The 8 Weirdest Personal Injury Lawsuits That Actually Won
Most personal injury lawsuits involve damages you might expect – broken bones, lost or damaged property, loss of income, or medical bills. However, some courts see personal injury lawsuits that are a little bit different at times.
From poor weather predictions to surprise knives in your sandwich, here are eight of the strangest personal injury lawsuits that actually held up in court.
1. Bad Forecasting
Bad weather predictions can ruin a picnic or kill a ski trip butholding the weatherman responsible might be a reach. However, oneIsraeli woman did just that.
This woman sued a television station for stress and irreparabledamage because of its inaccurate weather forecast. She had dressed inlight clothing that day, thinking the weather would be clear. When itstarted to rain, she became sick, missing days of work and paying out ofpocket for medication. She sued the station for $1,000 – and won.
2. Caution: Hot Coffee
On February 27, 1992, an elderly Albuquerque woman named StellaLiebeck visited a local McDonald’s for her morning cup of joe. When sheplaced her hot cup of coffee between her knees to stir in her cream ofsugar, the hot contents spilled all over her lap.
Liebeck experienced severe burns to her thighs as a result. Herattorney argued McDonald’s brewed its coffee at much higher temperaturesthan its competitors, leading to unusual damage to Liebeck. The jury awarded her $640,000 in compensation for punitive damages and medical fees.
3. A Side of Stainless Steel
Subway is the go-to quick-stop for health-conscious individuals,making it the largest chain in the world. However, one customer’s Subwayexperience didn’t turn out the way he expected. He discovered aserrated sandwich knife baked into his sandwich bread. Luckily, hediscovered the unexpected item before he bit into the sandwich.
The man did not suffer any cuts or other injuries from the knife, buthe did claim the contaminated object caused him to get sick fromanother part of the sandwich. He sued Subway for $1 million – and walked away with $20,000.
4. Horseplay
Generally, it’s a person who files for a personal injury case, but Shadow, a neglected horse in Oregon, is suing his owners.His new owners have renamed him Justice, and their ambition in puttingforth a lawsuit in his name is to ensure other owners don’t abuse orabandon their animals. The case has yet to be resolved.
5. The Redundant Phonebooth
Los Angeles custodian Charles Bigbee couldn’t know that by making aphone call, he was putting his life at risk. In this case, it was doublytrue. Bigbee finished his shift for the night and went to a local phonebooth to make a call. The phone booth sat between a liquor store and abusy street, putting Bigbee in a vulnerable position. While he wasfinishing up his call, a drunk driver swerved off the lane and plowed right into the phone booth.
Although Bigbee saw the car coming, he couldn’t open the booth toescape. He suffered life-changing injuries and could no longer work.Bigbee tried to collect damages from the driver’s insurance company andthe bar, as per dram shop liability rules. However, the $25,000 hereceived was not enough to cover his hospital bills. In addition, he waslosing income since he couldn’t work with his injuries. His lawyerdiscovered that another accident occurred at the same phone booth 20months before Bigbee’s accident.
The other accident destroyed the phone booth, but the company erectedanother one in the same spot with a faulty entrance that trapped Bigbeeinside. The company was fully aware of the dangers and still acted innegligence. Bigbee sued them and won an undisclosed settlement in 1986.
6. Color Contrast
A volunteer at the Manchester Airport in the United Kingdom sued fordamages after she injured herself on the job. While volunteering for asporting event, she entered one of the airport’s offices. She trippedover a door stop and injured her leg and arm. She argued that the doorstop was the same color as the carpet, so she couldn’t see it. Shereceived £6,000 in damages.
7. Stinky Feet
Personal hygiene is important – but can it mean expulsion fromcollege? One Dutch university removed a student in 1999 because his feetsmelled so bad that his peers and professors could not concentrate.After his Erasmus University expulsion, former philosophy student TeunisTenbrook fought back. Erasmus reinstated Tenbrook as a student after a10-year lawsuit.
8. I Can’t Believe It’s Not …
Could you tell the difference if your coffee shop used a buttersubstitute? Most people probably couldn’t – but Jan Polanik ofWorcester, Massachusetts did. He sued Dunkin Donuts in 2017 for themistake.
Polanik visited his local Dunkin’ Donuts shop and ordered a bagelwith real butter, but he received a butter substitute. Polanik filed twolawsuits that accused more than 20 Dunkin’ franchises of using buttersubstitutes on his bagel when he specifically asked for real butter.
Polanik filed class-action lawsuits on behalf of any Dunkin’ patronwho ordered a food item with butter and received fake butter instead.Polanik and the chain have since reached an undisclosed settlement.
The Las Vegas car accident and Las Vegas personal injury attorneys at Steve Dixon Law hope you find similar success in your personal injury lawsuit. Contact us today at (702) 329-4911 to schedule your free consultation.