Hi But what about problem of doctors deserting high-risk areas, like obstetrics, or the fact that much scarce health-care money ends up in the pockets of insurance companies and lawyers? And how would one go about determining empirically that the litigiousness of the American health care industry has actually resulted in improvements?
Take care Jim James M. Clark Professor of Psychology 204-786-9757 204-774-4134 Fax [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>> "Gaft, Sam" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 18-Mar-07 6:31:11 PM >>> Richard, It was only in response to your posting of the Stella commeraton of how people are suing and winning large and undeserving awards from juries. Since I knew of the pain and suffering of Stella and how she was treated by MCDonald I thought it necessary to put more balance into the issue. I dont mind a little propaganda but I think we should honor Stella for her reaction to the indifference by McDonald's and not support this myth that the legal profession is just looking for these absurd examples you posted to unfairly enrich themselves and their "cheating" clients. Since professional organizations and government have failed to protect the interests of the public we are fortunate that people like Stella come forth-find representation - and force change in the public interest. Look at how the medical profession had to clean up their act in light of the law suits they lost because they just didn't give a damn. I like that my Dr. has to practice preventative medicine. Yea, I want him to be careful and I expect sellers of coffee not to scald me. -----Original Message----- From: Richard Pisacreta, Ph.D. [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thu 3/15/2007 11:03 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] RE: FW: Stella Awards Sam: I don't understand why this addressed to me personally. Because of many ignored earlier complaints, I would have decided in her favor. Richard Pisacreta, Ph.D. parolled Psychology professor Feris State University Dept. of Social Sciences >From: "Gaft, Sam" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" ><[email protected]> >To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" ><[email protected]> >Subject: [tips] RE: FW: Stella Awards >Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 22:07:24 -0400 > >To Parollee Pisacreta, >Maybe the winter has been a bit severe up there in Big Rapids but there is >more to the Stella story: >THE MCDONALD'S HOT COFFEE CASE >I. Remember the McDonald's Hot Coffee Case? >A. A woman spilled hot coffee on herself and won a "gazillion dollars" >B. With so much negative publicity about this verdict, let's look at the >case from >the woman's side. >C. Here some facts of the case that you may not have known >II. Facts of the Case >A. The woman was 79-year-old Stella Liebeck of Albuquerque, New Mexico. >B. She earned $5,000 a year as a sales clerk. >C. One February a.m. in 1992, Stella and her grandson drove through a >McDonald's drive-in to buy food and coffee. >D. She sat in the front passenger bucket seat of her son's Ford Probe car >E. She was wearing sweat pants. (That becomes important later) >F. Chris drove the car away from the drive-in window and stopped so Stella >could add cream and sugar, but she had trouble getting off the lid. >G. So she placed the styrofoam cup between her legs, thus freeing up both >hands to remove that lid. >H. The coffee cup tipped over, spilling hot coffee over Stella's legs, >groin and >buttocks. >I. She suffered the most severe kind of burns-3rd degrees burns-over 6% of >her 79-year-old body. >1. A third degree burn means that all the layers of the skin are burned >completely through, called a "full thickness burn." >2. She went through skin grafts where skin was shaved from one part of >her body to place it on top of the burned areas. >3. She was in severe pain. >4. Her medical bills totaled more than $10,000. >J. Two weeks later Stella wrote McDonald's to tell them about the coffee >spill, >and her burns. >III. The Lawsuit >A. One year after the accident she filed a lawsuit against McDonald's, >alleging >the hot coffee was not only hot but-in fact-too hot. >B. In legal language we call that "product liability." The lawsuit said the >coffee >was manufactured "defectively" due to its excessive heat. >C. Simply put: Stella claimed the high temperature of the coffee presented >an >unreasonable risk of injury. >IV. How Hot is Too Hot? >A. McDonald's brews coffee at 195 to 205 degrees and then keeps it for sale >to >customers at between 180 and 190 degrees. >B. They've been doing that since at least 1978. >C. McDonald's said that's the temperature recommended by the national >coffee >associations to get maximum flavor from coffee. >D. It said many people don't actually drink the hot coffee until they get >to work. >E. McDonalds argued: everyone knows coffee is supposed to be served hot, so >that could not have been a surprise to Stella. Warning "hot" is printed on >coffee >cups. >F. Coffee is unsafe to drink at 180 to 190 degrees, and will cause burns to >the >throat if swallowed within the first few minutes. Can cause severe burns at >130 >degrees. >G. More than 700 people have reported burns from drinking McDonald's coffee >over the years, and despite the large of number of burn complaints, the >company >continues to serve it at least 180 degrees. >H. One burn specialist said it took only a fraction of a second at 180 >degrees to >produce a serous burn; at 130 degrees it would take 30-40 seconds. >I. Stella's Sweat Pants: the hot coffee soaked through them and it took her >about >30 seconds before she could pull them away from her body. >J. McDonald's argued: in previous coffee burning cases, courts have focused >on >the person who spilled the coffee, and never before had found that the >coffee >itself was defective because of high temperature. >1. In a case in Pennsylvania, a woman also placed a cup of hot coffee >between her legs and was burned when it spilled. >2. The court said: "a purveyor of hot coffee cannot be held liable for >burns >sustained by a customer when an external force causes the beverage to >spill." >3. The company argued that it has sold more than 10 BILLION cups of >coffee over the years and yet received very few complaints. >a. It admitted it has strengthened and tightened its styrofoam >coffee cups and stamped a warning on them, a warning that its >competitors have not done. >K. McDonalds admitted-and this may be the reason for the huge punitive >damage award-that it had not reduced the temperature of its coffee, and has >no >intention of doing so, even though it has known since 1983 that people were >getting burned from spilling coffee. >1. McDonalds said more than 700 persons have been burned at its >stores, most from hot coffee. >2. McDonalds called that figure "statistically trivial." >3. A witness for the plaintiff called that remark "corporate callousness." >L. McDonald's also admitted people over 65 are at an increased risk for >coffee >spills. >1. Coffee-drinking customers are probably not aware that they can get 3rd >degree burns if they spill coffee on themselves, especially if they cannot >escape the hot liquid within a very few seconds of the spill. >2. Stella said she saw a warning on the cup: "Caution contents hot," but >said, "What you don't expect is a cup of coffee to be so hot that it would >burn you." >3. Coffee-drinkers over age 65 are especially susceptible to coffee burns >4. their vision is not as good, and neither is their grip strength-- their >ability to grasp the coffee cup without spilling it. >5. They tend to drop things easier and their temperature perception isn't >good: they have trouble detecting temperature differences. >M. Survey of restaurants in Albuquerque found coffee was served below 160 >degrees; and other fast food chains sold their coffee below 180 degrees. >N. Experts said a "safe" range for serving coffee is between 150-165 >degrees. >1. At 185 degrees when spilled, the temperature would drop to 165 >degrees by the time it hits the body and when it soaks through the sweat >pants it will cause severe burns. That takes about 25 seconds-not a very >long time to get out of clothes, especially if you are over 65. >2. But coffee served at 155 degrees would cool to 140 degrees by the >time it hit the body and take a significant longer time (about 60 seconds) >to >cause serous burns, time enough to get out of the clothes. >O. Experts said coffee served at 185 degrees will cause 3rd degree burns in >3-10 >seconds. Stella was exposed for 25 seconds. At 170 degrees it takes 20 >seconds >and at 155 degrees it takes 60 seconds. >P. McDonalds says it sells one BILLION (one thousand million) cups of >coffee >each year nationwide. That's nearly 2-and-a-half million cups a day. >V. The Verdict >A. After hearing all the evidence, the jury found that McDonalds was 80% at >fault >and Stella was 20% at fault. >B. It awarded Stella $160,000 to compensate her for her injuries, and also >gave >her $2.7million in punitive damages. >C. The trial judge, however, later reduced the entire judgment to $450,000. >D. McDonalds did not appeal. >VI. You Be The Judge >A. If you had been on the jury how would you have voted? >B. Was it Stella's fault for trying to add sugar and cream while sitting in >a car? >C. Or was in McDonalds fault for selling coffee so much hotter than any >other >place? > > > > >-----Original Message----- >From: Richard Pisacreta, Ph.D. [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Sent: Fri 2/16/2007 3:04 PM >To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) >Subject: [tips] FW: Stella Awards > > > >Richard Pisacreta, Ph.D. >parolled Psychology professor >Feris State University >Dept. of Social Sciences > > > > > > > > >It's time once again to review the winners of the Annual "Stella > >Awards."? The "Stella Awards" are named after 81 year-old Stella > >Liebeck of New Mexico who spilled hot coffee on herself and > >successfully sued McDonald's.? That case inspired the "Stella Awards" > >for the most frivolous, ridiculous, successful lawsuits in the United > >States. > > > >Here are this year's winners: > > > >7th Place: > >Kathleen Robertson of > >Austin:State Texas, was awarded $80,000 by a jury of her peers after > >breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running around > >inside a furniture store. The owners of the store were understandably > >surprised at the verdict, considering the misbehaving little toddler > >was Ms. Robertson's son. > > > >6th Place: > >19-year-old Carl Truman of Los Angeles won $74,000 and medical expenses > >when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Mr. Truman > >apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when > >he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps. > > > >5th Place: > >Terrence Dickson of Bristol Pennsylvania, was leaving a house he had > >just finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not able to get the > >garage door to go up since the automatic door opener was > >malfunctioning. He couldn't re-enter the house because the door > >connecting the house and garage locked when he pulled it shut. The > >family was on vacation, and Mr. Dickson found himself locked in the > >garage for eight days. He subsisted on a case of Pepsi he found, and a > >arge bag of dry dog food. He sued the homeowner's insurance claiming > >the situation caused him undue mental anguish. The jury agreed to the > >tune of $500,000. > > > >4th Place: > >Jerry Williams of Little Rock Arkansas, was awarded $14,500 and > >medical expenses after being bitten on the buttocks by his next door > >neighbor's beagle. The beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced > >yard. The award was less than sought because the jury felt the dog > >might have been just a little provoked > >at the time by Mr. Williams, who had?climbed over the fence into the > >yard and was shooting it repeatedly with a pellet gun. > > > >3rd Place: > >A Philadelphia restaurant was ordered to pay Amber Carson of > >Lancaster,Pennsylvania, $113,500 after she slipped on a soft drink and > >broke her > >coccyx (tailbone). The beverage was on the floor because Ms. Carson had > >thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument. > > > >2nd Place: > >Kara Walton of Claymont, Delaware, successfully sued the owner of a > >night club in a neighboring city when she fell from the bathroom > >window to the floor and knocked out her two front teeth. This occurred > >while Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the window in the ladies > >room to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge. She was awarded $12,000 > >and dental expenses. > > > >And in : (Drum roll please....) > >This year's runaway winner was Mrs. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma > >City,Oklahoma. Mrs. Grazinski purchased a brand new 32-foot Winnebago >motor > >home. On her first trip home, (from an OU football game), having driven > >onto the freeway, > >she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the drivers seat > >to go into the back & make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the RV > >left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago > >for not advising her in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually > >do this. The jury awarded her $1,750,000 plus a new motor home. The > >company actually changed their manuals on the basis of this suit, just > >in case there were any other complete morons around. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > View other groups in this category. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > To stop getting this e-mail, or change how often it > >arrives, go to your E-mail Settings. > > > > > > Need help? If you've forgotten your password, > > please >go > >to Passport Member Services. > > > > For other questions or feedback, go to our > > Contact Us > >page. > > > > > > If you do not want to receive future e-mail > > from this > >MSN group, or if you received this message by mistake, please click the > >"Remove" link below. On the pre-addressed e-mail message that opens, >simply > >click "Send". 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