When the "Sue Everyone" Culture Backfires

Paz-CCFC

The whole "compo/sue everyone culture" in this country really is overstated. There are a number of often very tough hurdles to get past before a claim can be considered. In negligence, you generally have to prove that: the defendant owed you a duty of care; the D's standard was below a minimum level so as to breach that duty; the plaintiff suffered actual damage; and hope that there are no overriding public policy claims which could prevent the case from succeeding. The last one in particular can lead to unfairness, because you might have a very good claim that only fails because, eg, the defendants were a public body. Also take into account that cases can go on for years, so it's not as easy as strolling in, going "Judge, I fell" and strolling out five minutes later with a bag money.

The whole "Ireland 1, Compo Culture a billionz" type clichés really are a load of nonsense. Anyone who would take the time to cast an eye over a tort law book would see that. Then again, that might take a bit of effort. It's a lot easier to just read a few tabloid headlines instead.

nelly17

Done - Silly Bint

Roquentin

there is a suing culture alright. i remember lads telling to stay away from some guy because "if you coughed in his face, he would sue you."

Some people you have to be careful around

Get Real

I have a question that relates to this. If I am in a shop and get assaulted by a random stranger out of nowhere who is at fault?

I know companies have a duty of care to customers, but this attack was completely out of the blue.

I'm not involved btw :P

I think its ridiculous that a company can be sued for that, obviously thats debatable.

But if it had have happened 2 minutes later out on the street it would be a non issue.

Anyway, saw many a thing back then, even a guy on camera pouring water on the floor himself, jumping into it, and "slipping" then having the cheek to act so enraged he fell and would get thousands.

irish coldplayer

Paz-CCFC wrote: »

The whole "compo/sue everyone culture" in this country really is overstated. There are a number of often very tough hurdles to get past before a claim can be considered. In negligence, you generally have to prove that: the defendant owed you a duty of care; the D's standard was below a minimum level so as to breach that duty; the plaintiff suffered actual damage; and hope that there are no overriding public policy claims which could prevent the case from succeeding. The last one in particular can lead to unfairness, because you might have a very good claim that only fails because, eg, the defendants were a public body. Also take into account that cases can go on for years, so it's not as easy as strolling in, going "Judge, I fell" and strolling out five minutes later with a bag money.

The whole "Ireland 1, Compo Culture a billionz" type clichés really are a load of nonsense. Anyone who would take the time to cast an eye over a tort law book would see that. Then again, that might take a bit of effort. It's a lot easier to just read a few tabloid headlines instead.

You're not taking into account the amount of cases which are settled and never get near court.
This usually happens at the behest of the insurance company who will choose to buy off the risk of the claim succeeding rather than pay to fight it in the courts. (even if the claim is somewhat dubious)

foggy_lad

Get Real wrote: »

I have a question that relates to this. If I am in a shop and get assaulted by a random stranger out of nowhere who is at fault?

I know companies have a duty of care to customers, but this attack was completely out of the blue.

I'm not involved btw :P

I think its ridiculous that a company can be sued for that, obviously thats debatable.

But if it had have happened 2 minutes later out on the street it would be a non issue.

Anyway, saw many a thing back then, even a guy on camera pouring water on the floor himself, jumping into it, and "slipping" then having the cheek to act so enraged he fell and would get thousands.

I would imagine the random stranger is at fault unless of course he had assaulted someone else before that and the shop staff/management had failed to take appropriate action to get him out of their premises.

AudreyHepburn

Get Real wrote: »

I have a question that relates to this. If I am in a shop and get assaulted by a random stranger out of nowhere who is at fault?

I know companies have a duty of care to customers, but this attack was completely out of the blue.

I'm not involved btw :P

I think its ridiculous that a company can be sued for that, obviously thats debatable.

But if it had have happened 2 minutes later out on the street it would be a non issue.

Anyway, saw many a thing back then, even a guy on camera pouring water on the floor himself, jumping into it, and "slipping" then having the cheek to act so enraged he fell and would get thousands.

The random stranger I would imagine, unless you could prove negligence of some kind against the shop. Which I don't think you could tbh.

lukesmom

I personally know the girl who climbed a 13 foot gate at the Oasis slane concert in 2009. She hurt her arm and last year flew back from Australia to take the concert promoters MCD to court and won €75K!!!!!!!! I was at the concert too, she was a girlfriend of our friend (thankfully not anymore) and she was absolutely blind drunk, girl could never handle her drink.

To Elland Back

Get Real wrote: »

I have a question that relates to this. If I am in a shop and get assaulted by a random stranger out of nowhere who is at fault?

I know companies have a duty of care to customers, but this attack was completely out of the blue.

I'm not involved btw :P

I think its ridiculous that a company can be sued for that, obviously thats debatable.

But if it had have happened 2 minutes later out on the street it would be a non issue.

Anyway, saw many a thing back then, even a guy on camera pouring water on the floor himself, jumping into it, and "slipping" then having the cheek to act so enraged he fell and would get thousands.

Sadly, the shop owner often bears the brunt for this scenario. He has a duty to ensure your safety on his premises while going about your business, including making sure other users don't interfere with your person

KungPao

Is she the same Albert Gladstone Trotter who, in 1946, fell into the cellar of the Victory Arms?

Zonda999

Now what would really be great is if one of these somehow went to the Supreme court and the plaintiff lost. The case law precedent would really dent the "compo culture" that's existed here for the last 20 years or so. By all accounts as well, its only getting worse, just look at insurance premiums in recent times to see that manifest itself.

This trend needs to be stamped out sooner rather than later. While i'm at it another one that makes no sense to me is how private land owners are required to have public liability insurance. If you're trespassing on some one else's property, it should be at ones own risk.

dxhound2005

lukesmom wrote: »

I personally know the girl who climbed a 13 foot gate at the Oasis slane concert in 2009. She hurt her arm and last year flew back from Australia to take the concert promoters MCD to court and won €75K!!!!!!!! I was at the concert too, she was a girlfriend of our friend (thankfully not anymore) and she was absolutely blind drunk, girl could never handle her drink.

There was a thread about the case last year.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057158698

Grab All Association

I fell on HSE property. I hurt my wrist and it was their fault. There was no footpath and you basically had to walk through a car park to get to the entrance. There was a lot potholes and cracks in the concrete. One of the cracks tripped me. Anyway I could have sued them but I didn't.

1. I don't give a **** about money. My wrist was sore but meh I've had worse pain.
2. Why would you sue the health service ffs. It's in a crisis at the moment and any money taken out affects the patients not the admin.

I did ring the HSE (to scare them into doing something) and told them I would sue them if they didn't fix the surface of that car park (health centre with a lot of pregnant and elderly people going through the doors every day) They did a couple of weeks later.

Also

2 year old Johnny Maher sued the HSE through his parents blah blah blah. If I was in a situation like that I'd much rather have the IMC strike off the doctor.

Remember that case of a woman in Limerick who sued the HSE over a disease she caught from parrots suffering from chlamydia psittacosis. She got €7 million out of it. Most doctors in the HSE probably never even heard of it never mind treated it before ffs.

Grab All Association

lukesmom wrote: »

I personally know the girl who climbed a 13 foot gate at the Oasis slane concert in 2009. She hurt her arm and last year flew back from Australia to take the concert promoters MCD to court and won €75K!!!!!!!! I was at the concert too, she was a girlfriend of our friend (thankfully not anymore) and she was absolutely blind drunk, girl could never handle her drink.

(In the voice of Colm Meaney) Would she give me a riding?

berger89

It IS a dirty culture but it's "easy money" at the end of the day. remember the case in England (or Ireland, can't quite remember) about 4 or 5 years ago where CCTV got a fella going down to the milk fridge, opening a bottle, pouring it on the floor then falling to the ground, feigning injury.
He was laughed out of court.

But it's so easy to do. I don't know how anyone could have a conscience doing something like that. I'm all for karma. What goes around comes around.

Paz-CCFC

irish coldplayer wrote: »

You're not taking into account the amount of cases which are settled and never get near court.
This usually happens at the behest of the insurance company who will choose to buy off the risk of the claim succeeding rather than pay to fight it in the courts. (even if the claim is somewhat dubious)

A company would only be willing to pay out an amount in proportion to the chances of the case being successful, which its risk assessor would calculate. For anything substantial relative to the alleged injury, the plaintiff would require a prima facie case.

I could say that you're not taking account of the people who are in accidents but don't follow up on it. When such cases are heard, there's always near-universal condemnation of the "compo culture". That would suggest, to me, that most people who are in minor accidents just get on with it.

Zonda999 wrote: »

Now what would really be great is if one of these somehow went to the Supreme court and the plaintiff lost. The case law precedent would really dent the "compo culture" that's existed here for the last 20 years or so. By all accounts as well, its only getting worse, just look at insurance premiums in recent times to see that manifest itself.

One of what? A personal injuries case? Because there have been a number of them to have gone to the Supreme Court and dented the compo culture, as you say. Take, for example, Raleigh v Iarnród Éireann, where a man's claim was dismissed as an act of "stupidity". Others have seen awards reduced in proportion to the plaintiff's contributory negligence.

Cienciano

ScumLord wrote: »

High court would cost about €100,000 a day. Her solicitor would have told her that.

Plus solicitors pluck numbers out of thin air when it comes to billing. I'm sure they'd have no problem finding a number she would choke on floating around their office.

100k is a kick in the balls for most people, but she lives here according to the article, so probably isn't short of a few quid

fullstop

bear1 wrote: »

I'd be inclined to think she was texting and didn't see the kerb.
6 figure bill though.... my God.

If she can afford a house in The Birches the money won't be a problem.

Capt'n Midnight

o1s1n wrote: »

A solicitor advises you and puts your case together, a barrister represents you in court.

Maybe she had a solicitor but the barrister disagreed that the case was viable so she decided to represent herself in court?

Thought they got rid of that a few years back in a misguided effort to reduce costs, and the law talking guys just increased their fees to compensate ?

the_monkey

* Mother of six, Teresa Sweeney (37) claimed back and neck injuries after slipping in the ladies bathroom of a pub in Ballinrobe, Co Mayo.
But an independent witness, who was in a cubicle, said she heard two women enter the bathroom, followed by the sound of a glass breaking and a voice whispering "lie down and stay there".

What a pair of criminal masterminds ..

Letree

Zonda999 wrote: »

Now what would really be great is if one of these somehow went to the Supreme court and the plaintiff lost. The case law precedent would really dent the "compo culture" that's existed here for the last 20 years or so. By all accounts as well, its only getting worse, just look at insurance premiums in recent times to see that manifest itself.

This trend needs to be stamped out sooner rather than later. While i'm at it another one that makes no sense to me is how private land owners are required to have public liability insurance. If you're trespassing on some one else's property, it should be at ones own risk.

The compo culture lacks common sense imo. So much of just seems ridiculous.

Cee-Jay-Cee

fullstop wrote: »

If she can afford a house in The Birches the money won't be a problem.

I sincerely hope they pursue her for the full costs of the case. It may deter other shiesters from attempting similar bogus claims. The woman had a simple fall yet her claimed injuries read like those of someone who survived a 100mph crash not a trip in the car park.