Boy gets €70,000 for Hot Chocolate Burn

Pops_20

Came across this just minutes ago, and I can't believe it.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/boy-who-claimed-hot-chocolate-burn-on-aer-lingus-flight-settles-for-70-000-1.3785973

I clicked the link assuming the flight attendant spilled the drink on him, but no... The child spilled the drink on himself after removing the lid!

This reminds of the girl who tagged along the side of the Luas and got some ridiculous settlement.

Can someone more familiar with the law than me explain why are people getting awarded money for something that was their own fault?

Why should Aer Lingus have to pay when they didn't do anything that contributed to the incident?

Franz Von Peppercorn

Judicary once again.

namloc1980

Pops_20 wrote: »

Came across this just minutes ago, and I can't believe it.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/boy-who-claimed-hot-chocolate-burn-on-aer-lingus-flight-settles-for-70-000-1.3785973

I clicked the link assuming the flight attendant spilled the drink on him, but no... The child spilled the drink on himself after removing the lid!

This reminds of the girl who tagged along the side of the Luas and got some ridiculous settlement.

Can someone more familiar with the law than me explain why are people getting awarded money for something that was their own fault?

Why should Aer Lingus have to pay when they didn't do anything that contributed to the incident?

They settled according to the article.

Franz Von Peppercorn

namloc1980 wrote: »

They settled according to the article.

Without admitting liability.

soups05

I would imagine it is along the lines of the drink being served too hot, hence the milk portions they gave him. Thus they set up a situation where he had to remove the lid and run the risk of spilling the liquid.

armaghlad

The claim culture in this country is ridiculous. The amount of (relatively innocuous) events that occurred during my childhood that I could have claimed for would have me close to having a fortune.

Alrigghtythen

Idiots

Little Less Conversation

This will be the reason why we will end up with cold tea, coffee, hot chocolate and soup.

Renegade Mechanic

Little Less Conversation wrote: »

This will be the reason why we will end up with cold tea, coffee, hot chocolate and soup.

You'll still have people capable of drowning in them...

Yer Da sells Avon

Pops_20 wrote: »

Why should Aer Lingus have to pay when they didn't do anything that contributed to the incident?

Because they voluntarily decided that it would be cheaper than the legal fees incurred when defending the fact that they served a child a drink so hot that it causes second-degree burns when it comes into contact with skin.

For Forks Sake

Franz Von Peppercorn wrote: »

Judicary once again.

Aer Lingus settled for the amount. Nowt to do with the judge.

Rows Grower

Little Less Conversation wrote: »

This will be the reason why we will end up with cold tea, coffee, hot chocolate and soup.

Or it may be a turning point in service provided by airline catering staff, it's not too much to expect surely with the prices they charge.

Irish Guitarist

This may sound crazy but there's a possibility it did actually burn him. That woman in America who sued McDonalds over the hot coffee is often used an example of ridiculous law suits but the coffee did genuinely burn her very badly.

Maybe this boy was burned pretty badly too, or maybe not. I just wouldn't make a judgement based on that article.

Fart

Was someone supposed to drink it for him?

OldMrBrennan83

For Forks Sake wrote: »

Aer Lingus settled for the amount. Nowt to do with the judge.

It is though really based on all the joke cases in the past that have won.

thebaz

Yer Da sells Avon wrote: »

Because they voluntarily decided that it would be cheaper than the legal fees incurred when defending the fact that they served a child a drink so hot that it causes second-degree burns when it comes into contact with skin.

Why didnt the father , who sued and made the claim, not do this dangerous task of adding milk , nevermind this kind of bull**** is what I hate most about Ireland.
The legal gravy greed train keeps running.

namloc1980

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

This may sound crazy but there's a possibility it did actually burn him. That woman in America who sued McDonalds over the hot coffee is often used an example of ridiculous law suits but the coffee did genuinely burn her very badly.

Maybe this boy was burned pretty badly too, or maybe not. I just wouldn't make a judgement based on that article.

Second degree burn according to the article.

The Bishop Basher

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

This may sound crazy but there's a possibility it did actually burn him.

Even if he did though, he made a full recovery. We all get burnt from time to time. Surely as a parent you’d be just happy your kid is ok.

These claims are driven by greed plain and simple..

Yer Da sells Avon

thebaz wrote: »

Why didnt the father , who sued and made the claim, not do this dangerous task of adding milk , nevermind this kind of bull**** is what I hate most about Ireland.
The legal gravy greed train keeps running.

Perhaps he wrongly (but not unreasonably) assumed that 'hot chocolate' doesn't mean 'scalding hot chocolate'.

Irish Guitarist

This is a picture of the burns the woman who sued McDonalds suffered. I won't embed it because it's fairly graphic.

http://deshawlaw.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/hotcoffeejpeg-2534403_p9-1.jpg

I'm not saying the boy was burned as severely as this, but people are still laughing about that woman and using her as an example of frivolous lawsuits without having any idea of the extent of her injuries.

Irish Guitarist

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

This may sound crazy but there's a possibility it did actually burn him. That woman in America who sued McDonalds over the hot coffee is often used an example of ridiculous law suits but the coffee did genuinely burn her very badly.
.

Yeah plus i think part of it ended up being them treating her so badly about it - she only wanted basic medical costs covered but they dug the heels in

colm_mcm

Yer Da sells Avon wrote: »

Perhaps he wrongly (but not unreasonably) assumed that 'hot chocolate' doesn't mean 'scalding hot chocolate'.

You’re not supppsed to spill it on yourself. That’s where he went wrong.

thebaz

Yer Da sells Avon wrote: »

Perhaps he wrongly (but not unreasonably) assumed that 'hot chocolate' doesn't mean 'scalding hot chocolate'.

coffee means coffee - its hot - same as hot choclate -
Accidents happen in life , but not in modern Ireland it seams .
cause of this greed , 99.99 of other kids will most likely be unable to order hot-choclate in the future , thats the problem I have - the decent people suffer cause of the greed of the few. (I blame the father not the kid , and ther legal team.

Irish Guitarist

Rennaws wrote: »

Even if he did though, he made a full recovery. We all get burnt from time to time. Surely as a parent you’d be just happy your kid is ok.

These claims are driven by greed plain and simple..

It says he made a good recovery, not a full recovery.

Effects

Seems like a lot of work for only €70,000.
Think I'd rather get accused of stealing a plastic bag.

Pauliedragon

It's another joke of a claim but who's surprised really. One thing I will say though all these companies are aware of the ridiculous claim culture in this country so no way in the world would I allow someone let alone a child be served a hot drink that had to be opened and milk added to cool it down. The father might have seen the way it was served and thought $$$.

Yer Da sells Avon

colm_mcm wrote: »

You’re not supppsed to spill it on yourself. That’s where he went wrong.

You're also not supposed to sell it so hot that it gives a child second-degree burns.

thebaz wrote: »

coffee means coffee - its hot - same as hot choclate -
Accidents happen in life , but not in modern Ireland it seams .
cause of this greed , 99.99 of other kids will most likely be unable to order hot-choclate in the future , thats the problem I have - the decent people suffer cause of the greed of the few. (I blame the father not the kid , and ther legal team.

Perhaps they will still be able to order hot chocolate; it just won't be scalding hot.

biko

When the plane landed in Dublin, he was taken to hospital where it was noted he had sustained a partial thickness [deep dermal] scald but he later made a good recovery.

The hell? He wasn't even badly hurt

colm_mcm

Yer Da sells Avon wrote: »

You're also not supposed to sell it so hot that it gives a child second-degree burns.



Perhaps they will still be able to order hot chocolate; it just won't be scalding hot.

You know you can get second degree burns from 70° liquids?

Pkiernan

Another compo lotto winner

AllForIt

When a judge makes an evaluation of damages does he include legal expenses incurred to bring the case to court? And regardless what would legal fees be for such a case, roughly.

thebaz

Yer Da sells Avon wrote: »

You're also not supposed to sell it so hot that it gives a child second-degree burns.



Perhaps they will still be able to order hot chocolate; it just won't be scalding hot.

Right , problem solved just sell cold Choclate , to appease the greedy and easily traumatised - Accidents happen in life - its called life , but come to Ireland and make a living from accidental mishaps.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

Rennaws wrote: »

Even if he did though, he made a full recovery. We all get burnt from time to time. Surely as a parent you’d be just happy your kid is ok.

These claims are driven by greed plain and simple..

I wouldn’t think second-degree burns are that common?

In the famous McDonald’s case, the liquid was ridiculously hot, way above what it needed to be. Could be something similar here? In that case, the woman had to accept a percentage of the blame. But did you see the burns she received? Much worse than many people realise.

Yer Da sells Avon

thebaz wrote: »

Right , problem solved just sell cold Choclate , to appease the greedy and easily traumatised - Accidents happen in life - its called life , but come to Ireland and make a living from accidental mishaps.

Even better - just sell it at any temperature that won't injure a child.

thebaz

Yer Da sells Avon wrote: »

Even better - just sell it at any temperature that won't injure a child.

even better just ban selling hot drinks to children - thats what cases like this will lead to . Pure greed, people in most countrys just laugh at us and our pathetic compo culture.

Yer Da sells Avon

thebaz wrote: »

even better just ban selling hot drinks to children - thats what cases like this will lead to . Pure greed, people in most countrys just laugh at us and our pathetic compo culture.

Selling drinks that are warm but won't cause serious burns isn't that complicated.

thebaz

Yer Da sells Avon wrote: »

Selling drinks that are warm but won't cause serious burns isn't that complicated.

spill any coffee from any coffee shop on you and it will burn - good luck, I'm done debating nonsense - your happy , I'm not.

CPTM

Pops_20 wrote: »

Came across this just minutes ago, and I can't believe it.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/boy-who-claimed-hot-chocolate-burn-on-aer-lingus-flight-settles-for-70-000-1.3785973

I clicked the link assuming the flight attendant spilled the drink on him, but no... The child spilled the drink on himself after removing the lid!

This reminds of the girl who tagged along the side of the Luas and got some ridiculous settlement.

Can someone more familiar with the law than me explain why are people getting awarded money for something that was their own fault?

Why should Aer Lingus have to pay when they didn't do anything that contributed to the incident?

Did he actually get the money? Or did he go to hospital, and get treatment that cost 70,000?! Sometimes these cases are just procedure to claim insurance for these accidents because one person to take on that much debt for an accident is too much. I would be very surprised if he spilled a little hot chocolate, went home to watch cartoons and woke up one day with 70,000 in his account. I imagine whatever hospital he went to got some, and his lawyers got what's left. But the papers get more people sharing links when they don't reveal that bit.

Yer Da sells Avon

thebaz wrote: »

spill any coffee from any coffee shop on you and it will burn - good luck, I'm done debating nonsense - your happy , I'm not.

Just don't sell it to children (who are invariably more likely to spill it on themselves) at a temperature high enough to burn through their skin. Problem solved.

Alrigghtythen

Yer Da sells Avon wrote: »

Just don't sell it to children (who are invariably more likely to spill it on themselves) at a temperature high enough to burn through their skin. Problem solved.

Hot drinks should be limited to over 18s only.

imme

The so-called "new Irish" are fast learners.

Shocking case altogether.

How these people can sleep at night is beyond me.

Blazer

I reckon the son got an iphone and Daddy went on a coke and hookers weekend.
Next comp case is the iphone burnt his hand while it was charging as it was a mite bit too hot.

gozunda

An absolutely crazy settlement imo

Humphrey BoaGart

The compo ballet goes on.

Potential-Monke

Don't hot drinks have to be served at a certain minimum temperature due to health and safety of the contents, ie: can't be served at a temperature that germs/bacteria could grow in?

But, it's another fine example of lack of personal responsibility and bad parenting. A: What idiot thinks a hot drink is drinkable the second you get it? B: Why didn't the father put in the milk and make sure the lid was secure?

thegills

Aer Lingus hot chocolate is just boiling water poured into a cup of chocolate powder and dried milk mix. Don't know how they ever got approved to sell it in the first place.

enricoh

imme wrote: »

The so-called "new Irish" are fast learners.

Shocking case altogether.

How these people can sleep at night is beyond me.

I was in the local polish shop recently, waiting to get a bit of ham sliced. There was a freebie paper on the counter for the polish in ireland. There were 4 or 5 irish solicitors touting for business on the front page alone. They're not advertising for the craic - eye opener.

sabat

Simple rule of thumb to judge whether an award is excessive is if you would voluntarily perform the accident in exchange for the sum. For 70k I'd pour a hot drink on myself no problem--I'd probably do it for about 4 grand. Conversely, I wouldn't lose my cock or be quadriplegic, even for 100 billion .

Franz Von Peppercorn

For Forks Sake wrote: »

Aer Lingus settled for the amount. Nowt to do with the judge.

They settled in the expectation of losing.

Franz Von Peppercorn

Yer Da sells Avon wrote: »

You're also not supposed to sell it so hot that it gives a child second-degree burns.



Perhaps they will still be able to order hot chocolate; it just won't be scalding hot.

You can get second degree burns from sunburn. Not that big a deal.

Yer Da sells Avon

Franz Von Peppercorn wrote: »

They settled in the expectation of losing.

Or even winning, having paid a lot more than €70,000 in legal fees. Perhaps, if legal fees weren't so high, companies wouldn't feel the need to make large out-of-court settlements. Whatever the result, the legal industry is the big winner in these cases.