by Charlie Smith | Apr 20, 2017 | Blog, Court Cases, Personal Injury |
While most personal injury cases deal with typical slip and falls, car accidents, or defective devices, there are also some cases that are so unusual they’ve become famous. These are a few of the most legendary personal injury cases to make their way through the court system. Stella Liebeck Versus McDonald’s Perhaps the most famous personal injury case of all is Liebeck vs. McDonald’s, otherwise known as the hot coffee case. In 1992, Stella Liebeck ordered a cup of coffee from McDonald’s. As the 79-year-old was holding the coffee between her legs in the passenger seat of a parked car, the coffee spilled on her lap and caused third-degree burns. Before Liebeck’s case, McDonald’s had received over 700 reports of injury from its coffee. Liebeck offered to settle for $20,000 to cover lost income and medical expenses, but McDonald’s thought it would win the case and went to trial. However, the jury sided with Liebeck. She and McDonald’s eventually reached a confidential settlement. Bret Michaels Versus CBS In 2009, Bret Michaels, lead singer of the rock band Poison, suffered an injury to his face at the Tony Awards, which was broadcast by CBS. Michaels claimed that a set piece hit him in the face because CBS didn’t tell him how to exit the stage safely. Immediately after the incident, he had X-rays that showed a broken nose. A few months later, he also suffered a brain hemorrhage, which he believes was from the accident. Michaels and CBS eventually settled the lawsuit, and the terms were not made public. Cedrick Makara Versus Newmark Realty and 40 Worth Associates A jury awarded Cedrick...
by admin | Aug 26, 2016 | Blog, Court Cases, Personal Injury, Tips |
Social media, in general, is not good for your personal injury case. You may think that sharing details about your case – even in a private message – will make you feel better or that your friends will give you good advice, but it can actually damage the credibility of your case. Facebook is the first place that your insurance company or defendant’s lawyer will check in order to find information to use against you. Your social media accounts may be private, but there is always a way to access them, especially when a judge orders you to give the defendant’s lawyer your passwords because they believe there is something they could use against your case. Some of the aspects of social media that can be used in opposition to you include videos or photos that you are tagged in or have posted, statuses, and private messages. Defendant lawyers are looking for anything that could potentially prove that you hurt yourself at a different location or negligent person. Just be cautious when posting during a personal injury case and remember that even if you delete a post, it is there forever. The defendant lawyers and insurance companies are there to make your claim go away so they will do anything it takes, which includes reinterpreting your posts’ meaning in order to hurt your claim. The best-case scenario is to not post at all, but if you must post, try to follow these terms to avoid common social media mistakes: Let everyone know not to post anything about you, which includes tagging and messaging. Do not tell them this through...