Brilliant "Letter to the Editor"

Sleipnir

In today's Independant.


Trapped in a lift award

Sir - I have never been compelled to write a letter to a national newspaper until now.

However after reading an article about a man who was awarded €10,000 for the distress after holiday lift terror in a luxury hotel, I just cannot contain my disbelief.

Quite frankly I would gladly be trapped in a dark lift for €11.11 a second.

As a matter of fact, I spent 90 minutes trapped in a lift not so long ago, 30 minutes of which was spent calling for help. I wonder if I could sue for €60,000 for my ordeal?

Also I recall my girlfriend was stuck in a lift for 20 minutes about a year ago, in a city-centre shopping centre, that has to be worth around €13,000 each (her friend was also terrorised).

So now the three of us have grossed about €86,000. So I'm sure we can now afford to stay somewhere exotic. Cork perhaps.
Stephen O'Neill,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin

BKtje

Its too easy to sue and get mooney these days. One reason why some insurances are so high i guess

LegacyUser

remember the case last year about the woman who was terrorised by the bad smell in a toilet and got something like a quarter of a million

dudara

there's a report in the Independant today of a woman slipping in the toilets of a hotel, while merry, and getting 8 grand for her troubles

vibe666

my g/f used to work in hotels and she's had dozens of claims for allsorts, including a woman who checked in and went up to her room to find 2 people shagging in it. got a lot of money for the 'distress' of it all (american woman btw, as if you had to ask).

BuffyBot

I'm neither American, nor female but if it was my hotel room, I'd be pissed off about it!

mycroft

Three mates of mine used to run a games company out of an old building in edinburgh, in the mid/early 90s

Late friday evening they got into the eldery lift which promptly got stuck.

The building was deserted, and being roleplaying games designers, so therefore not burdened with y'know social lifes and girlfriends no one noticed they were missing.

48 hours later.....

All personal grudges had been worked out in the open.

According to my mate the worst moment came 12 hours in when they finally gave up holding it in, meaning no one could sit down.

Kalina

Originally posted by bananayoghurt
remember the case last year about the woman who was terrorised by the bad smell in a toilet and got something like a quarter of a million

Well, McDonalds had better watch out cos every customer they have will want to jump on that bandwagon.

SheroN

I remember i made a bad smell in the toilets in mc donalds before.

seamus

Originally posted by BuffyBot
I'm neither American, nor female but if it was my hotel room, I'd be pissed off about it!

Indeed, but I'd go down the desk, give out, and expect a bigger room and/or free minibar. It would be annoying, but not 'distressing'.

K2

I once got stuck in a lift with 2 workmates for two hours, we were on our way to watch porn during our lunchbreak. Gods revenge I suppose! Its amazing how much time you can waste by going thru each others wallets, luckily we got out before the floor got wet:) . I wonder if I could have sued Private?

suppafly

one of the lifts in the car park i work in is always breaking down, and so i never used either of them. I've had to get people out of them a good few times. At one stage it was breaking down once a week!

Winters

The real problem is the notion that is coming in from America that is something just doesnt suit you you can actually sue someone and make money out of it. It is a disgrace that people are now making money out of every little thing.

If a person falls in a hotel, shop etc. when they are totally intoxicated they can make money out of their own misfortune. It is somethign that should be stopped I believe. It really pisses me off. It is one of the reasons Insurance is so high (to a degree).

Originally posted by BuffyBot
I'm neither American, nor female but if it was my hotel room, I'd be pissed off about it!

Not if they were to lovely ladies and they apoligised and asked you to join in

Kold

When I rule the world, EVERY court in the world will have this motto inscribed on them





" W H I N E "

BuffyBot

Not if they were to lovely ladies and they apoligised and asked you to join in

Oh I don't know about that

monument

While there's bound to be some overly dangerous building sites out there – today someone was telling me about a builder who sued because he got “nipped” with a builder's trowel (used for laying the mortar for blocks).

Apparently his mother was on the radio talking about it. Paraphrasing the person who told me – apparently – she said the steamroller on the building site knocked down two people – but it didn’t because they were pushed out of the way, the driver of the steamroller was also apparently “out to get” her son.

That’s brilliant stuff – no matter if it’s true or not.


Added: I was talking to the person again - the builder got 6000 euro for getting nipped with the trowel!!!

Karl Hungus

This is indeed fecking ridiculous!

But are there consequences in the future for serious claims because of all this?

Agent Smith

the amount of times i've slipped up!


jesus if i sued for each i would be a millionaire by now.

eth0_

Originally posted by bananayoghurt
remember the case last year about the woman who was terrorised by the bad smell in a toilet and got something like a quarter of a million

It wasn't anything to do with a smell. She was a lecturer in Trinity college and used a bathroom beside a chemistry lab, unbeknownst to her chemicals had been emptied out and had seeped into the bathroom, which caused her some harm.

Certainly not enough harm to warrant a quarter of a mil though, that payout was absolutely disgusting, especially in this day when students have to pay fee's again, and trinity have to pay out money that could put many people through college to one of THEIR staff!

Lord Nikon

There was a claim in the States in which a child was thrown through a car windscreen, due to a faulty seatbelt or something. It was a major American car maunfacturer. Payout was $750 million or something thereabouts.

Child died of course.

Bicky

Some prick gets 10000 for spending 15 minutes in a lift. That is obviously wrong but at the same time it sends a message to those in charge of buildings with lifts that they are NOT allowed to keep using faulty lifts.

Once i was in a nightclub and my friend slipped on a very very wet floor and hit his back off a toilet bowl. The bouncers came in seen him on the floor and promptly picked him up by the arms and carried him out and left him lying on the ground even though he was howling in pain.
My mates and i were also thrown out for trying to stop them. when we asked them why the **** they were doing it one of the bouncers laughed and said "he was taking ecsatcy". Afterwards we went to the hospital and he had three broken ribs.
This was three or four years ago and my friend had never taken ecstacy or would not have even knew anyone who takes ecsatacy.
These huge payouts are made to keep things safer for the public. just because it is a nightclub and a person was merry does not nescessarily mean its their fault if they slip on a wet floor.
He never even made a complaint to the nightclub about it but if it had been me i would have seen every one of those ****s fired or i would have taken it to court and been one of those people your all giving out about. why? Not for the compensation but to make sure it does not happen again.

DapperGent

Originally posted by eth0_
Certainly not enough harm to warrant a quarter of a mil though, that payout was absolutely disgusting, especially in this day when students have to pay fee's again, and trinity have to pay out money that could put many people through college to one of THEIR staff!

Actually I think the chemicals involved caused her permanent damage, shortened her life expectency and gave her chronic fatigue.

I thought the payout was too low.

Guy:Incognito

The re are a lot of genuine claims, but unfortunately the situation is getting ridiculous. Was reading in the paper the other day about the woman in america taking a multi-BILLION dollar law suit against Janet jackson, Justin TImberlake, MTV and the production company over the "incident" last week. For christs sake it was a nipple. If it was justins nipple there would have been no outcry, never mind multi billion dollar law suits. I cant remember the last time the sight of a nipple has caused me billions of € worth of anguise, tbh since ive become single the chance of sum1 showing me a nipple would be a fine thing:D , but thats another story for another day (slaps head, keep to the point ste)