[url]http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2015/11/12/jury-awards-215m-to-man-injured-on-cruise-ship/?intcmp=hpff[/url]
[QUOTE]James Hausman, of Springfield, was on a world cruise with his family in 2011. As the ship approached Honolulu, Hausman and his wife left the penthouse to walk to the pool. Surveillance video shows him walking through the sliding-glass doors when they shut, striking him in the face and side of the head.[/QUOTE]
"A ship doctor said he suffered a facial contusion and chipped tooth. He was later diagnosed with a concussion."
That really warrants 21.5 million pay out?
[QUOTE=Moby-;49101961]"A ship doctor said he suffered a facial contusion and chipped tooth. He was later diagnosed with a concussion."
That really warrants 21.5 million pay out?[/QUOTE]
75% of that is going to taxes, his medical bills, and the lawyer. Hes probably getting a couple thousand after that that he can actually spend
I never understood these massive values... 21.5 MILLION DOLLARS?
the value of a human life is quoted at around [url=https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.dev/files/docs/VSL%20Guidance%202013.pdf]$9.1M[/url]
so a facial contusion (BRUISE) and chipped tooth. He was later diagnosed with a concussion (Headache).
is worth $5M in damages and $16.5M Punitive
This guy must have the most valuable face in the world.
The door sensors failed to detect him, or something of that nature, and closed on his face. No matter how minor the injury, I guess the cruiseline [I]would[/I] be liable. However, damages to the tune of $21m? That seems incredibly excessive. Paying his medical and legal expenses, a nominal amount for his "pain and suffering" and replacing the faulty or dangerous doors would have been more than ample in my opinion.
[editline]12th November 2015[/editline]
[QUOTE=mralexs;49101970]75% of that is going to taxes, his medical bills, and the lawyer. Hes probably getting a couple thousand after that that he can actually spend[/QUOTE]
Where are you getting these figures? Furthermore, even after the 75% reduction you've thrown out, he'd still be walking away with over five million bucks in his pocket.
[QUOTE=Moby-;49101961]"A ship doctor said he suffered a facial contusion and chipped tooth. He was later diagnosed with a concussion."
That really warrants 21.5 million pay out?[/QUOTE]
With Dental costs in America I wouldn't be surprised if that was barely enough to cover the chipped tooth.
[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;49101981]
[editline]12th November 2015[/editline]
Where are you getting these figures? Furthermore, even after the 75% reduction you've thrown out, he'd still be walking away with over five million bucks in his pocket.[/QUOTE]
I was kinda exaggerating, but I do know that insane cuts get taken from these kinda things.
[QUOTE=nuttyboffin;49101975]I never understood these massive values... 21.5 MILLION DOLLARS?
the value of a human life is quoted at around [url=https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.dev/files/docs/VSL%20Guidance%202013.pdf]$9.1M[/url]
so a facial contusion (BRUISE) and chipped tooth. He was later diagnosed with a concussion (Headache).
is worth $5M in damages and $16.5M Punitive
This guy must have the most valuable face in the world.[/QUOTE]
That 9.1 refers to
[QUOTE]The benefit of preventing a fatality is measured by what is conventionally called the Value of a Statistical Life
(VSL), defined as the additional cost that individuals would be willing to bear for improvements in safety (that
is, reductions in risks) that, in the aggregate, reduce the expected number of fatalities by one. T[/QUOTE]
It's just a value used for risk management, and doesn't factor in all the social, moral and legalfuckery factors that cause justice payments such to be all over the place (extremely high, in this case).
[QUOTE=mralexs;49101970]75% of that is going to taxes, his medical bills, and the lawyer. Hes probably getting a couple thousand after that that he can actually spend[/QUOTE]
I don't think those expenses would amount to 20 million dollars.
the point of the large reward was to punish the multi-million dollar company.
[QUOTE=meppers;49102274]the point of the large reward was to punish the multi-million dollar company.[/QUOTE]
So to make them to assure it doesnt happen again instead of "screw it, here is 5000 dollars, now go away" and nothing gets fixed?
[QUOTE=JohhnyCarson;49102288]So to make them to assure it doesnt happen again instead of "screw it, here is 5000 dollars, now go away" and nothing gets fixed?[/QUOTE]
Everything's a calculated risk between fixing the issue or paying off the victims. A lot of the time courts make it clear that it will be cheaper for them to fix the issue.
[QUOTE=JohhnyCarson;49102288]So to make them to assure it doesnt happen again instead of "screw it, here is 5000 dollars, now go away" and nothing gets fixed?[/QUOTE]
That, and also because it took [I]four years[/I] of fighting the cruise for him to get a payout. If I had to take a company to court to get them to pay my medical bills, fighting for years just to get them to acknowledge fault, I'd expect in the end to get some additional compensation for the ridiculous amount of time and effort I had to put in- not to mention legal expenses which rack up pretty quickly.
If cases like this only resulted in the plaintiff only getting paid their exact damages, who would spend months or years fighting in court, taking time off of work, knowing they might lose and get nothing, for anything less than hundreds of thousands of dollars? There has to be incentive for people to go through the enormous effort of challenging a company in court, especially when the company refuses to simply pay out the damages. I don't know if the $5 million figure is fair compensation or not but it's certainly not as simple as 'man walks into glass, claims $21 million damages for a bruise'.
[QUOTE=nuttyboffin;49101975]
so a facial contusion (BRUISE) and chipped tooth. He was later diagnosed with a concussion (Headache).[/QUOTE]
Your misunderstanding is that a concussion is a "headache"
[QUOTE=catbarf;49102470]That, and also because it took [I]four years[/I] of fighting the cruise for him to get a payout. If I had to take a company to court to get them to pay my medical bills, fighting for years just to get them to acknowledge fault, I'd expect in the end to get some additional compensation for the ridiculous amount of time and effort I had to put in- not to mention legal expenses which rack up pretty quickly.
If cases like this only resulted in the plaintiff only getting paid their exact damages, who would spend months or years fighting in court, taking time off of work, knowing they might lose and get nothing, for anything less than hundreds of thousands of dollars? There has to be incentive for people to go through the enormous effort of challenging a company in court, especially when the company refuses to simply pay out the damages. I don't know if the $5 million figure is fair compensation or not but it's certainly not as simple as 'man walks into glass, claims $21 million damages for a bruise'.[/QUOTE]
All fair points. Definitely makes me look at it in a different light when I consider things from that perspective.
[QUOTE=catbarf;49102470]That, and also because it took [I]four years[/I] of fighting the cruise for him to get a payout. If I had to take a company to court to get them to pay my medical bills, fighting for years just to get them to acknowledge fault, I'd expect in the end to get some additional compensation for the ridiculous amount of time and effort I had to put in- not to mention legal expenses which rack up pretty quickly.
If cases like this only resulted in the plaintiff only getting paid their exact damages, who would spend months or years fighting in court, taking time off of work, knowing they might lose and get nothing, for anything less than hundreds of thousands of dollars? There has to be incentive for people to go through the enormous effort of challenging a company in court, especially when the company refuses to simply pay out the damages. I don't know if the $5 million figure is fair compensation or not but it's certainly not as simple as 'man walks into glass, claims $21 million damages for a bruise'.[/QUOTE]
I had to deal with a lawsuit. Companies like to drag it out as long as possible in hopes you'll go broke (so you cant fight) or give up.
[QUOTE=Code3Response;49102541]Your misunderstanding is that a concussion is a "headache"[/QUOTE]
He was LATER diagnosed with concussion, that means that he wasn't knocked out on the spot, I highly doubt it was any worse then getting elbowed in the head.
[QUOTE=nuttyboffin;49102725]He was LATER diagnosed with concussion, that means that he wasn't knocked out on the spot, I highly doubt it was any worse then getting elbowed in the head.[/QUOTE]
Just another case of the rich get richer.
[QUOTE=nuttyboffin;49102725]He was LATER diagnosed with concussion, that means that he wasn't knocked out on the spot, I highly doubt it was any worse then getting elbowed in the head.[/QUOTE]
Which is still more than a headache.
[QUOTE=Code3Response;49102806]Which is still more than a headache.[/QUOTE]
Still not worth 21 million bucks.
[QUOTE=agentfazexx;49102810]Still not worth 21 million bucks.[/QUOTE]
As much as you pointlessly argue otherwise, apparently it was.
[QUOTE=Fetret;49102848]As much as you pointlessly argue otherwise, apparently it was.[/QUOTE]
Pointlessly argue? People get awarded stupid amounts of money for no reason all the time. The Freddy Gray family got 6 million from Baltimore City for all that stupid shit that happened.
[QUOTE=agentfazexx;49102810]Still not worth 21 million bucks.[/QUOTE]
[quote]
Attorneys for James R. Hausman produced evidence at trial that dozens of other passengers had been injured in similar sliding-door incidents across the Holland America fleet due to faulty sensor settings...
In addition to the punitive damages, Hausman, 61, was awarded $5 million for past and future pain, suffering and emotional distress. According to Friedman, [B]Hausman suffers memory loss, vertigo and seizures as a result of the injury[/B] but was able to complete the 280-day world cruise.[/quote]
[url]http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/giant-verdict-against-holland-america-followed-repeat-injuries-from-ships-sliding-doors/[/url]
it was just a "headache"
[QUOTE=agentfazexx;49102854]Pointlessly argue? People get awarded stupid amounts of money for no reason all the time. The Freddy Gray family got 6 million from Baltimore City for all that stupid shit that happened.[/QUOTE]
it's pointless because;
1) a jury determines the payout
2) the judge almost always, ALMOST ALWAYS reduces that amount down a significant amount
3) the news articles almost always publish the juries recommended damages.
It's also pointless because;
The cruise line is legally liable for accidents on board it and legal battles literally take years so whatever medical expenses this guy has incurred he's paid himself/through his insurer so far.
I found a video of the incident
[B]BE WARNED[/B], graphic content
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkzlpgdkObU[/media]
A hit right there on the soft part can do some real damage.
Payout like this aren't made to reward the victim, its to punish the companies that were negligent.
Newsflash: Every day you are using products that have undergone some sort of risk assessment before being sold to you. When the companies do this, sometimes they decide to build a slightly cheaper but less safe design, and they plan to use a portion of the saving they make to just pay off any victims when accidents occur. [B][U]People have died[/U][/B] from products that have gone through this process, notably cases like the ignition switch recall that GM delayed to save money.
At the end of the day, people exist to live, and companies exist to make money. When these two interests conflict you have to choose which one it more important, the safety of the general public, or the profit margin of the companies. This jury made it clear what their stance was, so what is yours?
[QUOTE=OvB;49102001]With Dental costs in America I wouldn't be surprised if that was barely enough to cover the chipped tooth.[/QUOTE]
Nah man, with insurance it took only about $230 to fix my chipped tooth
But man, I never thought a door can do that much damage at the speed it hit the guy.
[QUOTE=DeadCow;49106307]I found a video of the incident
[B]BE WARNED[/B], graphic content
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkzlpgdkObU[/media][/QUOTE]
Why didn't any of those qualified doctors leaving before him stop to help the poor man... Or the qualified pirate for that matter?
[QUOTE=OvB;49102001]With Dental costs in America I wouldn't be surprised if that was barely enough to cover the chipped tooth.[/QUOTE]
Dental costs aren't that bad here. If you have halfway decent insurance, they cover most of it. I can get a tooth filled for $50 with my copay.
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