I am SOOOO Mad!

Originally posted by aquageek Good post, Connie. I like the part about cold burgers causing accidents. I am now very concerned about consuming my daily power bar on the way to the pool, along with my piping hot, luxuriously steaming coffee. That combo could be deadly but since not produced at McDonalds I feel I am missing out on a potential money making endeavor. ou know, that one abut burgers causing accidents actually came from a discussion with couple of traffic safety cops, a trasffic judge and couple of insurance guys, I was doing a traffic accident reconstruction case (3D exhibits) where eating a big burger in a car caused a fatal accident (sory, that's about all I can say about it)... But it's a real concern with traffic, much more so than hot coffe burns. Well, in this case, the guy was biting into one of thiose trople patty triple bread burgers, and it blocked his view of the road just enough to do something that caused a accident. Try looking straight ahead next time you'er biting into a triple decker, and take note how much of your view it blocks. In addition to fumbling around with the packaging, ketchup leaking on a shirt and other little distractions. Well, it was an interesting case to watch unfold.

Originally posted by mattson Let's push this one a little further. After your accident (which you didn't sue the pool management about), you become pool manager. You see person after person diving into that one special lane (without checking the depth). Despite the fact that you have had first hand knowledge of diving into that lane, despite the fact that you've seen dozens of people make exactly the same mistake, you say nothing to the swimmers. In fact, you point out to other people how deep the other lanes are (without mentioning the one exception). Are you responsible for your (in)action? He may be responsible for his inaction, but not responsible for the other persons actions. Which one carries more weight? Why should the managers inaction carry more weight than the other persons action of very active risk taking in ignoring the rules and common sense and endangering themselves?

This has been an amazing discussion. I had never read the actual facts of the infamous McDonald's coffee case, I appreciate seeing them here. As you can see, I live in NJ, home of some of the highest auto insurance rates in the country. A long time ago when I started paying my own insurance I asked my agent why it cost so much. His answer was-"Everytime someone gets in a fender-bender in this state they think they won the lottery, and the lawyers get them the winning tickets" About 10 years ago I was in an accident-a guy ran the light and hit my car so hard it went airborne and landed on the drivers side. Because I was belted in, I walked away with a bruised elbow. The insurance company paid my medical bills and I got enough $$ for a downpayment on a new car. I did NOT sue, although I was approached by 2 lawyers offering to file for me. I refused to add to the madness. My arm healed, I had a car and was basically in the same shape as before the accident within a month. If more people would choose not to file lawsuits in cases like mine, there would be more $$ available for people who truly need it and the bottom-feeding lawyers would be out of jobs.

Originally posted by Scansy All news coverage should be taken with a grain of salt. The side of the issue that is the most "spectacular" will get the coverage. Don't ever forget that the news shows need ratings first and foremost to make money. And newspapers need circulation, etc. Exactly!!!! And the media does the same thing with many other things that they think will create intewrest or extra sensation.

Perhaps the corporate responsibility could be fulfilled by a warning on the coffee cup saying that it is served 20-30 degrees hotter than most coffee and can cause severe burns in as little as three seconds? Even "We serve our coffee extra hot! Severe burns may result if spilled." If it would help prevent regular severe burning of their customers would that be such a bad thing?

Originally posted by KenChertoff I think there's been a misconception running throughout this thread -- liability isn't an "either/or" matter as between plaintiff and defendant in personal injury cases. Under the prevailing rule in the United States, the jury apportions fault between the parties and the plaintiff's recovery is reduced in proportion to his own fault, whether it's 10%, 50% or 99% (or any other percentage). So if the jury found that the pool operator bore, say 10% of the fault, the plaintiff's recovery would only be 10% of his total damages. I'm not advocating for or against liability here, but I think we should be clear on what it is we're talking about. Weren't we talking about the same thing? I was asking which party should carry more weight (bigger percentage) of the blame ... in my previous example. I think that the person knowingly endangering themselves should carry more responsibility for their accidents then those who perhaps could have but failed to prevent them from taking that action - when were talking about adults.

Originally posted by geochuck I love Seattle's Best served at MacDonalds in the west. But best of all I love Tim Hortons served all over Canada and some places in the USA. But I still like my coffee hot... My goodness ten pages over spilt coffee.......... We have had longer threads here over things that were even more unrelated to swimming! Also, there was a time when any thread, no matter what topic started it, would end up as dozens of pages discussing late bloomer status. We all seemed to get our bloomers in a tizzy! Then you had to send your bloomers to a certain moose, who may or may not be Ralph, so that they could be cleansed in V02Max shampoo. OK, that may be a weak attempt at humor...:rolleyes: ...but what do you expect from an engineer?

Everyone is talking about personal responsibility, but what about corporate responsibility? Why should McDonalds get away doing something irresponsible (as I said previously, I would never give super hot coffee to someone driving a car) just because some individual does something stupid and careless? The actions of large corporations has far more effect than that of most individuals, and the leaders of those corporations should be aware of it. I will defend our legal system. It plays a major part defending individuals against the incompetent and the venal. Without it our freedoms would be significantly reduced. I am not a lawyer and have none in my family, but I am glad some are here to defend my rights when and if I need them.

“but what do you expect from an engineer?” A square head, black tie shoes, pocket holders for pens, tape on the glasses, lunch in a sack and extremely wry humor…..Paul, from what I read, you don’t fit the mold….er…unless you have a pen holder….

Originally posted by Scansy We have had longer threads here over things that were even more unrelated to swimming! Also, there was a time when any thread, no matter what topic started it, would end up as dozens of pages discussing late bloomer status. Well, now that you mention it: YMCA restrictions on the use of starting blocks do place a severe hardship on late bloomers, who didn't have years to hone their starting skills on a kids' swim team where they went off the blocks at every practice. (Now see what you started?) ;-)