Personal Injury Claims – Funny & True

Although these personal injury claims are humorous, when it comes to personal injury, it’s no laughing matter.

“COOKIES CAUSE ANXIETY” PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM

Two teenage girls decided to skip their high school dance, and surprise their neighbor with homemade cookies.  They had no idea what this kind gesture would cost them.  The neighbor to whom they delivered the cookies filed a personal injury claim against the young girls.
She claimed their knocks on the door caused an anxiety attack. Oddly enough, the neighbor won $900.

“BAD FORECAST” PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM

Even the weatherman gets sued sometimes. In Israel, a woman sued a television station for making an inaccurate weather prediction. The station’s weatherman had predicted good weather on that day.  Unfortunately, he was wrong and it rained.  The woman claimed that her personal injury occurred because the forecast caused her to dress too lightly and she caught the flu.  Not only did this poor woman catch the flu, but her illness caused psychological damage and stress.  Ridiculous?  Just wait until you hear the surprise ending. The conclusion of this law suit is that the lady received $1,000 and an apology from Danny Rup for his wrong weather report.

A HOT PICKLE WILL GET YOU MORE THAN A NICKLE

In 1999, McDonald’s settled a hot pickle lawsuit.  A woman claimed she suffered second degree burns on her chin after a hot pickle fell from her sandwich.  The settlement was confidential.

“THONG GONE WRONG” PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMClick on image above for interview

 A traffic officer from Los Angeles, California claims that damage to her eye was a result of her new  thong underwear.  The underwear was sized too small.  As a result, the metal clasp flew off when she put them on and struck her in the eye.  According to the woman and her attorney, this caused “irreversible damage.”   She sued Victoria’s Secret for damage sustained to her eye.

“MONEY FOR MURDERER” PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM

This case involves a schizophrenic man from Washington who stabbed both his mother and brother to death inside their home.  He was ultimately found not guilty by reason of insanity. Here is the twist.  The killer is suing to inherit the estate of the mother he killed. He is also in line to receive the $800,000 that his mother’s family received from the state because the courts ruled that a public health clinic neglected to give the man his medicine.

“SHAMU SHOWDOWN” PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM

We all have a bucket list- things to accomplish during our lifetime.  Unfortunately in 1999, a 27 year old man’s dream of swimming with a killer whale caused him to, well, kick the bucket.  A  man from Florida had a lifelong dream to swim with a killer whale. There are Orga safaris and excursions that allow you to swim with whales, but this man decided to take matters into his own hands.  He alluded security guards at closing, and managed to stay in the park after hours.  The coast clear, the young man dove into the tank to fulfill his dream to splash around with Shamu. Regrettably, Shamu did more than swim with the young man who was killed by the Orca. The parents were devastated when they found out about the death of their son.  And when they realized that there were no obvious warnings to the public that the killer whale, could…kill people.  The parents cited the cuddly, friendly stuffed whales that were sold in gift shops and questioned how anyone could resist playtime with Shamu, when the whale was portrayed in such a friendly manner.  The deceased man’s parents filed a personal injury claim against Sea World on behalf of their son for several million dollars in damages.  The parents of the young man were not successful with their lawsuit and Sea World did not pay damages to the family.

“WHOOPS, I THOUGHT THAT WAS MY TASER!” PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM

A California police officer thought she tased a suspect after he became violent and uncontrollable.  The officer claims she drew what was thought to be a taser and fired the device at the suspect. Unfortunately, the officer accidentally pulled out her gun instead, shooting him in the chest and killing him. The city is now suing the taser company for making the taser look too similar to guns, thus causing the personal injury and wrongful death of the suspect.

“SCARY” HOUSE OF HORRORS PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM

In 1998, a woman visited the Haunted House of Horrors at Universal Studios.  After her visit, the woman tried to sue Universal Studios, attempting to make a personal injury claim on the basis of “psychological trauma” following her visit. The court dismissed the claim, stating that a visitation to a house of horrors is not a legitimate personal injury claim.

IF I ONLY GET AN “A”, YOU ARE GOING TO PAY

In Michigan, a High School Senior filed a lawsuit against his district to have his A changed to an A+.  The class was a work study program that he  completed at his mother’s law office.  The mother awarded the son an A+, but the school district changed the grade to an A.  The reason the school district only gave the student an A was because an A is the highest grade they recognize.  The student failed when it came to this lawsuit.

COLD “CUTS” PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM

Yum?  A New York man filed a personal injury lawsuit against Subway  because he found a 7 inch plastic knife baked into the bread of his sub. He did not swallow the knife but it did cut him slightly. He is suing Subway for personal injury damages claiming that he was ill with stomach issues for three hours after the incident. In his $1,000,000 lawsuit, he claimed that he contracted food poisoning from the “filthy” knife.  Ultimately, the Subway sandwich chain settled the personal injury claim outside of court for $20,000.

“MISSING DOOR KNOB” PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM

A New York City claims examiner was bravely using a bathroom that did not have a doorknob installed.  Upon leaving the bathroom, he placed his fingers where the knob was supposed to be installed to open the door.  At the same time, someone pushed the door open, causing personal injury to the man’s thumb, six months of work loss and required surgery.  The jury sided with the injured man and awarded him $3 million dollars as well as $750,000 for his wife.

“DOUGHNUT EMERGENCY” PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM

A complaint was filed with a Houston ambulance company when she found out the ambulance that drove her injured son to the hospital for injuries stopped at a local doughnut shop to grab a dozen doughnuts.  Not surprisingly, the ambulance driver was fired.  The driver then sued the city of Houston for intentional infliction of emotional distress.

PETA MEMBERS KILL DEER & THREATEN STATE OF NJ WITH PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM

In 2001, the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) held an anti- hunt protest in New Jersey.  The purpose of this conference was to defend the rights of deer to live.   On the way home from the conference, a group of PETA members were in a car accident, striking and killing a deer.  Although the lawsuit was never brought to court, PETA did notify the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife that they intended to sue for personal injury and damages “as a result of their deer management program, which includes, in certain circumstances, an affirmative effort to increase deer population.”

 “WOMAN FLEW OFF HER LOO” PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM

In a 2007 personal injury claim which is still pending,  a woman from Olney, Pennsylvania sued the landlords of her building claiming that she was “thrown from the bathroom stall causing severe and permanent injuries” when a toilet she was using “exploded” due to excess water pressure.  The woman experienced thoracic and lumbar spine sprains and sciatica problems from the explosive event.

MAN BELIEVES HE IS GOD AND DEMANDS SECRETS TO MAGIC

This is a true case.  A resident of Minnesota sued David Blaine and David Copperfield. He demanded that they reveal their secret magic tricks to him. The reason for the suit is that Roller believes that the magicians are defying the laws of physics, and thereby using godly powers. Just wait, it gets even crazier. The Minnesota maniac is also suing because he believes that he IS God and that Blaine and Cooperfield are stealing powers that belong to him.

WOMAN ATTEMPTS SUICIDE, LIVES, AND MAKES A PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM

Sadly, a woman from New York City was in such a desperate state that she attempted to commit suicide by laying on tracks until a passing train could run her over.  The train did hit the woman, but instead of killing her, she survived.  Although she lived, she suffered severe personal injury.  After the incident the woman sued the state of New York for her injuries. Surprisingly, she was awarded $14.1 million in personal injury damages by the state Supreme Court.

McDonalds “HOT COFFEE” PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM

Perhaps one of the most publicized lawsuits in recent history was the 1994 McDonald’s hot coffee lawsuit.   This lawsuit made such a headline that today there is a very interesting documentary on the ordeal, titled, Hot Coffee.  The accusation came from a 72 year old Albuquerque woman, who was burned by a coffee she purchased from a McDonald’s drive through.  Her grandson was driving and he parked the car so she could add cream and sugar to the drink. She put the cup between her knees and pulled the lid toward her.  As you can imagine, the coffee spilled in her lap, causing second degree burns. She sued McDonald’s for negligence because she claimed the coffee was too hot to be safe. Originally, the woman sought $20,000 in damages.  McDonald’s made a BIG mistake by refusing to settle out of court.  The 72 year old was eventually awarded $200,000 in compensatory damages but that amount was reduced to $160,000 because it was determined that she was 20% responsible for the incident.  The elderly woman received 2.7 million in punitive damages.  Yet another reason why you should always hire a trial lawyer!

“TV SHOW MAKES ME NAUSEOUS!” PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM

While watching the show “Fear Factor” a man became nauseous and dizzy as he witnessed the contestants eat rats.  He attempted to run to the bathroom to get sick, but ran into the doorway instead, which caused him to sustain head injuries.  This man sued NBC for a figure of $2.5 million for the personal injury that he sustained.  He did not win his case.

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