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Nowadays, you cannot tell the truth anymore...

"What really makes me angry is he told the truth," Mindy Haney told WMUR-TV on Tuesday. "How can you punish somebody for that?"
"I have been in this lady's shoes. I've been angry and left his practice. I mean, in-my-car-taking-off angry," Haney said. "But once you think about it, you're angry at yourself, not Doctor Bennett. He's the messenger. He's telling you what you already know."

This patient sums it all up. Obesity in America is the major killer and people do not want to face it. They want to have their cake and it it too, and ice cream and chips and burgers, etc...
I see pt's all the time who just won't take the responsibilty to make the changes. Really really sad.
 
wow,

this ranks up there with the lady who sued McDonald's because she spilled HOT coffee on herself, and there wasn't a warning on the cup... it's COFFEE!

I do have some sympathy for overweight people, but at the same time, if you go to a doctor, and you're 150lbs overweight, expect the doctor to tell you what your husband won't
 
One of my Dad's favorite quotes is "Common sense is very uncommon".

Sure does apply to this case. It applies to the patient, and the State board. As a physician, I see these issues every day. If people would diet/exercise, and quit smoking their quality of life would be significantly better. However, I rarely find a patient receptive to the advise.
 
rickysals said:
wow,

this ranks up there with the lady who sued McDonald's because she spilled HOT coffee on herself, and there wasn't a warning on the cup... it's COFFEE!

I do have some sympathy for overweight people, but at the same time, if you go to a doctor, and you're 150lbs overweight, expect the doctor to tell you what your husband won't

Be careful with assuming we know everything about this case based on a Yahoo story.

True story. I went to school at Georgia Tech and had 1 business law class to take. It only met once a week because that is when Jackie Kliner (a prominent NY attorney) would fly his jet to Atlanta to teach us poor dumb engineering students about the law. He was one of the best professors I ever had and can still remember some of the cases we reviewed. There were many kids that did not even belong in the class that would hang out just to listen to him talk and debate the law.

One day - he asked us what we all thought about the McDonalds coffee case and we confessed it was the perfect example of what's wrong with our legal system and why we need reforms now. He was VERY familiar with the actual case and showed us evidence that was used in trial. The elderly woman was handed the coffee and it slipped / spilled on her. It caused 2nd and 3rd degree burns all over her genitalia that required many surgeries and much suffering. They uncovered McDonalds executive level memos that had circulated showing the the injuries their coffee had caused, the dangers of serving coffee so hot, and why they should act to fix it before more people got hurt. Other memos were uncovered that suggested it was kept hot for profits as people often travel far before enjoying their coffee (at the risk of severe injuries). It was a damming case in the end and the jury sent McDonalds a message that if you risk public welfare for profits - you will lose both.

Once the class saw how callous these executives had been and the life long injuries this person suffered as a result of their money mongering decisions - we wondered why they didn't deliver a larger verdict then they did.

I guess the point is - don't always believe what you read because there are many sides to the same story and I bet you there is a lot more here then meets the eye!

:)
 
matteni said:
Be careful with assuming we know everything about this case based on a Yahoo story.<snip> I guess the point is - don't always believe what you read because there are many sides to the same story and I bet you there is a lot more here then meets the eye! :)
thx for the reminder.
 
matteni said:
Be careful with assuming we know everything about this case based on a Yahoo story.

True story. I went to school at Georgia Tech and had 1 business law class to take. It only met once a week because that is when Jackie Kliner (a prominent NY attorney) would fly his jet to Atlanta to teach us poor dumb engineering students about the law. He was one of the best professors I ever had and can still remember some of the cases we reviewed. There were many kids that did not even belong in the class that would hang out just to listen to him talk and debate the law.

One day - he asked us what we all thought about the McDonald's coffee case and we confessed it was the perfect example of what's wrong with our legal system and why we need reforms now. He was VERY familiar with the actual case and showed us evidence that was used in trial. The elderly woman was handed the coffee and it slipped / spilled on her. It caused second and third degree burns all over her genitalia that required many surgeries and much suffering. They uncovered McDonald's executive level memos that had circulated showing the the injuries their coffee had caused, the dangers of serving coffee so hot, and why they should act to fix it before more people got hurt. Other memos were uncovered that suggested it was kept hot for profits as people often travel far before enjoying their coffee (at the risk of severe injuries). It was a damming case in the end and the jury sent McDonald's a message that if you risk public welfare for profits - you will lose both.

Once the class saw how callous these executives had been and the life long injuries this person suffered as a result of their money mongering decisions - we wondered why they didn't deliver a larger verdict then they did.

I guess the point is - don't always believe what you read because there are many sides to the same story and I bet you there is a lot more here then meets the eye!

:)

A local attorney explained this case a bit different. He said McDonald's brews their coffee so hot, I believe it was 20 degrees hotter than is normal scalding temp, because they found they could get 7 more cups per bag at the higher temperature. The attorney in this case showed that McDonald's was indifferent to the dangers posed to their customer putting the additional profits from the 7 cups of coffee per bag ahead of the safety risk it posed.
The settlement was base on one day's additional profit/savings that McDonald's nationwide would get from this scheme.
I would bet McDonald's continues this practice and why not? In retrospect they didn't lose that much. They made the add'l money, pure profit, every day before and every day since.
Now I know why Dunkin Donuts coffe is so damn hot! By the time I can drink it, I don't want it.
 
I don't like hot coffee and always tell them to put ice in it. On the other hand, no matter how polite or callous you are an over weight person does not want to be told to loose weight because they know they need to loose weight.
 
pbassjo said:
I would bet McDonald's continues this practice and why not?

I heard they didn't lower their temps between the accident and the trial but part of the agreement was that they would there after.

As for the specifica in the memos I know there was a mountain of evidence against them. As for the specifics - my class was in 90 or 91 and I am not a lawyer so my memory might be a little off.

:wink:
 
The fact that they gave a scalding hot cup of coffee that was way too hot for anyone to drink to an elderly woman in her car is just plain stupid, and they deserved the payout they had to make because of it..
 
zahntech said:
The fact that they gave a scalding hot cup of coffee that was way too hot for anyone to drink to an elderly woman in her car is just plain stupid, and they deserved the payout they had to make because of it..

Just like those idoits who put up signs with sharp edges and no warnings as such. :biggrin: :biggrin: :wink:
 
steveny said:
Just like those idoits who put up signs with sharp edges and no warnings as such. :biggrin: :biggrin: :wink:

LMAO! :biggrin:

Got me right in the funny bone with that one!

:smile:
 
steveny said:
Just like those idoits who put up signs with sharp edges and no warnings as such. :biggrin: :biggrin: :wink:

LOL... at what point do we begin to take care of our selves again and not file a lawsuit against anyone we can? At what point do we make people pay for their actions and not someone else? My bad I loved Hostess growing up as a kid and could not pass up that super size option. Hey Dr. Smith you jerk why are you calling me fat and telling me I will die from it? Even Dr. Mercola says it is more important to loose weight then to quit smoking!
http://www.mercola.com/2005/jun/30/obesity_smoking.htm
People need to get over it and we need to cut back on lawyers who want to make their millions on random accidents. JMHO
 
queenlives said:
indeed: why isn't common sense common?

Because it neglectes to take into account the major variable of people being idiots. :mad:

If I was the obese person I would be upset if a doctor did NOT tell me it was going to kill me. I have traveled to several foreign countires and it is still painfully obvious that Americans lead the pack in blaming everyone else for their own shortcomings, problems, and general stupidity. It drives me nuts how many people blame everyone but themselves for things like being fat, out of shape, breaking laws, or general mistakes. :mad:
 
What was the reward in the coffee incident? I bet it would be MUCH, MUCH less if the unfortunate accident happened at someone's house. So, do we punish people based on the shoes that they wear?
 
PUI now (drunk)

I believe the reward after appeal was $300,000.

I do believe she was awarded properly, but as I noted above... A bit toasted now. So I'll comment tomorrow.

:) nite all

NSX-Stalker
 
zahntech said:
The fact that they gave a scalding hot cup of coffee that was way too hot for anyone to drink to an elderly woman in her car is just plain stupid, and they deserved the payout they had to make because of it..

Coffee is hot. Coffee burns. If people don't get hot coffee they bitch. McDonald's is a business, not a charity. If they are going to keep customers happy and save money at the same time, you better believe they are going to do it.

I'm sorry the woman got burned. But she is the one who took on the risk of having a hot beverage in her car. Eating/Drinking in your car is just as dangerous as talking on a cell phone.

I don't think McDonald's should be penalized for making smart business decisions. If people don't want to spill hot liquid on themselves, don't buy it, and for God's sake, don't keep it in your car while you are driving.
 
Meeyatch1 said:
It drives me nuts how many people blame everyone but themselves for things like being fat, out of shape, breaking laws, or general mistakes. :mad:

amen.
 
The Idiots were the persons inside the Mcd's,

the very important thing to know about this case is that the woman asked Mcd's to pay her medical bills and nothing more...Mcd's told her to go F@&k herself so thats when the nasty lawers got involved.

there is no reason to serve people coffee they can't drink and could cause serious injury, with the exception of it is better for the server cuz they get 5 more cups out of the same grounds at the expence of customers safety.
 
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Oh and BTW she wasnt driving her car or talking on a cell phone when the spill took place, she was parked in a parking spot adding cream and sugar to her moltin hot coffee.
 
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