PHILADELPHIA - A federal jury awarded $24.2 million to two men who were severely burned by electrical wires when they trespassed onto railroad property and climbed atop a rail car.
Jeffrey Klein and Brett Birdwell, who were 17 at the time of the accident, sued Amtrak and Norfolk Southern Corp. after being burned by a 12,500-volt electrical wire in Lancaster in August 2002. In their lawsuit, they argued that the companies should have placed warning signs alerting people to the wires, which power locomotives.
I don't blame the two winners for trying though their greed is obvious, I blame the dumb a$$ jurors that gave them the win. Ever wonder why things that are worth 99 cents are priced at $10.99, stupid liability claims like this are just one of the reasons.
You just can't legislate common sense and apparently the lack of that same quality is the responsibility of everyone else, not the dummies that were somewhere that knew they shouldn't be.
------------------ Ron Land of the Free because of the Brave. Most gave some, some gave all. My imagination is the only limiting factor to my Fiero. Well, there is that money issue.
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 10-27-2006).]
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06:26 PM
tutnkmn Member
Posts: 3426 From: York, England, U.K. Living in Ohio Registered: May 2006
I used to live in Philly, I'm sure Lancaster is the same. Been there a few times. Unless you are in a terminal getting ready to board a train there should be plenty of fence around the lines, cars and trains along with "Keep Out" and "No Trespassing" signs, etc.
Guess by that logic there must be a SPECIFIC sign for EVERY danger. Reminds me of the song......... signs, signs everywhere are signs. Blocking out the scenery.......................
Ohhhhhh. What a world.
And they had to CLIMB on top of the train!
A few sign suggestions for the Railroad:
DANGER - Do not climb train
DANGER - Train may cause injury, it's big heavy and powered by electricity!
DANGER - so on and so forth, blah blah blah....
[This message has been edited by tutnkmn (edited 10-27-2006).]
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06:32 PM
Boondawg Member
Posts: 38235 From: Displaced Alaskan Registered: Jun 2003
Originally posted by Formula88: It's thinking like that that's lead to the warning label on a curling iron that reads: "Do not insert into any bodily orifice." http://www.dumb.com/productwarnings.htm
Lot of good stuff there.
quote
Originally posted by blackrams: Ever wonder why things that are worth 99 cents are priced at $10.99, stupid liability claims like this are just one of the reasons.
Also a reason many new products do not make it to market and many ventures do not become new companies.
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08:16 PM
cliffw Member
Posts: 35940 From: Bandera, Texas, USA Registered: Jun 2003
I saw somewhere in the last couple days that 2 border patrolmen near Mexico are being charged with murder because they shot at some illegals,that were in their minds threatening them.I don't remember all the details,but when I first saw this story I thought they were only doing their jobs.
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08:19 PM
PFF
System Bot
DtheC Member
Posts: 3395 From: Newton Iowa, USA Registered: Sep 2005
PHILADELPHIA - A federal jury awarded $24.2 million to two men who were severely burned by electrical wires when they trespassed onto railroad property and climbed atop a rail car.
Jeffrey Klein and Brett Birdwell, who were 17 at the time of the accident, sued Amtrak and Norfolk Southern Corp. after being burned by a 12,500-volt electrical wire in Lancaster in August 2002. In their lawsuit, they argued that the companies should have placed warning signs alerting people to the wires, which power locomotives.
So........I guess that train fare's won't be getting cheaper anytime soon.
When will juries come to realize that companies, while they do sign the check, don't realy give any money to these idjets. The money these two goofballs will get comes from the society as a whole, particularly the commuters and shippers who use Amtrak and Norfolk Southern.
"Birdwell, who was burned over 18 percent of his body, was awarded more than $588,000. The jury also awarded a total of $12.5 million in punitive damages."
"Birdwell, who is now serving with the Army in Afghanistan, spent a year recovering from his burns".
Ok, maybe I can see $1/2 mil for medical expences?
Assuming the US Army isn't presently hiring disabled personel, $12.5/ 2 = $6.25 million for a year of down time?
Whats the ambulance chasers percentage of this settlement? ------------------ Ol' Paint, 88 Base coupe auto. Turning white on top, like owner. Leaks a little, like owner. Doesn't smoke, unlike owner
[This message has been edited by DtheC (edited 10-27-2006).]
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10:05 PM
Oct 28th, 2006
blackrams Member
Posts: 31842 From: Hattiesburg, MS, USA Registered: Feb 2003
Originally posted by DtheC: Whats the ambulance chasers percentage of this settlement?
You have hit the nail on the head. I still fault the jurors for buying into what the lawyers sell but, the real problem is all the friggin lawyers we have, they permeate our society. We're dumb enough to allow/vote them into office where they legislate the laws to their benefit, not to our benefit.
Reminds me of the old joke. Did you hear about the bus wreck? It's a real shame, a bus load of folks went over a cliff, they were all lawyers, the shame was, two empty seats.
------------------ Ron Land of the Free because of the Brave. Most gave some, some gave all. My imagination is the only limiting factor to my Fiero. Well, there is that money issue.
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 10-28-2006).]
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06:39 AM
FieroAngel Member
Posts: 2094 From: S. Charleston WV Registered: Apr 2004
DANGER - Danger signs slightly painful if walked into
Hehe I've done that
Anyway 24 million for 18% burns. Gheeze my grandfather was burned 90% of his body in an explosion at Union Carbide (now dow chemical) when he worked there and all he got was fired. This was before workers comp though. These kids will probably never work and end up abusing the money by starting drugs and wasting their life away.
------------------
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07:33 AM
tutnkmn Member
Posts: 3426 From: York, England, U.K. Living in Ohio Registered: May 2006
You have hit the nail on the head. I still fault the jurors for buying into what the lawyers sell but, the real problem is all the friggin lawyers we have, they permeate our society. We're dumb enough to allow/vote them into office where they legislate the laws to their benefit, not to our benefit.
Reminds me of the old joke. Did you hear about the bus wreck? It's a real shame, a bus load of folks went over a cliff, they were all lawyers, the shame was, two empty seats.
I remember reading somewhere there was a law written around the time of the founding of the United States that lawyers were forbidden from holding public office. Can't remember the details though. I think the law is still on the books which would make most of our politicians illegally in office!
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09:53 AM
AusFiero Member
Posts: 11513 From: Dapto NSW Australia Registered: Feb 2001
Disgusting. So, you get paid more than I will ever see in my lifetime of hard working for being a bunch of stupid ******* ***** *******. What the hell is wrong with this country? This happened in my neck of the woods (or the ghetto, Philth-a-delphia and Lancaster could just dissapear and it would probably be for the better) and I see the kind of stupidity that plaques this area where I live and where I go to school. Not that I am completely blaming the two ******* that got burned, it is also the fault of the jurers who somehow think that giving people money for acting like they should ride the short bus. The worst is the ambulance chasers who start these suits in the first place. People should not be able to collect money is they are hurt while commiting a crime. PERIOD. It is horrible to say this, but it would have been better if they had come across to crispy fried ******* on the powerlines instead.
~ Derek
[This message has been edited by Derek_85GT (edited 10-28-2006).]
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11:27 AM
Formula88 Member
Posts: 53788 From: Raleigh NC Registered: Jan 2001
I saw the story in a few local sources as well. It's the same BS where criminals breaking into your house sue you for any injury they got, or their family sues you for wrongful death etc for shooting them, while robbing you. This one was no surprise.
This kind of crap is why coffee cups now have a caution warning on them at many takeouts and McD's. Hmm gee, fresh coffee is hot... go figure.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurasic Park)
Rowenta Iron Warning: Never iron clothes on the body.
The saddest part is I used to know someone in High School that did that and burned herself. At least she knew better than to sue anyone for her own stupidity.
