4 ms·

It seems the 'burglar sues for hurting themselves' theme is a popular one. I've heard it a few times from various friends and sources. As far as I can tell it t

It seems the 'burglar sues for hurting themselves' theme is a popular one. I've heard it a few times from various friends and sources. As far as I can tell it tends to be miss-represented, or non-existent. One of the common ones is the 'fell through a skylight' version, which is apparently sort-of true according to this: http://overlawyered.com/2006/09/the-burglar-and-the-skylight-another-debunking-that-isnt/ http://overlawyered.com/2006/09/the-burglar-and-the-skylight... In this case it was vs a school, and the case was settled before it was decided, which is as much a side-effect of the structure of our legal system as anything. While I'm sure some questionable verdicts have caused unfair rewards in cases such as this, I have to imagine that it is very rare, or that the cases are actually much more complex than they appear on the surface. It reminds me of people who laugh at the 'stupidity' of McDonald's hot coffee lawsuit ("well duh coffee is hot!"), where the more detailed information shows the reasonableness of the case (McDonald's coffee was dangerously, excessively hot, the plaintiff was in the hospital for eight days for third degree burns etc). https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald%27s_Restaurants https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Liebeck_v._Mc... I feel this is an interesting flavor of urban myth.

wisty 15y ago
What people don't realize about hot liquids - a cup of boiling water is more dangerous than a hot stovetop. People panic about children touching hot dry things, like hot plates or coals. A hot coal (with no flame) isn't a huge danger, as the outer layer of skin on their hand will evaporate, creating a protective layer of gas. And the pain will make them pull back. It's still possible for things to go badly, but the risk is smaller than people may think. On the other hand, a saucepan full of soup (or worse, oil) can easily kill a child if it splashes all over them. The hot liquid sticks to skin and clothes, transferring large amounts of heat (thus cooking multiple layers of skin). So while a cup of coffee sounds safe (due to it being a familiar hazard, and people incorrectly assuming that < boiling point = not so dangerous), it's really really dangerous. Put it in an easily crushed paper cup, and hand it to a grandma in a car, and you are just asking for trouble.

wisty 15y ago

What people don't realize about hot liquids - a cup of boiling water is more dangerous than a hot stovetop. People panic about children touching hot dry things, like hot plates or coals. A hot coal (with no flame) isn't a huge danger, as the outer layer of skin on their hand will evaporate, creating a protective layer of gas. And the pain will make them pull back. It's still possible for things to go badly, but the risk is smaller than people may think. On the other hand, a saucepan full of soup (or worse, oil) can easily kill a child if it splashes all over them. The hot liquid sticks to skin and clothes, transferring large amounts of heat (thus cooking multiple layers of skin). So while a cup of coffee sounds safe (due to it being a familiar hazard, and people incorrectly assuming that < boiling point = not so dangerous), it's really really dangerous. Put it in an easily crushed paper cup, and hand it to a grandma in a car, and you are just asking for trouble.