Compensation Culture to a new level

166man

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/woman-who-banged-her-knee-against-table-leg-at-restaurant-awarded-20k-35579644.html

When is there going to be something sensible done about this? €20k for knocking your knee off a dinner table.. Most clear case of claims harvesting by the solicitors.

Sickening to read it.

Pac1Man

166man wrote: »

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/woman-who-banged-her-knee-against-table-leg-at-restaurant-awarded-20k-35579644.html

When is there going to be something sensible done about this? €20k for knocking your knee off a dinner table.. Most clear case of claims harvesting by the solicitors.

Sickening to read it.

Think of the amount of timing belts you could get for that OP!

valoren

She was in so much pain but she still managed to eat her meal. What a trooper.

Jawgap

i see the indo published it's April Fool's story early......

.......oh wait......

davo2001

Anyone fancy heading out for dinner tonight? :pac: :pac: :pac:

nullzero

"Disclaimer; All diners be aware that tables may have legs".

Gatling

Seriously wtf.

Noddyholder

O’Connor told Padraig McCarton SC, who appeared for her with barrister Paul Twomey, that she had not been given any warning from the restaurant manager that the leg was hidden right beneath where she had been directed to sit.

She had been awarded €18,000 damages at Mullingar Circuit Court by Judge Doirbhile Flanagan whose judgment was appealed to the High Court. Ms Justice Faherty affirmed the lower court’s finding and increased damages to €20,000 and costs.

A forensic engineer said that if he had been asked pre-accident to risk assess the set up in the dining room he would not have directed the hotel to warn people about the presence of the table leg under the tablecloth.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/woman-who-banged-her-knee-against-table-leg-at-restaurant-awarded-20k-35579644.html



A forensic engineer ???? She should of ordered some common sense , Mad **** , mad ****.

SEPT 23 1989

it was a "trap"

HeidiHeidi

And that's an increase of the award she was given in the lower court :eek:

I'm not usually one for bandwagonning on the "ohmygodwhatastupidclaim" outrages (they're usually attributable to over-excited headline writers) - but WTF???

Whatever that judge was on, I'll have some of it.....

riffmongous

Could we not get like a megathread for all these compo posts? I really couldn't care less anymore

jonon9

Cant wait for the day someone wins 20k for getting a brain freeze from an ice cream.

Person:Yes your honor the ice cream caused me to have a brain freeze it could have blinded me.
Judge: Poor poor person heres 20k

gramar

"he would not have directed the hotel to warn people about the presence of the table leg under the tablecloth"

Of course he fcuking wouldn't because everyone knows that a table top doesn't hold itself up all on it's own!

There'll be warnings on tablecloths next 'beware, may obscure table legs from sight'...Greatest load of bollocks I've ever heard. You'd think a judge with a lifetime of wining and dining in restaurants would have a bit off cop on and rule it as an unfortunate accident and try to dissuade chancers and scammers from this type of bullshít.

166man

riffmongous wrote: »

Could we not get like a megathread for all these compo posts? I really couldn't care less anymore

If you don't like it, perhaps I might suggest you don't read it. Now wouldn't that make the problem go away?


Most of the claims I have heard about have been somewhat laughable, with the odd genuine case in there, but this takes the biscuit. What a farce.

jonon9

I often wonder do these people who claim and win bitch and moan about the cost of insurance?

MarkR

The window was completely covered by a curtain, in effect, making it a trap. The plantiff dove through the curtain, expecting to meet no resistance, and hilariously booped her snoot.

Pinch Flat

I'm claiming €20,000 for the distress caused by reading this thread....

gramar

Pinch Flat wrote: »

I'm claiming €20,000 for the distress caused by reading this thread....

You'd get €200,000 at least.

GLaDOS

"When she returned home she had attended her local doctor, the Beaumont Hospital for X-rays and later a specialist in muscle spasm. The injury had disrupted her personal and professional life as a hairdresser."

I'm confused... I didn't realise that hairdressing was such a physical job... It was her knee, not her hands/arms ffs. What the hell were these two judges thinking?

That's just pathetic. Ireland is turning into America. yay!

ED E

jonon9 wrote: »

I often wonder do these people who claim and win bitch and moan about the cost of insurance?

She's a hairdresser.

Go into her place of work, "slip" on some hair, sue it out of existence. See how happy she is then.

Winterlong

jonon9 wrote: »

I often wonder do these people who claim and win bitch and moan about the cost of insurance?

Not with €20k in the back pocket they don't.
She is a hairdresser. The cost of her employers public liability insurance goes up with these type claims. That drives up the cost of a haircut and lowers business which decreases the chance of her keeping her job.
But feck it. €20k huh?

Boom_Bap

riffmongous wrote: »

I didn't read it just saw yet another compo thead on the front page of AH and wanted to voice my annoyance, there's a lack of new content here nowadays and compo threads are pretty much all the same. Sorry for hijacking your thread though, nothing personal there is just no where else to complain

Yes, a new compo claim takes the culture to level 57 today. Let's see if we can crack 58 tomorrow and get at least €46,000.

jonon9

Winterlong wrote: »

Not with €20k in the back pocket they don't.
She is a hairdresser. The cost of her employers public liability insurance goes up with these type claims. That drives up the cost of a haircut and lowers business which decreases the chance of her keeping her job.
But feck it. €20k huh?

As long as shes ok for a few bob thats the main thing :rolleyes:

jonon9

We should start a poll on the next claim.

I bet the next claim will be €50K

Sofiztikated

Deleted User wrote: »

"When she returned home she had attended her local doctor, the Beaumont Hospital for X-rays and later a specialist in muscle spasm. The injury had disrupted her personal and professional life as a hairdresser."

I'm confused... I didn't realise that hairdressing was such a physical job... It was her knee, not her hands/arms ffs. What the hell were these two judges thinking?

That's just pathetic. Ireland is turning into America. yay!

You do realise that hairdressers stand all day, right? Something that you need your knee to help you to do?

Still a ridiculous claim though, and to up it 2K in the upper court? G'wayourradat.

osarusan

riffmongous wrote: »

Could we not get like a megathread for all these compo posts? I really couldn't care less anymore

I actually think that is a good idea.

Samuel T. Cogley

riffmongous wrote: »

Could we not get like a megathread for all these compo posts? I really couldn't care less anymore

+1 also can we have another mega thread entitled the Judge Nolan Appreciation Society?

rob316

Like how hard could she have hit her knee off the table leg? I've done it before its whack hurts for a few minutes and your fine then. I could never imagine filing a lawsuit for something so stupid. Maybe I'm the stupid one for not doing so.

keano_afc

Takes a special kind of person to think "oh thats a clayum" when something like this happens.

I'm over 6ft, I've walloped my knees off many a table leg and for a few seconds it hurts like crazy. To give €20k for this, wow.

Samuel T. Cogley

Egg shell skull rule.

Caliden

There's something rotten with the current judges in this country.


Rewarding clumsiness and stupidity is a slippery slope.

Cantona's Collars

keano_afc wrote: »

Takes a special kind of person to think "oh thats a clayum" when something like this happens.

I'm over 6ft, I've walloped my knees of many a table leg and for a few seconds it hurts like crazy. To give €20k for this, wow.

They should cut the legs off the tables,you could claim for hurting yourself when sitting on the floor.
She should have been told to feck off out of the court.

166man

osarusan wrote: »

I actually think that is a good idea.

Agreed, I was only jokin' with yer man


A thread to put all of them together would make sense alright.

The_Kew_Tour

Scary and will only get worse. I reckon you seen plenty of people light up when they read this

Winterlong

166man wrote: »

Agreed, I was only jokin' with yer man


A thread to put all of them together would make sense alright.

Could think of a few good titles for that thread.

"Crazy claims that made you cringe/cry".

Deise Vu

I handle claims at work and I'm always abusing the underwriters about the fact that they are only encouraging ever more spurious claims by refusing to take on the chancers. They tell me that even the most ridiculous claims will incur legal, medical and 'expert' costs and they are better off settling. Even the most minor of tips now attracts a 'provision' of €15K when renewal terms are discussed.

Then I read this stuff and I can understand why they don't want to go to court.

topper75

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

it was a "trap"

And the innocent lady walked right into it. They got her, and they got her good.

Stroke Politics

€2k extra plus the costs for a day in the high court for barristers on both sides. Any idea how much costs will be? Probably more than the award, and then the solicitors have to be paid as well. The wigs are laughing at us all the way to their holiday homes in Roundstone....

Zaph

She saw a "specialist in muscle spasm". Now last time I checked, the part of the knee you'd smack against a table leg is basically all bone. What muscles exactly were spasming, and how the fcuk did they get into her knee cap?

Kivaro

riffmongous wrote: »

Could we not get like a megathread for all these compo posts? I really couldn't care less anymore

No friggin' way.
If this megathread is created, then you are making it too easy for the ambulance chasing solicitors to gather more 'clients' for their lawsuits.

I posted yesterday on how an unusually high number of spurious claims are clustered around a small number of towns, where certain legal firms are based.
Source: Irish Independent.

Q: What's the difference between a box jellyfish and a solicitor?
A: One's a spineless, poisonous blob. The other is a form of sea life.

Samuel T. Cogley

Kivaro wrote: »

No friggin' way.
If this megathread is created, then you are making it too easy for the ambulance chasing solicitors to gather more 'clients' for their lawsuits.

I posted yesterday on how an unusually high number of spurious claims are clustered around a small number of towns, where certain legal firms are based.
Source: Irish Independent.

Q: What's the difference between a box jellyfish and a solicitor?
A: One's a spineless, poisonous blob. The other is a form of sea life.

So these absolute cnuts, who you hate, who are spinless, amoral asshats, are the ones who should be deciding if your case has merit?

Sounds like a great system...

ScumLord

As a tall person the secret support structures of tables are the bane of my life. Nearly every time I go to a restaurant I dump my knee on some protruding piece of death wood. I've been dealing with my booboos all on my lonesome, like a chump. One time the pain lasted nearly 10 seconds, and I had to apply my own first aid on site.

If only I'd known I could get €20,000! twenty ****ing thousand!! I'd be bumping into all kinds of things, it's like a long term injury without all the injury stuff.

biko

I wonder will she be welcome back to the establishment again, or any other place around once they hear about her "accident".

Boom_Bap

Zaph wrote: »

She saw a "specialist in muscle spasm". Now last time I checked, the part of the knee you'd smack against a table leg is basically all bone. What muscles exactly were spasming, and how the fcuk did they get into her knee cap?

There is a tendon/nmuscle yoke that goes accross the top of your kneecap. I strained mine recently and it is f*cking agony. No compo though :mad:

Zaph

Boom_Bap wrote: »

There is a tendon/nmuscle yoke that goes accross the top of your kneecap. I strained mine recently and it is f*cking agony. No compo though :mad:

Yes there is, I ruptured mine many years ago and it's not pleasant at all. However it is the patellar tendon, not a muscle that's going to spasm. There were some amount of chancers involved in that case.

Kivaro

biko wrote: »

I wonder will she be welcome back to the establishment again, or any other place around once they hear about her "accident".

There's only one answer to it: Remove the legs from all restaurant tables in Ireland.
In fact, let the serving staff forego the actual legless table and just put our food on the floor. And for heaven's sake, don't give us knifes and forks to stab ourselves with.

ScumLord

Kivaro wrote: »

There's only one answer to it: Remove the legs from all restaurant tables in Ireland.
In fact, let the serving staff forego the actual legless table and just put our food on the floor. And for heaven's sake, don't give us knifes and forks to stab ourselves with.

The Romans had the right idea, lie on the floor and get your slaves to put food into your mouth. Clearly we need to bring back slavery. Bags not being the slave.

Boom_Bap

That's the one....I think spasms in this case is strained.

Isn't there so much more going on behind this stuff than what is told by the media? The famous case people refer to is the McDonald's coffee case, but when you actually read into it, it's shocking the injuries that woman received and the level of vitriol & anger that was thrust on her, a lot of which, as it turns out, was actually perpetrated by McDonald's themselves.

Kivaro

Caliden wrote: »

There's something rotten with the current judges in this country.


Rewarding clumsiness and stupidity is a slippery slope.

And I'm gonna fall on this slippery slope and sue you.