Comments on: Say goodbye to the Coca-Cola slide in San Francisco

By: Big Harold

Big Harold — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 11:25:51 +0000

Lawyers are like Pit Bulls, .. when their yours you want them as big, aggressive, cunning, ruthless and dominant as possible. But, if one finds themselves on the business end of one, .. then they should all be rounded up and “put down” for the good of society at large.
I generally take a very evenhanded view of lawyers and considered law school myself at one time. That being said, suing a somebody for 6 million dollars because you broke ankle is BS. You can not justify that on any level, there isn’t that much pain and or suffering involved. It’s an obvious case of suing somebody with deep pockets. I lost my left arm, above the elbow, in an accident as a child and nobody even considered a figure anywhere near $6,000,000. And, it was settled for far less than what was asked for. Granted that was 35 years ago but the point stands. When lawyers petition for, and in some instances get, outrageous sums for relatively minor injuries it not only infuriates the general public because on some level they understand that we all pay for it through higher cost that are passed along to the customer. It insults the idea of fair play and reasonableness. Additionally, it also feeds the notion that, as a group, lawyers are nothing more than unethical ambulance chasers. More importantly, it undermines people with real and serious injuries that in many cases are permanent and life altering. I understand the notion that punitive damages are a way to keep large entities from running amuck but that should exclude common sense.
This incident doesn’t appear as outrageous as the memorable woman who sued McDonalds when she burned her privates because she was stupid enough to place a cup of hot coffee it between her legs while she was going through the drive thru, but 6 mil because you went down a slide wrong, come on?

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 23:59:53 +0000

Craig, Attorney at Law, just spent what could have been $10.00 of billable time writin the above comment.

By: Craig Calcaterra

Craig Calcaterra — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 21:42:30 +0000

I’d love to know what experience you have with lawyers and the legal system beyond being told that they’re scumbags by others. Of course there are scumbags. But there are also meritorious lawsuits too, the history of which has an awful lot to do with how safe our country is compared to the rest of the world in the workplace, in the home and in any other number of contexts.
If left to its own devices, business and industry would still be producing lead paint and asbestos and people would still lose limbs as a matter of course in factories and coal mines. Are there problems? Of course, as anyone who has tried to purchase insurance or practice medicine knows well. But in the aggregate our society is a better, safer and more prosperous one because of advances brought on — intentionally or incidentally — by righteous litigation.
Of course there are bad aspects to it all. Out of control class actions and the like, for example. But I would argue that most of the negative consequences of our legal system come not from an overzealous plaintiff’s bar, but from the corporate and defense bar, which create costs and overhead for business that far outstrips even the most irresponsible ambulance chasers you can imagine. A corporate and defense bar that I was part of for 11 years.
Not that I expect you to be swayed by any of this. You sound very adamant about your feelings. The only thing I would ever expect you to be more adamant about is how wronged you’ve been if you ever find yourself hiring a lawyer and going after someone. Indeed, the only constant thing I ever see among those who paint the legal profession with a broad negative brush is the belief that every lawyer is a scumbag except their own.

By: Jack Meoffer

Jack Meoffer — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 21:25:38 +0000

Another scumbag lawyer defending another scumbag lawyer. Incestuous to the core. I’d rather have my child work for the sanitation department then taught to be a scumbag lawyer and skirt the law.

By: Craig Calcaterra

Craig Calcaterra — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 20:12:41 +0000

In my experience, it is usually those who have the least familiarity with our legal system who complain about lawyers the most.
And no, I was not a plaintiff’s lawyer during my time in the law. I defended lawsuits for the most part.

By: gary

gary — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 20:09:03 +0000

Lawyers are killing this country.

By: Jack Meoffer

Jack Meoffer — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 20:05:05 +0000

Lawyers ruin everything and it’s a matter of time where there will be nothing to do wherever you go. It’s amazing what businesses cannot do because of some sleazy lawyer will sue you for.

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 19:08:41 +0000

Have you seen video of this?
It’s a slide. It doesn’t “shoot” you anywhere, in much the same way rollerblade wheels don’t “propel” you. You sit down on a smooth surface and slide a short distance to the bottom. It has “metal tubes” to keep stupid people from standing up or falling off.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z8g27e8-MY
But I would agree that it’s “inherently dangerous” in much the same way that other playground items are inherently dangerous. And when there are deep commercial pockets to be picked…there you go.