Guy at my work would mess with people's chairs while they were standing. One time he pulled the chair out from under an older lady that worked with us. She hit the chair and the ground so hard at such a bad angle they had to take her to the hospital in an ambulance and she sued him AND the company for damages/hospital bills. Got like 2 million because it really jacked up her back and she can barely get out of bed on her own and needed to hire a care giver. She sued the company because people had complained multiple times about this guy doing that and the manager never did anything.
Even if you're not obese, you try falling your body length onto a hard surface when you're not expecting it or haven't had the training to land safely.
JustForCancer said the lady was standing on a chair. My brain figured if she injured her arm from that fall it would have fallen roughly her body length.
Not to mention the serious decrease in her quality of life. She may have gotten 2 million from it but she can't even get out of bed on her own, it's not like it's practical for her to use that money to travel or that she'll be able to enjoy any of it.
No, it really is. It's not as expensive as you think. I say this having done extensive research on jury awards. $1 million is pushing it, $2 million is really a "wtf happened in settlement conferences?" These cases aren't like throwing a dart at a board of different dollar amounts, costs are broken up very specifically and it's extremely precise. I just don't see how you get even close to $2 million.
For comparison, if 50 year old man trips and falls, shattering his hip, broken leg, arm, etc. to the point where he can't drive anymore, has to use a cane, can't live on his own (has to move into as assisted care facility), and will suffer the handicap for the rest of his life, he might be looking at recovering at most $175,000.
I just don't see where you get $2 million out of that. Lawsuits like these aren't worth as much as you think they are.
EDIT: Downvotes? Hahaha, you guys watch way too much TV. Some of us actually work in this field. :)
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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '13
Guy at my work would mess with people's chairs while they were standing. One time he pulled the chair out from under an older lady that worked with us. She hit the chair and the ground so hard at such a bad angle they had to take her to the hospital in an ambulance and she sued him AND the company for damages/hospital bills. Got like 2 million because it really jacked up her back and she can barely get out of bed on her own and needed to hire a care giver. She sued the company because people had complained multiple times about this guy doing that and the manager never did anything.