The obituary of Mr. Common Sense

[Radosti]

Got this in the e-mail and thought I'd share:

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who
has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was,
since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He
will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the
worm; Life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but
overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy
charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended
from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for
reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the
job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly
children.
It declined even further when schools were required to get parental
consent to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a student; but
could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to
have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses;
and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to
realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in
her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his
wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now,
Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If
you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do
nothing.

[kijip]

Sheila Liebeck was a 79 year old woman that sustained third degree burns to 6% of her body and spent 8 days in the hospital and had to have surgery. She tried to settle with them for like $25,000 to cover medical expenses and they refused. She was subsequently (not immediately) awarded damages in a civil case and they privately settled before all the appeals worked their way out. The coffee was 185 degrees, hot enough to cause serious damage in less than 10 seconds. Sorry, this is a pet peeve of mine- we hear the outlandish headline that seems to defy common sense and fail to read the details. If it was my grandma, I'd be upset as I am sure her grandson was (who was driving when she was burned). ETA FWIW- I used to one of the people that did not know the details. I think the settlement happened in like 1996 or so? I mouthed off about the insanity of it all when a friend of mine whose parents were judges and 1 was somehow friends with one of the judges that heard part of the case corrected me and told me just how badly the woman had suffered. It was a lesson I carried with me from that day on. One of those life lessons that made quite an impression on me.

[ellies mom]

Sheila Liebeck was a 79 year old woman that sustained third degree burns to 6% of her body and spent 8 days in the hospital and had to have surgery. She tried to settle with them for like $25,000 to cover medical expenses and they refused. She was subsequently (not immediately) awarded damages in a civil case and they privately settled before all the appeals worked their way out. The coffee was 185 degrees, hot enough to cause serious damage in less than 10 seconds. Sorry, this is a pet peeve of mine- we hear the outlandish headline that seems to defy common sense and fail to read the details. If it was my grandma, I'd be upset as I am sure her grandson was (who was driving when she was burned).

Thank you. The fact that this case is portrayed this way is a huge pet peeve of mine. Katie was being discrete but the third burns were in her crotch. Imagine those types of burns on your vulva. Also, the owner of the McDonalds had received a literal stack of complaints about his coffee being too hot so it wasn't as though he didn't know. When tested, it was about 20 degrees hotter than what was served at other drive thrus.

[Radosti]

That wasn't why I posted the e-mail. But I apologize if I've offended you.

[kijip]

That wasn't why I posted the e-mail. But I apologize if I've offended you.

You don't offend me, you're a wonderful voice here. I just did not like the email. Honestly, there are other things that stick out but the coffee thing is such a irritating thing. I hope I was not too sharp, I agree that people need to be rational for sure!

[ellies mom]

I'm sorry if I was a bit sharp too. The way that story in particular is used just rubs me wrong because there is a lot more to the story than most people ever hear. But yes, common sense is generally a good thing.

[HannaAddict]

As Katie said, the coffee was super hot and served at the drive-thru window and spilled immediately. Foreseeable and way hotter than anyone expects coffee would be when served in a paper cup in their car. While it is much more common for big companies to prevail in litigation or not be sued in the first place, it is a better sound bite to blame the little guy or the rare, red herring big verdict case (invariably overturned on appeal or with damages greatly reduced but that doesn't make for sensational headlines). I know that wasn't the point of the email, but the whole chain email perpetuates other urban legends too. I do think there is a lack of common sense these days and the ease of internet "info" seems to encourage it. Snopes.com is the result! FWIW, I'm not offended :)

[mamicka]

I understand the point & I'm a big fan of Common Sense, but don't think any of the examples are fair. I won't go into which one struck a cord with me. I think, if you heard the facts of stories in each of those categories, you'd find that it wasn't Common Sense that died, but Compassion.

[maestramommy]

I actually heard some back story to the the coffee incident from BIL, and litigation lawyer. Apparently McDonalds has done all sorts of studies re: how long it takes for coffee to cool and how much time goes by between the time people buy the coffee and when they they actually drink it. And they want to be sure that it's drinkably hot when it's drunk, not just when they hand it over. So they make it extra hot. They figure that the money they make selling coffee more than makes up for any litigation money they have to pay out if someone gets burned.

[Ceepa]

I am not going to debate specific examples from this e-mail, but this country absolutely is given to too much litigation. I spent a lot of time on tort reform and you would not believe the stories that are out there about people suing on grounds that aren't even legally based or juries piling on the punitive damages just because there were deep pockets involved. An overly litigious society is bad for everyone.

[janeybwild]

Thanks for posting this Rada, I really enjoyed reading it.

[fortato]

Ugh.
Can we add that Common Sense's cousin, Sense of Humor seems to have died also?

I'm sorry that that woman got burned. I would hate for it to happen to me or anyone of my friends and family. However- you've got to admit that some of the words ring true...

[maestramommy]

Ugh.
Can we add that Common Sense's cousin, Sense of Humor seems to have died also?

:ROTFLMAO:

[ChunkyNicksChunkyMom]

[QUOTE=fortato]Ugh.
Can we add that Common Sense's cousin, Sense of Humor seems to have died also?

Bwahahahaha!!

[dawell0]

As someone who has been sued multiple times for frivilous reasons and then I had to settle when I had a legitimate lawsuit because I couldn't afford to pursue the case, I think that it is so very true that this country is full of lots of problems.

[kijip]

Ugh.
Can we add that Common Sense's cousin, Sense of Humor seems to have died also?


Maybe it is common sense of humor that has died.

[HannaAddict]

I am not going to debate specific examples from this e-mail, but this country absolutely is given to too much litigation. I spent a lot of time on tort reform and you would not believe the stories that are out there about people suing on grounds that aren't even legally based or juries piling on the punitive damages just because there were deep pockets involved. An overly litigious society is bad for everyone.

Not sure what you did in "tort reform" but the claim that people are suing for everything and anything is just not true. There are rules for lawsuits, provisions for loser pays and plaintiffs' lawyers who don't get paid unless they win are not in the habit of wasting their time and money suing for nothing. (Unlike big company defense lawyers who can churn the file and bill by the hour to drag out the lawsuit until finally settling.) If you sue for no good reason, you (the lawyer) will be sanctioned by the court. Many states don't even have punitive damages (mine doesn't) and when you look at the actual studies done on litigation numbers, cases filed, etc. - the little guy or injured party doesn't fare well.

Of course, like anything, there can be abuses. The class action juggernaut of Milberg Weiss comes to mind. While they (the law firm) started out being honest and holding big companies accountable, the greed got to them and they began crossing the line (creating their own plaintiffs). And, the main partners responsible are doing hard federal prison time. Lawyers and our legal system are an easy target and make for quick sound bites that people don't have to think about. My bias - I am a lawyer but mostly SAHM now - and my husband is a lawyer. He (and I) started out at large firms working for the "man" and defending large corporations. I have been at the "trainings" on billing and how the firm can drag out something that should settle. I have been in client meetings where clients admit liability but decided to "big firm" the other side and try and drag them down and file meritless motions to make it too expensive for the truly injured/wronged party to pursue the case. But the public doesn't find those stories nearly as entertaining as the "hot coffee, stupid people" vignettes that are bandied about via email.

Just another side.

[dcmom2b3]

Not sure what you did in "tort reform" but the claim that people are suing for everything and anything is just not true. There are rules for lawsuits, provisions for loser pays and plaintiffs' lawyers who don't get paid unless they win are not in the habit of wasting their time and money suing for nothing. (Unlike big company defense lawyers who can churn the file and bill by the hour to drag out the lawsuit until finally settling.) If you sue for no good reason, you (the lawyer) will be sanctioned by the court. Many states don't even have punitive damages (mine doesn't) and when you look at the actual studies done on litigation numbers, cases filed, etc. - the little guy or injured party doesn't fare well.

Of course, like anything, there can be abuses. The class action juggernaut of Milberg Weiss comes to mind. While they (the law firm) started out being honest and holding big companies accountable, the greed got to them and they began crossing the line (creating their own plaintiffs). And, the main partners responsible are doing hard federal prison time. Lawyers and our legal system are an easy target and make for quick sound bites that people don't have to think about. My bias - I am a lawyer but mostly SAHM now - and my husband is a lawyer. He (and I) started out at large firms working for the "man" and defending large corporations. I have been at the "trainings" on billing and how the firm can drag out something that should settle. I have been in client meetings where clients admit liability but decided to "big firm" the other side and try and drag them down and file meritless motions to make it too expensive for the truly injured/wronged party to pursue the case. But the public doesn't find those stories nearly as entertaining as the "hot coffee, stupid people" vignettes that are bandied about via email.

Just another side.
With all due respect, Hanna Addict, it isn't quite that cut and dried either. It's an intricate, imperfect, crazy system, especially from the outside POV, which is what I think leads to the "sound bite-ableness" of many verdicts and decisions. And why they're easy targets as confounding Common Sense.

I worked my entire legal career in "big law" and never had a meeting or conversation about dragging something out just to run the other side into the ground -- it wouldn't be in my client's best interest to do so. But I have seen plenty of nuisance legal claims pressed against corporate clients, filed presumably in the hopes of forcing a defense settlement rather than undertake even preliminary defense costs (which can run mid to high six figures, given the mandatory disclosures required by Rule 26 and the expense of collecting and reviewing electronic data.)

Fundamentally the decisions made by "corporate" entities, be they law firms, defendants or what have you, are made by individuals. Who are suceptible to all kinds of influences, motivations, prejudices, fears and baggage that we're not privy to.

I think we'd both agree that problems arise when one chooses to hold out a single example or experience as a sign that the system's run amok.

[kboyle]

Can we add that Common Sense's cousin, Sense of Humor seems to have died also?:hysterical:

[kijip]

I understand the point & I'm a big fan of Common Sense, but don't think any of the examples are fair. I won't go into which one struck a cord with me. I think, if you heard the facts of stories in each of those categories, you'd find that it wasn't Common Sense that died, but Compassion.

:yeahthat:

Allison, I missed your post until now but I just wanted to say well said. :applause:

[kmak]

I just wanted to say, too, that although I mourn the death of Common Sense, this obit has some examples that I don't particularly agree with.