss if you have a job, and even if you don't, would it really be worth every cinema employee in a 20 mile radius knowing your name and face, and knowing not to let you in to see a movie because you're a liability? Trust me, I've worked retail, word gets around pretty fast about customers who sue for their own mistakes."

[Victoria J]

Well even if you were at fault I don't think the customer will get far if they're taking legal advice from paramedics.

idiot.

I'm an adviser. I give people basic advice on benefits, housing, employment etc. We'll also answer all sorts of questions, and get in plenty of people who really need a solicitor. I can give advice on personal injury - deadlines, how to get a solicitor, basic info. about what you need for a case. I am not able to advise on whether someone has a case (because I have no idea ).

Recently everyone from our advice centre had a meeting with a local solicitors firm, about how we can refer clients to them etc. We only refer to their non-money making services, but they're eager to get referrals for personal injury where they make money.

So I explain that while we haven't been making any direct referrals we give clients a list of solicitors, and said "unless they have no case at all".

All the solicitors start glaring, and start preparing the speech about how I'm not qualified to weigh up cases...

I had to explain that I don't do anything like that. They identify a loss or injury, and a potential person at fault, I just send them to a solicitors. The other sort I don't. Those are the one's that go like this (actual example) :

SC "I injured myself at work. I want to know if I can sue"

Me "What happened ?"

SC "I'm a chef. I cut myself on a knife ?"

Me "Was it your fault ?"

SC "Yeah. I just slipped."

Me "Was there anything your employers did to make the kitchen dangerous ?"

SC "No"

Me "Was there anything your employer could have done to prevent the accident ?"

SC "No. Do you think I can get money ?"

Me "No"


(Though I saw someone else who cut themselves in a kitchen, and said it was entirely their fault. Then I asked some more and it turned out they'd been made to wash up a whole load of chipped plates...)

Yes I'm in England. I guess the SC has been taking lessons from American TV.

We're getting worse (though sometimes I think suing is appropriate). But the American influence is part of it.

I work with someone who spent the first years of her life in the US, and then moved to the UK. I was winding her up recently muttering about "I blame America" *. She turned on me, "What ?!". I said "Yeah, the client thinks they can sue for punative damages". As she's another law student she couldn't argue that this is an American influence. Here you get only what you lost (lost earnings, a little for pain and suffering) but in the US there are possible punitive damages, the money given just to hurt the companies like the McDonalds/Hot coffee case...

(*she's a friend, we both enjoy winding each other up - and her somewhat American-ness is an easy target)

Victoria J

[South Texan]

Yes I'm in England. I guess the SC has been taking lessons from American TV.

And if she was in the U.S., there would always be an ambulance chaser ready to take on her case if for nothing else than the nuisance value your company might choose to pay rather than spending a lot more money defending the suit.

[depechemodefan]

People are always contacting the library for a librarian to make a copy of an article from the local paper or a magazine. Recently someone requested a copy of an article, "Escalator company must pay $16.9 million to boy who lost 3 toes" (actually, the customer typed "$169 million", but the article has it as "$16.9 million"; that period makes all the difference in the world). The jury awarded the money since an interoffice memo said that the escalators were "unreasonably dangerous", even though the company (defense lawyers) said that it was just "hypothesizing".

Anyway, just make sure there is no memo at the theater saying "the carpet isn't safe" even if the rest of the sentence says "for people with two left feet."

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Yes, she can sue.

Yes, there is an ambulance chaser out there who will gladly take up the case.

Yes, she may well end up getting some money out of it. The theater might settle out of court to avoid having to pay lawyers and avoid facing a jury which may be feeling a tad too generous.

Now she may have been joking, but it wouldn't surprise me a bit if she was serious.

[South Texan]

The jury awarded the money since an interoffice memo said that the escalators were "unreasonably dangerous", even though the company (defense lawyers) said that it was just "hypothesizing".

At the courthouse, that is called "creative tap dancing" or "playing the Let's-see-how-stupid-the-jury-is Game".

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

Actually, if you can get the ambulance personnel to testify that she was less concerned about her injuries and more about the prospect of lawsuit...

...she's less likely to win.

M