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Child cut knee, gets €20,000

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    #152
    MistyCheese
    Registered Users Posts: 4,005 ✭✭✭MistyCheese


    Fighting Irish wrote: »
    If someone crashed into your car would you want the car to be replaced with pretty much the same car as before the crash?

    If someone damaged by body i'd want it back to as near perfect as it was before.

    Fair enough but if that child had fallen and got a small cut on her knee from a sharpish stone instead of glass who would the parents have been able to sue?


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    #153
    gurramok
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,992 ✭✭✭✭gurramok


    When i was a toddler(about 1980), I had a similar accident in a playground. I fell onto broken glass and my knee was gushing blood all over it, I roared crying and I still remember the incident today. My knee quickly healed due to my parents bandage powers, no scarring at all. Suing the Dublin Corporation at the time didn't even enter the mind of my parents.

    What does that tell you about 2012, its the compo culture.


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    #154
    Rasheed
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,117 ✭✭✭Rasheed


    MistyCheese wrote: »

    Fair enough but if that child had fallen and got a small cut on her knee from a sharpish stone instead of glass who would the parents have been able to sue?
    Exactly where does it stop?

    I fall in a nightclub where somebody spilled a drink, sue the nightclub for not having more vigilant staff or take responsibility that I probably had too much drink and wasn't looking where I was going.

    I cut my hand in a restaurant with a steak knife, sure the waitress never told me the knife was that sharp, SHOW ME THE MONEY.

    This compo shiite needs to be halted. There are always going to be chancers that will nearly look out for opportunities to sue.

    This in turn, affects the genuinely hurt person, in need of compensation, feeling that they might be accused of being one of these chancers.


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    #155
    Tayla
    Registered Users Posts: 2,158 ✭✭✭Tayla


    Fighting Irish wrote: »
    That's you though

    Yea and I could say the same about your comment "If someone damaged by body i'd want it back to as near perfect as it was before."

    I'd say the amount of people who use compensation money for small scars for plastic surgery is tiny.

    If the money was paid directly to the plastic surgeon after the op rather than cash to the person then how many people would bother going for the op?


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    #156
    kennM
    Registered Users Posts: 603 ✭✭✭kennM


    languagenerd wrote: »
    I genuinely don't understand why people (incl some posters in this thread) think that being injured automatically equals deserving money. I'm not having a go at people, by the way, I'm just curious as to why people think that.

    Is the whole point of compensation not just to pay for an expenses you should never have had to pay because they arose from an accident that you didn't cause? For example, if a rail in a shop fell on you and you had to go to hospital, the compensation would be to pay your medical bills and/or cover any lost earnings because you couldn't work with a broken leg or something. Or if someone became wheelchair-bound because of an accident or a medical error, they would get compensated so they could pay for any medical bills (incl estimated future ones) as well as the renovation of their home to allow for the wheelchair and potentially lost earnings if they couldn't work anymore.

    That's what I understood compensation to be, anyway. Reimbursement for expenses that you have to pay because of an accident that someone else caused (either directly or by negligeance). But somewhere along the way that seems to have morphed into "She got injured, so she deserves a few grand". For what?! That's just putting a monetary value on pain and suffering too, which I don't think is a good idea.

    Yes, it's terrible that someone had an accident (please don't think I don't feel for people who get bad injuries or that nothing has ever happened to me or my loved ones). But apart from covering costs, why do we assume that it's up to the courts and the councils to change their luck in life? Some people said "It's great for the girl, with €20000 when she turns 18, she'll be set up for college" - but why on earth do we think she deserves a free college education simply because she was (not seriously) injured when she was 2? Many people have bad luck or horrible experiences early in life, but they can't all get a nice big sum of money to make up for it.

    And the worst bit about this particular case is that the council now have €20000 less to spend on amenities like this and the cleaning that was needed to prevent this sort of accident. If this sets a precedent (and there were three compensation stories in today's paper alone), we're going to see playgrounds and parks and other public facilities closed down, because it will become too much of a financial risk to keep them open - what if more people sued for similar things?

    (Sorry about the Wall of Text. TL;DR: it's not logical to expect a big sum of money just because you got injured, unless it's to cover medical bills)

    Hey languagenerd,

    I just had to reply to your post.... you have a very simplistic view that demonstrates that you have never been injured due to someone elses fault. To be honest I would have shared a somewhat comparable view years back. (This case aside, personally I think 20,000 is a bit crazy)

    There is a hell of a lot more than just medical bills, loss of earnings etc. that must be factored in. What about pain and suffering? So for example, you get your arm broken in an accident that leaves permanent nerve damage leaving you in pain for the rest of your life? Broken arm medical bills... possibly a couple of grand tops, would you feel that fair? What if you were left with a permanent limp from a damaged foot/ankle/leg? What if you could no longer participate in sporting activities? What about possible long term implications? early onset of arthritis... possibly leading to joint replacement, impacts to the quality of life etc. etc. etc.

    Personal injury has a lot of different facets and impacts to it other than the simplistic view of medical costs and out of pocket expenses.

    In your example... if you were typically an active person involved in sports to a particular level that was very much a passion and hobby. Would you feel it fair that you just got your medical bills and your home renovated so that you could live in a wheelchair. Your life has has been totally altered (against your will through someone elses fault), would you feel you are entitled to compensation for that?

    People see a topline figure and think its overinflated etc. They don't see the real world reality of living through and after injury. The impact on their personal/professional life due to someone elses negligence. Can you still play with your children the way you used to? You're going to have your quality of life impacted.

    I'll stop now as not to make tihs post too long.... suffice to say there is a lot more than needs to be factored in that just out of pocked & medical expenses.

    To re-iterate this post is NOT related to the thread in general so please don't apply the above to this case.


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    #157
    mikemac1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,395 ✭✭✭✭mikemac1


    20k plus legal costs

    Could have taken a man off the dole queues and put him on park maintenance

    Didn't happen :(


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    #158
    Fighting Irish
    Registered Users Posts: 7,065 ✭✭✭Fighting Irish


    MistyCheese wrote: »
    Fair enough but if that child had fallen and got a small cut on her knee from a sharpish stone instead of glass who would the parents have been able to sue?

    What if it was a dragon?


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    #159
    Fighting Irish
    Registered Users Posts: 7,065 ✭✭✭Fighting Irish


    Tayla wrote: »
    Yea and I could say the same about your comment "If someone damaged by body i'd want it back to as near perfect as it was before."

    I'd say the amount of people who use compensation money for small scars for plastic surgery is tiny.

    If the money was paid directly to the plastic surgeon after the op rather than cash to the person then how many people would bother going for the op?

    Forget it


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    #160
    Precious flower
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,812 ✭✭✭Precious flower


    I fell on glass when I was younger in a estate and was left with a scar on my hand. The glass was taken out, my hand was cleaned and I was given an ice lolly. Why didn't I sue?:p Split my lip in a kid's play centre as well, when I tripped over something and sprained my ankle in the same place after tripping after coming out this tunnel thing when I was younger. So many opportunities, missed. Kids are meant to bump into things and fall over, without that you can't call your childhood a childhood!


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