FARK.com: (7102997) Woman successfully sues for $80,000 after getting burned by hot chicken broth. "She came around the corner, and the cart was right there in the doorway. She bumped her shin on it and fell into the containers"

If you can read this, either the style sheet didn't load or you have an older browser that doesn't support style sheets. Try clearing your browser cache and refreshing the page.

		Woman successfully sues for $80,000 after getting burned by hot chicken broth. "She came around the corner, and the cart was right there in the doorway. She bumped her shin on it and fell into the containers" (buffalonews.com)		94
		More: Interesting, Niagara County, burnup, medical system, carts, chicken broth

• • •

6515 clicks; posted to Main » on 13 May 2012 at 10:44 AM | Favorite | share:

Share this link:

URL:

http://fark.com/go/7102997

Bookmark:

Article Comments close

94 Comments (+0 »)

View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest

Archived thread

First | « | 1 | 2 | » | Last | Show all

God Is My Co-Pirate		2012-05-13 09:31:18 AM

Five days in the hospital burn unit. This doesn't seem like an unreasonable settlement.

deadcrickets		2012-05-13 10:46:03 AM

10 to 1 odds she was on a cell phone.

zinny		2012-05-13 10:48:14 AM

She's never gonna make it as a chef.

EngineerAU		2012-05-13 10:49:22 AM

deadcrickets: 10 to 1 odds she was on a cell phone.

Probably also driving her car down the hallway.

FinFangFark		2012-05-13 10:49:23 AM

God Is My Co-Pirate: Five days in the hospital burn unit. This doesn't seem like an unreasonable settlement.

This.

deadcrickets: 10 to 1 odds she was on a cell phone.

Also this.

I'm not gonna rant about a petty lawsuit as a cheap money grab. She was in the hospital for 5 days, I'm sure the bill was pretty high. Now if it comes out she was shooting for 300/400k in damages, then I'd say the suit was stupid.

But this one is really much a "meh" by Fark standards.

/Watch were you're walking next time dumb lady.

denbroc		2012-05-13 10:50:18 AM

Is disappoint

toraque		2012-05-13 10:50:45 AM

She was probably drunk and staggering around. That's what you get when you end up hitting the sauce.

Honest Bender		2012-05-13 10:51:57 AM

God Is My Co-Pirate: Five days in the hospital burn unit. This doesn't seem like an unreasonable settlement.

It does when you consider that she did it to herself...

Misconduc		2012-05-13 10:51:57 AM

Was it this woman?
media.techeblog.com

skinink		2012-05-13 10:52:18 AM

Pre-emptive before someone starts complaining it's lawsuits like hers and the McDonald's "Hot Coffee" lawsuit that is ruining the legal system. McDonald's even admitted in court that they kept their coffee hotter than normal, but the court also found the lady 20% liable for her coffee burns.

Louisiana_Sitar_Club		2012-05-13 10:53:39 AM

God Is My Co-Pirate: Five days in the hospital burn unit. This doesn't seem like an unreasonable settlement.

Yeah, I like to "pffffffft" most law suits as much as the next guy but I was thinking the same thing. The fact that she settled for $80,000 actually sounds like she just wanted here hospital stay and follow ups to be covered rather than a pay day. Of course, it's tough to say whose fault it really was. (Though I'm sure that plenty of farkers will mystically divine the truth from the news blurb.)

Misch		2012-05-13 10:54:17 AM

FinFangFark: Now if it comes out she was shooting for 300/400k in damages, then I'd say the suit was stupid.

FTA: The lawsuit didn't name an amount of damages sought. Grace said the woman's injuries weren't permanent.

Louisiana_Sitar_Club		2012-05-13 10:55:01 AM

Oops. looks like Honest Bender types faster than me.

Pert		2012-05-13 10:59:37 AM

Two soups....

i2.ytimg.com

themeaningoflifeisnot		2012-05-13 11:03:20 AM

FinFangFark: I'm not gonna rant about a petty lawsuit as a cheap money grab. She was in the hospital for 5 days, I'm sure the bill was pretty high. Now if it comes out she was shooting for 300/400k in damages, then I'd say the suit was stupid.

But this one is really much a "meh" by Fark standards.

Well, undoubtedly the complaint that was filed sought damages much higher than what she settled for. She probably initially sought half a million or more, and then settled for less because that's the way the system works.

As to the settlement, with 5 days in the burn unit, even without permanent scarring and assessing a percentage against her for her own possible negligence, $80k is very, very reasonable.

Honest Bender		2012-05-13 11:03:39 AM

Louisiana_Sitar_Club: Oops. looks like Honest Bender types faster than me.

Meh, there's not really enough info in the article to say for sure. Their description is that she walked around a corner, bumped into the food cart, and stumbled forward into the hot soup.

Was the school negligent in it's placement of the food cart? Maybe. Was it negligent in not covering the containers of hot soup? Maybe. But I'm inclined to believe that an average person paying attention to what he or she is doing wouldn't have had this accident. That leads me to believe that, aside from any minor negligence that the school may or may not have demonstrated, it was the woman's inattention and carelessness that caused the accident.

But absent further evidence, that's just an opinion. I'm sure plenty of people will disagree with me but there's no way to draw a definite conclusion here. Not enough information.

chaddsfarkprefect		2012-05-13 11:04:04 AM

Wait, a cooking student sued because she stumbled into hot soup?

Entitlement: It's what for dinner.

BizarreMan		2012-05-13 11:05:21 AM

[csb]

Back when I was in college I worked in the cafeteria as a food runner. One day, the guy who was the cooks help back in the kitchen was carrying a pot of tomato soup and slipped and fell. He ended up with third degree burns on his arms and hands, chest, and legs.

Sad thing is that after it happened, almost all of the dieticians and cooks (paid help) just stood around going OMG what should we do. Only one of them who had worked at a summer camp had enough common sense to begin first aid until the ambulance could get there.

No clue how much if any settlement he got.

This is also where I put in a plug for non-skid shoes. If you work anywhere that has surfaces that can become wet or slick should invest in a pair.

[/csb]

Louisiana_Sitar_Club		2012-05-13 11:07:47 AM

Archie Goodwin		2012-05-13 11:08:01 AM

Winner, winner, the chicken dinner.

Chuckus		2012-05-13 11:09:33 AM

How come no one ever harps on the guy who left that cart in the hallway with the lids off. Work safely and use some common sense and people won't sue you for burns.

spentmiles		2012-05-13 11:10:20 AM

Burned by scalding cock juice? That's hot.

Digital Communist		2012-05-13 11:11:28 AM

If anyone has not seen it, Hot Coffee is a very interesting documentary about co called frivolous lawsuits.

You will be surprised (but not so surprised) to learn that the public awareness groups advocating for tort reform are the furthest thing from what they claim. They are in fact *gasp* corporate lobby groups.

Of course there are frivolous lawsuits all the time and they are a problem, but it's not near as bad as you think.

dready zim		2012-05-13 11:13:20 AM

EYES! Most of us have them in the front of our heads for a reason, to see things and adjust our behaviour based on what we see. This woman seems to have them as an accessory for her eye shadow.

Welcome to zim justice

"I walked into a stationary object, I want it to be someone elses fault"
"Well, you are a bloody idiot then, try using your eyes. CASE CLOSED"

Cataholic		2012-05-13 11:17:57 AM

Well, I certainly wasn't expecting to see anyone white-knighting trial lawyers in this thread.

Honest Bender		2012-05-13 11:20:24 AM

Louisiana_Sitar_Club: That's an awfully far cry from:

It does when you consider that she did it to herself...

My Boobies states my opinion of the situation. Her clumsiness or carelessness is what got her injured, so any amount of money is too much.

My second post was me responding to you when you said, "Of course, it's tough to say whose fault it really was." In essence, I was agreeing with you. It's pretty much impossible for us to discern who is at fault here.

Jon iz teh kewl		2012-05-13 11:25:26 AM

skinink		2012-05-13 11:30:06 AM

Honest Bender: Louisiana_Sitar_Club: That's an awfully far cry from:

It does when you consider that she did it to herself...

My Boobies states my opinion of the situation. Her clumsiness or carelessness is what got her injured, so any amount of money is too much.

My second post was me responding to you when you said, "Of course, it's tough to say whose fault it really was." In essence, I was agreeing with you. It's pretty much impossible for us to discern who is at fault here.

Well then both you and your opinionated boobies are idiots.

Mr. Potatoass		2012-05-13 11:39:53 AM

They should have paid the clumsy biatch in gold bouillon.

Heist		2012-05-13 11:40:17 AM

Five days in the burn unit of a hospital does imply that it was a pretty serious injury (although only a second degree burn?), so like other Farkers, I imagine that the $80k settlement is reasonable to cover her medical bills.

THAT SAID, maybe culinary school is the wrong career. First degree (and sometimes second degree) burns are commonplace in commercial kitchens. It's just an occupational hazard that anyone in food service learns to deal with.

Heist		2012-05-13 11:43:10 AM

Digital Communist: If anyone has not seen it, Hot Coffee is a very interesting documentary about co called frivolous lawsuits.

You will be surprised (but not so surprised) to learn that the public awareness groups advocating for tort reform are the furthest thing from what they claim. They are in fact *gasp* corporate lobby groups.

Of course there are frivolous lawsuits all the time and they are a problem, but it's not near as bad as you think.

I take it you don't know any doctors. OB/GYN medical malpractice insurance runs ~30k/year

Honest Bender		2012-05-13 11:46:32 AM

skinink: Well then both you and your opinionated boobies are idiots.

Why?

Whatthefark		2012-05-13 11:48:36 AM

$80.000 for a second degree burn? If I sued for every second degree burn I've gotent in my life, I'd be posting this from a beach house on my private island in the South Pacific.

/How much you want to bet she was texting while walking and left that part out of her lawsuit?

Whatthefark		2012-05-13 11:49:12 AM

* gotten

ThrobblefootSpectre		2012-05-13 11:50:02 AM

Give her a break. She's a culinary arts student. She needs the money.

Digital Communist		2012-05-13 11:50:44 AM

Heist: Digital Communist: If anyone has not seen it, Hot Coffee is a very interesting documentary about co called frivolous lawsuits.

You will be surprised (but not so surprised) to learn that the public awareness groups advocating for tort reform are the furthest thing from what they claim. They are in fact *gasp* corporate lobby groups.

Of course there are frivolous lawsuits all the time and they are a problem, but it's not near as bad as you think.

I take it you don't know any doctors. OB/GYN medical malpractice insurance runs ~30k/year

I don't know any doctors who aren't rich as shiat despite their insurance.

Of course doctors dislike being sued. They also dislike those websites that allow people to rate doctors. No one wants to be held accountable for their actions, what's your point?

My point was that a lot of so-called frivolous lawsuits, like the McDonald's coffee case were anything but frivolous.

prince of peas		2012-05-13 11:50:46 AM

Honest Bender: Louisiana_Sitar_Club: Oops. looks like Honest Bender types faster than me.

Meh, there's not really enough info in the article to say for sure. Their description is that she walked around a corner, bumped into the food cart, and stumbled forward into the hot soup.

Was the school negligent in it's placement of the food cart? Maybe. Was it negligent in not covering the containers of hot soup? Maybe. But I'm inclined to believe that an average person paying attention to what he or she is doing wouldn't have had this accident. That leads me to believe that, aside from any minor negligence that the school may or may not have demonstrated, it was the woman's inattention and carelessness that caused the accident.

But absent further evidence, that's just an opinion. I'm sure plenty of people will disagree with me but there's no way to draw a definite conclusion here. Not enough information.

Their description is that the cart was being wheeled by another student: FTFA Another student was pushing a cart with four uncovered 4-gallon containers of the broth.

That being said, a primary rule in the food service industry, and something that is taught just about day one in culinary school, is that you do not move hot liquid without covers. It's as basic as not running with scissors or wearing steel toe shoes on a construction site.

$80k is nothing and, from what I can see, even if she walked into the cart that was being pushed, the burns that she suffered could have been severely mitigated or nonexistent, if the soup pots were covered as common sense, and most school and restaurant rules, dictate.

Mad Tea Party		2012-05-13 11:50:46 AM

Whatthefark: $80.000 for a second degree burn? If I sued for every second degree burn I've gotent in my life, I'd be posting this from a beach house on my private island in the South Pacific.

How many times have you had to spend 5 days in the burn ward?

God Is My Co-Pirate		2012-05-13 11:52:06 AM

dready zim: EYES! Most of us have them in the front of our heads for a reason, to see things and adjust our behaviour based on what we see. This woman seems to have them as an accessory for her eye shadow.

Welcome to zim justice

"I walked into a stationary object, I want it to be someone elses fault"
"Well, you are a bloody idiot then, try using your eyes. CASE CLOSED"

That is not what happened. She turned a corner just as someone pushing a trolley full of uncovered boiling soup tureens came rocketing around the corner. I hate frivolous lawsuits, but this isn't one.

shArkh		2012-05-13 11:52:56 AM

I've got a great idea, let's reward people for not looking where they're going. Is this the trickle-down I've heard so much about?

prince of peas		2012-05-13 11:54:59 AM

shArkh: I've got a great idea, let's reward people for not looking where they're going. Is this the trickle-down I've heard so much about?

Another student was pushing a cart with four uncovered 4-gallon containers of the broth. Read the article before throwing your asshat nonsensical, irrelevant political BS into the thread.

Theaetetus		2012-05-13 11:56:23 AM

shArkh: I've got a great idea, let's reward people for not looking where they're going. Is this the trickle-down I've heard so much about?

Yeah, "reward". She's so lucky to have spent 5 days in a burn ward. It's like a paid vacation. In fact, there are even spa treatments there, like dermal abrasion!
img.webmd.com

Heist		2012-05-13 11:58:41 AM

Digital Communist:I don't know any doctors who aren't rich as shiat despite their insurance.

Of course doctors dislike being sued. They also dislike those websites that allow people to rate doctors. No one wants to be held accountable for their actions, what's your point?

My point was that a lot of so-called frivolous lawsuits, like the McDonald's coffee case were anything but frivolous.

So, as I was saying, you don't know any doctors. Family doctors, OB/GYN, pediatricians, geriatric doctors, psychiatrists, and internal medicine doctors generally make in the lower $100,000 range. Yes, that's a lot. But when you consider the 10 years and $300,000 in loans to make that possible, the 60 hour work weeks, and then tack on the $30k/year insurance (which was for my home state, Virginia. The highest states can charge six figures), the take home pay is significantly less. Yes, there are some doctors who are rich as shiat. Many are not..

Which brings me back to my point, that a lot of lawsuits are frivolous. People think they can make bank on those "rich as shiat" family doctors, and as a result, hard working people suffer.

Boberella		2012-05-13 12:01:08 PM

BizarreMan: [csb]

Back when I was in college I worked in the cafeteria as a food runner. One day, the guy who was the cooks help back in the kitchen was carrying a pot of tomato soup and slipped and fell. He ended up with third degree burns on his arms and hands, chest, and legs.

Sad thing is that after it happened, almost all of the dieticians and cooks (paid help) just stood around going OMG what should we do. Only one of them who had worked at a summer camp had enough common sense to begin first aid until the ambulance could get there.

No clue how much if any settlement he got.

This is also where I put in a plug for non-skid shoes. If you work anywhere that has surfaces that can become wet or slick should invest in a pair.

[/csb]

I work in a kitchen and water/oil proof soles are mandatory, part of the uniform, send you home if you don't have them type thing. Seriously, kitchen floors are death traps.

shArkh		2012-05-13 12:02:16 PM

prince of peas: shArkh: I've got a great idea, let's reward people for not looking where they're going. Is this the trickle-down I've heard so much about?

Another student was pushing a cart with four uncovered 4-gallon containers of the broth. Read the article before throwing your asshat nonsensical, irrelevant political BS into the thread.

You telling me you wouldn't notice / hear / pick up (or perhaps even see the edge of) the trundling of a cart weighed down with 16 gallons of soup from round a corner, so very close to you, that you would in fact collide with it the instant you step out?

If Y, then I hope you find yourself at a corner near to a cart full of broth someday, and thanks for the bite.
If N, then thanks for agreeing, and for the bite.

prince of peas		2012-05-13 12:02:59 PM

Heist: Digital Communist:I don't know any doctors who aren't rich as shiat despite their insurance.

Which brings me back to my point, that a lot of lawsuits are frivolous. People think they can make bank on those "rich as shiat" family doctors, and as a result, hard working people suffer.

Agreed and most of my doctor friends pay in the 6 figure range for insurance. However, that does not mean that all law suits are frivolous, and I would count 5 days in a burn unit and an $80k compensation, for an accident that was clearly avoidable, not frivolous.

dstrick44		2012-05-13 12:03:04 PM

Heist

Smartest
Funniest
2012-05-13 11:43:10 AM
Digital Communist: If anyone has not seen it, Hot Coffee is a very interesting documentary about co called frivolous lawsuits.

You will be surprised (but not so surprised) to learn that the public awareness groups advocating for tort reform are the furthest thing from what they claim. They are in fact *gasp* corporate lobby groups.

Of course there are frivolous lawsuits all the time and they are a problem, but it's not near as bad as you think.

I take it you don't know any doctors. OB/GYN medical malpractice insurance runs ~30k/year

So reform the insurance industry. If insurance companies are gouging dr.'s, that's one thing. It's been established that "frivolous lawsuits" are not the major problem they're made out to be. The third leg of this stool is incompetent and/or corrupt dr.'s and/or clinics gaming the system.

Case in point:
freakoutnation.com

These folks make it hard for everyone else

prince of peas		2012-05-13 12:04:52 PM

shArkh: prince of peas: shArkh: I've got a great idea, let's reward people for not looking where they're going. Is this the trickle-down I've heard so much about?

Another student was pushing a cart with four uncovered 4-gallon containers of the broth. Read the article before throwing your asshat nonsensical, irrelevant political BS into the thread.

You telling me you wouldn't notice / hear / pick up (or perhaps even see the edge of) the trundling of a cart weighed down with 16 gallons of soup from round a corner, so very close to you, that you would in fact collide with it the instant you step out?

If Y, then I hope you find yourself at a corner near to a cart full of broth someday, and thanks for the bite.
If N, then thanks for agreeing, and for the bite.

You've clearly never worked in catering. The kitchens are loud, very loud. But thanks for playing and thanks for the good wishes. Shows the world what a class act you are.

Whatthefark		2012-05-13 12:05:25 PM

Mad Tea Party: Whatthefark: $80.000 for a second degree burn? If I sued for every second degree burn I've gotent in my life, I'd be posting this from a beach house on my private island in the South Pacific.

How many times have you had to spend 5 days in the burn ward?

I went to the hospital twice because of the size of a couple of burns. I never spent more than a couple of hours there though.

Five days in the hospital for second degree burns even to her hands and forearms seems excessive. She didn't have excessive scarring, so it couldn't have been that bad. She must have had great insurance for the hospital to keep her in that long.

cig-mkr		2012-05-13 12:07:44 PM

The lawyer was a little slack wasn't he? She could have sued the school, cart maker, pot maker, chicken broth maker, and even the guy pushing the cart.
However kudos to her, I would like to believe that all she wanted was her medical bills covered.

Displayed 50 of 94 comments

First | « | 1 | 2 | » | Last | Show all

View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest

Redisplay/refresh comments

This thread is closed to new comments.