No one takes responsibility for their own actions anymore

[Kim&Chris]

I handle liability issues for a very large company here in Philly.

A customer goes into one of our shops, and is walking around the place, laughing and giggling with her girlfriend. On the way out, she is still carrying on with her friend, and because she's not watching where she's going, walks right into a wall. She grabs her mouth, and her tooth is in her hand.

The employees take her to the bathroom & help her clean up (blood everywhere). She leaves the place in a hurry, hoping to find a dentist to repair the tooth.

A few hours later, her husband comes in & shows the employees a bill for over $800, and makes it clear that he DEMANDS that the shop be held liable.

The lead employee explains that it really wasn't the shop's fault, and that his wife simply wasn't watching where she was going. The husband then becomes loud and belligerent, and hassles the employees (all females) big-time. Upset and intimidated, the employees agree to pay the bill.

Why do people think that everything that happens to them is someone else's fault? This woman clearly caused her own injury.

I'm so sick of this crap. Part of the blame should go to all the personal injury attorneys who advertise on TV and in print. Did you ever see those ads? Rediculous. In my opinion, they practically encourage people to fake slip and fall incidents in hopes of getting the big "pain and suffering" payout that they want!

The next time you have an opportunity to sit & watch either Oprah, or any soap opera, try to take notice of the sheer quantity of attorneys who advertise that they can get you the big bucks for your aches and pains (always caused, naturally, by someone else's negligence).

AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

 

[piglet too]

Reminds me of the lady who wanted to sue my store for her baby falling out of her stroller and breaking her arm because we have too hard of floors! Or another lady who also wanted to sue because her 5 yr old fell out of the basket part of the shopping cart. Oh yeah, and the one I was personally involved with, the couple who tried to sue when their son hit his head on one of those horse ride things. They even filled out the accident report at the time, and signed it, that the boy was acting all wild and that is what caused him to hit his head.

 

[barbeml]

Don't start a business in NJ--we have more attorneys here than the whole country of Japan has. (Or so I've heard!)

My Dad used to represent supermarket owners (not as a lawyer, as President of a trade association). You would be amazed at how many "set ups" of slip & fall suits are caught on camera. Happens every day. Guy walks down the aisle, opens a jar of tomato sauce, spills it on the floor, glides his foot through it and then eases himself to the floor and starts howling in pain.

Even when presented with the "caught on tape"evidence, a large percentage of the lawyers try to get a settlement anyway!!!

There are people who make a career of this. Disgraceful.

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

My brother used to work at Wal-Mart and said he saw quite a few fake slip & falls.

 

[stinkerbelle]

remember last week we were talking about those stupid warnings on some products (like on the stroller - "Remove baby before folding stroller")

I guess we need
"Careful - wall ahead!"
"WARNING - Hardwood floors MAY be hard if fallen upon"

what is UP with people? It's one thing if they slip on an icy sidewalk outside an establishment - the owners/manager are required to keep that area clean...but to walk into a WALL and demand payment for your own stupidity?

 

[Kim&Chris]

One of the better one's that I've had is the woman who entered one of the shops with her kid in another store's shopping cart.

Our store's team leader told the customer that carts were not permitted in the shop and apologized for the inconvenience.

Irate, the customer ripped her child out of the seat, dislocating his arm. Guess who she sent the bills to??? Right! The store!

I took the bills, mailed them back to her, and included a little note that we were fully aware that SHE did this to her own child, and reminded her that the office for Family Services was close by.

We never heard back from her.

 

[Hillbeans]

I wiped out last week in the mall and I did fall on a plastic jewelery piece dropped on a hard, slippery floor. I have a huge bruise to boot. If I knocked out a tooth because of my own negligence, i'd never ask the store to pay. I could probably have legitimately "sued" over this slip and fall, but i'd never do that because I feel the fall was part my fault anyways because I was walking very fast.

I agree with your comment though...and many people do not take responsibility for themselves.

 

[Disney Doll]

NO ONE takes personal responsibility anymore. And those who do try, do it but still have to make a comment like "Well I could sue but I'm not that type of person." Well, why would the thought of suing enter your mind if you're "not that type of person"??????

 

[snoopy]

Originally posted by barbeml
Don't start a business in NJ--we have more attorneys here than the whole country of Japan has. (Or so I've heard!)

My Dad used to represent supermarket owners (not as a lawyer, as President of a trade association). You would be amazed at how many "set ups" of slip & fall suits are caught on camera. Happens every day. Guy walks down the aisle, opens a jar of tomato sauce, spills it on the floor, glides his foot through it and then eases himself to the floor and starts howling in pain.

Even when presented with the "caught on tape"evidence, a large percentage of the lawyers try to get a settlement anyway!!!

There are people who make a career of this. Disgraceful.

A couple of years back 20/20 or one of the other weekly news shows did a piece on this. It really is amazing how many people make a career out of this.

 

[tommysmom]

YUP! Personal accountability is sorely lacking lately. Well, imagine, after that lady got that settlement from McDonalds because she burned herself with the too hot coffee ( driving while drinking coffee wasnt the prob)...its been crazy!

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

I'm too busy being embarrassed that I fell

 

[Kim&Chris]

I think that McDonald's incident may have started the ball rolling with all this liability crap.

I was never so happy to hear that the judge ruled AGAINST those idiots who tried to sue McDonald's because they were fat.

 

[Eeyore1954]

Why should anyone accept personal responsibility anymore when there are so many deep pockets to be picked and an life on Easy Street to be had? Society has made it so easy to transfer responsibility to someone else (anyone else). As someone pointed out, radio and TV are filled with ads from attorneys looking for clients who've been "injured."

The latest one that makes me extremely ill is the "Car Wreck Lawyers." The CWL got me $80,000. The CWL got me $110,000. The CWL got me $215,000 -- now that's a lot of money! Well duh...

I don't blame anyone who is legitimately injured in any accident, by car, by falling, by someone else's negligence, from filing suit for their injuries. But it's getting to where this is becoming an industry and people are being encouraged to "discover" some injury so they can get a windfall and live the life to which they'd like to become accustomed.

Personal responsibility is becoming a forgotten virtue -- sort of like civility and manners in public.

 

[Hillbeans]

Originally posted by Disney Doll
NO ONE takes personal responsibility anymore. And those who do try, do it but still have to make a comment like "Well I could sue but I'm not that type of person." Well, why would the thought of suing enter your mind if you're "not that type of person"??????

Because that's the way the world is.....isn't it?

And in fact, i've been told to sue for this and I just laughed and said no way. I pride myself on taking responsibility for myself.

 

[Snowysmom]

It is true that people do not want to take any responsibliity for their own actions. I did fall a few years ago at a supermarket. The floor was wet and I was pushing my cart with groceries all paid for to the exit door. The spill had just happened, they were getting the mop and signs and I just slipped and landed on my ambly padded rump. Luckily I was not hurt. I had no intention of suing. One thing did bother me though. Customers were more interested in whether I was hurt or not than the store management. In fact, another customer helped me up. Still, I was not hurt so why sue. It was embarassing!

 

[bballmom56]

Originally posted by Pooh Girl 71
I'm too busy being embarrassed that I fell

I SO TOTALLY agree!!! Re: the McDonald's incident - I would be humiliated to publicly admit I was that stupid. Can you hear it - "Yes, I put the cup of HOT coffee between my legs while I was driving. Gee, it spilled and burned me. Must be McD's fault."

 

[Kim&Chris]

Originally posted by bballmom56
I SO TOTALLY agree!!! Re: the McDonald's incident - I would be humiliated to publicly admit I was that stupid. Can you hear it - "Yes, I put the cup of HOT coffee between my legs while I was driving. Gee, it spilled and burned me. Must be McD's fault."

Or, "Let's see....I eat an Egg McMuffin and 3 hash browns for breakfast in the morning, a Big Mac and 'supersized' fries for lunch, and top it all off with another Big Mac and a chocolate shake for dinner! How come I weigh twice my recommended weight???? I know!!! It's McDonald's fault!!! They MADE ME EAT THEIR FOOD!"



Ugh.

 

[MelessaG]

I know what you mean. Several years ago, I was in a car accident which was completely the other driver's fault. (according to the police and her ins. company) Insurance covered everything from repairs to my car, a rental car, an ER examination (I was pregnant at the time) and motel stays since I was out-of-town for the wreck. I saved all my receipts and was 100% reimbursed. I am very happy with the way it was handled. However, you wouldn't believe the number of letters I got from lawyers offering to represent me. The poor little old lady who hit me already had the cost of her citation, higher ins. premiums, and another strike on her driving record. I saw no rason to pursue it further since everyone was working with me to resolve the situation. Don't misunderstand, had her ins. company given me any hassles I may have contacted a lawyer, but I had no reason to do so. They sure wanted me to, though.

 

[barbeml]

I am convinced that the legal profession is on a mission to erase the words "accident" and "mistake" from our vocabulary.

We also have an OB/GYN shortage crisis brewing in NJ due to malpractice suits. A woman can drink, smoke, do drugs and live on a prenatal diet of junk food, but if the baby is less than perfect, the doctor must be guilty of malpractice.

Don't get me wrong--willful negligence must be punished, but "litigation lottery" has become all to frequent.

 

[Beth E. (NJ)]

barbeml -- I agree with you. My ob/gyn left NJ not too long ago because it got to be too much for her.