macbeth Posted 1 August 2006 Posted 1 August 2006 http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,18...rticle_continue Can "bullying" really be justified as a reason to award such massive payouts to eggshell personalities such as this? should the employers be totally responsible for the actions of all its employees? how can the awards be so great when very real horrific injuries are paid so pitifully ? (bomb victims ,industrial injuries etc)
lookwhaticando Posted 1 August 2006 Posted 1 August 2006 Damages compensation has always been ludicrous. It's amazing what people can actually claim for compensation ... there's a yearly 'award' (The Stella Award, I think - more a joke than a real award, but the 'winning' cases are very real) for the most ridiculous court judgements going. I have a copy of it from 2004 somewhere, I'll dig it up... Basically some of the things people were paid damages for make you want to go on a killing spree (and then of course, claim damages from someone who got in your way - that's basically what the award winners did) One I recall off the top of my head... somebody tried to knick some hubcaps off a car, and got his hand run over by the car (as it was being driven away) and HE was awarded damages. Regardless of the fact he was committing a crime at the time! Sickening.
lookwhaticando Posted 1 August 2006 Posted 1 August 2006 Can't remember what year it is... 2004 I think, could be wrong though! I believe it's actually from much earlier, quite possibly pre-2000. It's time once again to review the winners of the Annual "Stella Awards." The Stella Awards are named after 81 year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued McDonald's (in NM). That case inspired the Stella awards for the most frivolous, ridiculous, successful lawsuits in the United States. Here are this year's winners: 5th Place (tie): Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas, was awarded $80,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The owners of the store were understandably surprised at the verdict, considering the misbehaving little toddler was Ms. Robertson's son. 5th Place (tie): 19-year-old Carl Truman of Los Angeles won $74,000 and medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Mr. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps. 5th Place (tie): Terrence Dickson of Bristol, Pennsylvania, was leaving a house he had just finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not able to get the garage door to go up since the automatic door opener was malfunctioning. He couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the house and garage locked when he pulled it shut. The family was on vacation, and Mr. Dickson found himself locked in the garage for eight days. He subsisted on a case of Pepsi he found, and a large bag of dry dog food. He sued the homeowner's insurance claiming the situation caused him undue mental anguish. The jury agreed to the tune of $500,000. 4th Place: Jerry Williams of Little Rock, Arkansas, was awarded $14,500 and medical expenses after being bitten on the buttocks by his next door neighbor's beagle. The beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. The award was less than sought because the jury felt the dog might have been just a little provoked at the time by Mr. Williams who had climbed over the fence into the yard and was shooting it repeatedly with a pellet gun. 3rd Place: A Philadelphia restaurant was ordered to pay Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, $113,500 after she slipped on a soft drink and broke her coccyx (tailbone). The beverage was on the floor because Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument. 2nd Place: Kara Walton of Claymont, Delaware, successfully sued the owner of a night club in a neighboring city when she fell from the bathroom window to the floor and knocked out her two front teeth. This occurred while Ms.Walton was trying to sneak through the window in the ladies room to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge. She was awarded $12,000 and dental expenses. 1st Place: This year's run away winner was Mrs. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Mrs. Grazinski purchased a brand new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, (from an OU football game), having driven onto the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the drivers seat to go into the back & make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the RV left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mrs.Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising her in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually do this. The jury awarded her $1,750,000 plus a new motor home. The company actually changed their manuals on the basis of this suit, just in case there were any other complete morons around. This is the US which is well known for the ridiculous settlements and claims laid out in the courts. But it just goes to illustrate the point... whatever you do, don't do business with anyone, they might just sue you later :pinch:
Daggers Posted 1 August 2006 Posted 1 August 2006 http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,18...rticle_continue Can "bullying" really be justified as a reason to award such massive payouts to eggshell personalities such as this? should the employers be totally responsible for the actions of all its employees? how can the awards be so great when very real horrific injuries are paid so pitifully ? (bomb victims ,industrial injuries etc) I reckon it is all fine and dandy as long as the bully is the one paying ~ but is always the organisation that is targeted, be it employer or insurer, and there's the rub. I'm all for making bullies pay for their actions.
Head Honcho Posted 1 August 2006 Posted 1 August 2006 Can't remember what year it is... 2004 I think, could be wrong though! I believe it's actually from much earlier, quite possibly pre-2000. This is the US which is well known for the ridiculous settlements and claims laid out in the courts. But it just goes to illustrate the point... whatever you do, don't do business with anyone, they might just sue you later :pinch: They are just brilliant! The bullying compensation on the other hand is totally justified! If you read the full details of her ordeal you may agree with me.
macbeth Posted 1 August 2006 Author Posted 1 August 2006 They are just brilliant! The bullying compensation on the other hand is totally justified! If you read the full details of her ordeal you may agree with me. i think she'll recover faster than some of the very real victims of crime/terrorism/industrial disease...she does not look too bad already
Head Honcho Posted 1 August 2006 Posted 1 August 2006 i think she'll recover faster than some of the very real victims of crime/terrorism/industrial disease...she does not look too bad already .........but she is herself a victim of crime! Bullying is a criminal offence, mentally she was a wreck and her employers did nothing and deserve to be punished. If she'd committed suicide they could have been looking at manslaughter charges I would imagine
macbeth Posted 1 August 2006 Author Posted 1 August 2006 .........but she is herself a victim of crime! Bullying is a criminal offence, mentally she was a wreck and her employers did nothing and deserve to be punished. If she'd committed suicide they could have been looking at manslaughter charges I would imagine i often hear these victims are driven to the "brink" of suicide but i never hear of anyone who actually commits suicide and leaves a note saying that "bullies at work" caused me to take my own life; whereas many suicides can be attributed to marital break-ups etc ; should erring spouses be tried for enormous sums just in case the innocent spouse feel suicidal ( and evetually manslaughter if they should take their own life)...........i some how doubt it
lookwhaticando Posted 1 August 2006 Posted 1 August 2006 They are just brilliant! The bullying compensation on the other hand is totally justified! If you read the full details of her ordeal you may agree with me. The payment seems a lot, but upon looking at the breakdown, there's nothing too wild in there. The payments for suffering and her labour-market disadvantage are most likely not even a year's worth of salary (in that position). It's here that many payouts get far too wild. Claims for pain and suffering/mental anguish that run into the millions for things milder than bullying in this fashion, are what really should be stopped. I don't think bullying of this fashion should be allowed to continue. The troubles she faced are just not acceptable 'facts of life' in the workplace. It shouldn't be like that. With any luck, DB will get its house in order - enforce its code of conduct more stringently. Hopefully the bullies at the centre of this case will be disciplined appropriately. It usually takes a few high-publicity cases to get companies (and their employees) to act. I imagine there'll be a few more bullying cases brought before the courts, and as long as the payouts don't get wildly ambitious, it'll be no bad thing.
Ultra Posted 1 August 2006 Posted 1 August 2006 The real issue here is the fact that her work colleagues sought to exploit her mental illness. That is completely out of order. Having witnessed two similar episodes in my own workplace some years ago, my sympathies are completely with her. The payout may seem extreme, but so is the long-term damage to her health.
Daggers Posted 1 August 2006 Posted 1 August 2006 i often hear these victims are driven to the "brink" of suicide but i never hear of anyone who actually commits suicide and leaves a note saying that "bullies at work" caused me to take my own life; whereas many suicides can be attributed to marital break-ups etc ; should erring spouses be tried for enormous sums just in case the innocent spouse feel suicidal ( and evetually manslaughter if they should take their own life)...........i some how doubt it Many school suicides are related to bullying. A wonderful lad I taught two years ago blew his head off as a result of kids bullying him because of his sexuality. It is a huge problem that is not helped by society's refusal to accept that this kind of behaviour is not acceptable - we hang those that suffer from it out to dry in order to remain in the fold. Husbands should be paid enormous sums just for being married.
macbeth Posted 2 August 2006 Author Posted 2 August 2006 Many school suicides are related to bullying. A wonderful lad I taught two years ago blew his head off as a result of kids bullying him because of his sexuality. It is a huge problem that is not helped by society's refusal to accept that this kind of behaviour is not acceptable - we hang those that suffer from it out to dry in order to remain in the fold. Husbands should be paid enormous sums just for being married. yes i see that when you are aware of individual cases that the reason given for the suicide may seem genuine; however i do not believe there is ever one single cause that drives an individual to commit suicide; for instance many have cited debt / marital break-up/ loneliness as the causal factor yet most people continue their lives after experiencing at least one of these periods in their lives i truly believe there is a certain personality trait that is inherent in some people that causes them to be more prone to take such action. for all the so called advances in psycho therapy i have not seen any falling of the suicide rate which is quite paradoxical in a society that claims to be more understanding.
Ultra Posted 2 August 2006 Posted 2 August 2006 There are two main factors: 1) The culture that encourages people to bottle up their true emotions. 2) The deep stigma that exists in our society towards mental illness. Too many folk struggle on, thinking they'll be able to cope, until they find they can't. Anyone even contemplating suicide, let alone commmitting it, clearly has serious issues which need to be addressed, and the causes analysed. Sadly they often find themselves without anyone to confide in.
macbeth Posted 2 August 2006 Author Posted 2 August 2006 There are two main factors: 1) The culture that encourages people to bottle up their true emotions. 2) The deep stigma that exists in our society towards mental illness. Too many folk struggle on, thinking they'll be able to cope, until they find they can't. Anyone even contemplating suicide, let alone commmitting it, clearly has serious issues which need to be addressed, and the causes analysed. Sadly they often find themselves without anyone to confide in. suicides happen in different cultures all over the world ( at pretty much the same rate); this is another cop out by the "i'm a victim" society to try to keep anyone from taking any resposibility for their own actions
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