4 Wild Cases Where An Injury Lawyer Made A Difference
When something bad happens to you because of someone else's actions, you expect them to make it right. From a legal standpoint, though, that process can get very involved, especially if the responsible party sees things differently or just doesn't want to pay up. It's at moments like that that a personal injury attorney may become a valuable asset. In these four cases, having professional counsel made a difference for the plaintiffs.
Hot Coffee
A 1992 case involving a New Mexico woman who was scalded by hot coffee from a MacDonald's exemplifies the challenges that can come from an injury case. The woman had been wearing sweatpants at the time, and the coffee spilled on her in the car she was a passenger in. With a temperature of at least 180 degrees F, the hot fluid was held against her body and caused injuries that required skin grafts.
The woman had offered to settle for $20,000, but MacDonald's only offered $800. The woman hired a personal injury lawyer, and eventually, a jury awarded her $200,000 in compensatory damages and $2.7 million in punitive damages. While the case was appealed, a final settlement of an undisclosed amount below $600,000 was reached.
The Singer vs CBS
Bret Michaels, the lead singer of the rock band Poison, sued CBS for an incident that occurred in 2009 at the Tony Awards. He hadn't been instructed on how to leave the stage following his appearance, and he struck his head off a set piece, leading to a broken nose and a subarachnoid brain hemorrhage a few months later. CBS contested that the injury was his own fault, but a court agreed with Michaels, awarding undisclosed damages.
Trespassing Teens
A 2002 incident in Pennsylvania involved two teenagers who were skateboarding on the top of a parked railroad car. An uninsulated wire was hanging above the car, and the teens received electrical burns when they came into contact with it. Even though they were trespassing at the time, the two eventually were awarded $24.2 million in damages.
An Unusual Slip and Fall
While walking through a sudsy wet area near a public fountain in Minnesota in 2001, a woman had a seemingly minor injury, a cut. The cut, however, ended up getting worse because the woman had diabetes. She sued the city for not cleaning up or cordoning off the spot, ultimately obtaining $125,000 in damages.
These cases illustrate how important it is to have a personal injury attorney on your side in a case. Contact a business like Palmetto Injury Lawyers to learn more.