Some people will sue over anything. I say if your going to sit next to the stage you should be paying attention to what is going on. Over the years I have seen far worse accidents than that. I have seen strippers spinning on the poles and kick customers in the head and knock them out. At one place they had 15 foot poles with what looked like ornamental round balls on the top of the polls. One night I saw a stripper climb the pole when she got near the top she flipped upside down and kicked the ornamental ball sending it flying. It must have weighed 10 pounds or more. Fortunately it didn't hit anyone but it landed on a table knocking the drinks and ash trays around like bowling pins. Unfortunately today we live in a litigious society where everything is someone else's fault.
Robofan why is it unfortunate for people to sue each other if they feel aggrieved? That is part of living in a democracy. True, some of the suits are ridiculous. For example, I hear that Governor Blagojovich is going to SUE THE LEGISTLATURE (WTF?) for impeaching him. Same story implied that his classy lawyer has cut him loose for not only not taking his advice but for not even letting the poor finish explaining the advice he was giving.
Pesonally I love to see litigation. It brings out some interesting aspects of the human animal. Of course, I do feel that the court system should always allow costs (and incidental damages) to be assessed against the plaintiff if he loses AND the court feels that the suit was frivolous, without merit, etc, whatever. With this one caveat, I would have to say more lawsuits are better than fewer. Among other things this forces people to more-or-less behave responsibly, without having to pass specific laws or regulations.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again and again. Those platform shoes are stupid, counter productive, and dangerous. Right now, it's a minor lawsuit, but if the clubs don't wake up, OSHA will find justification to intervene in clubs and start setting standards on far more than shoes.
With a lover of regulation in the White House and both houses of Congress filled with people from his party, the clubs are living on borrowed time, unless they act quickly.
I have been kicked twice while tipping at the stage. Neither hurt much and naturally-I had to laugh to show how tough I am. the girls were a lot more upset than I was.
Settlement -- no doubt this will happen. My guess is that the club made some kind of offer after the initial injury, the guy was unhappy, the club said "take it or leave it buddy" and the guy contacted a lawyer. Pure conjecture on my part, but based on documented cases of a similar nature.
I certainly hope OSHA doesn't get involved in work rules for strip clubs. Just imagine, repetitive-motion wrist, neck and groin injuries...
This Akron guy got hurt on strip club's property; surely the club has general liability insurance that would cover something like this. It is plausible that the guy had to hire an attorney to negotiate with the insurance company, but what happened to that negotiation? Filing suit is de-rigeur now days I guess.
Years ago, I witnessed an incident where a stage-side patron who had plenty to drink point out in a very loud voice that the dancer on stage was a bit overweight. I think he called her a pig. She removed one of her high heels, crawled over to him and smacked him right up side the face with the heel. He bled a lot from the resulting gash. Staff quickly brought him a towel and offered to call for medical help. He declined - didn't want the wife to know how or where he suffered this wound. I was told that the dancer was fired shortly thereafter, and that the club never heard from the guy again.
The club and the dancer were lucky. This had assault, and lots of personal injury written all over it.
Robofan why is it unfortunate for people to sue each other if they feel aggrieved?
argedbuy First let me ask are you an attorney? The reason I feel that it is unfortunate for people to sue each other is that I feel that most legitimate incidences can be solved between the parties concerned without involving the legal system which in my experience only makes money for the lawyer and court systems involved. I agree with you that the looser should pay but we don't have that system now. So what we have is is a system that allows legal extortion like the case described.
My father actually made a living suing people. In today's very connected world, he wouldn't have survived (computer background checks) as he only worked somewhere until he figured out how to hurt himself, then he'd sue. Because of him, my family has been extremely, hesitant to sue, even when we've been terribly wronged.
Lots of other people are quick to sue, for even the slightest slights. Because there are highly publicized awards on TV, people think every case is going to be like hitting the lottery. Daytime TV doesn't help with hours and hours of programming of TV shows where people sue each other-Judge Judy, Judge Joe Brown, Judge penny, etc. etc. ad nauseum. People get the idea they should sue because that means they'll be on TV, then they think they'll get to be celebs-it's a sickening ongoing indictment of our poorly constructed, celeb worshipping, litigious, crazy value poor society.
No, I am not an attorney. I do have a college degree, and I do agree that there are some pretty rotten lawsuits. I am familiar with a lawyer, now in prison, who practiced a form of extortion thru class action lawsuits against corporations -- mostly high-tech companies with volatile stock prices. His name is Bill Lerach. Turns out Bill and his partners were PAYING PEOPLE TO BE PLAINTIFFS. Highly illegal. There were serious suspicions about Lerach for years. One day one of his "clients" got in trouble with the Feds on another matter, and spilled the beans on Lerach as part of a plea bargain. Lerach's firm was destroyed, and I believe two other partners went to prison. So I agree with you, the legal system can produce, and has produced, some Frankenstein Monsters. I also agree that a lot of disputes that go to court could be settled through negotiation, avoiding legal fees. I have done that myself in one real estate case. On the other hand, many lawsuits have helped a lot of people get a fair shake. I think each case needs to be judged on its own merits, and from what was printed about the-shoe-in-the-face, it is clear that customer was injured and deserves compensation. There is a movie, "Erin Brokovich" which tells the true story of how a bunch of poor people got justice from a large corporation that was ripping them off. If you haven't seen it, and want to understand the plaintiff's point of view, I highly recommend it. I investigated the veracity of this movie, and except for the excessive sexual teasing of Julie Roberts, it is all true.
I am a law student, but I did very poorly in my Torts class. I think I never really got the "concept" that the best cases aren't those that "deserve" to go ahead, but instead are those which the attorney can most doggedly bull and pressure into a settlement. I shouldn't have written on the exam about this or that cause of action or this or that piece of fact which added to plaintiff's or defendant's case. Instead, I should have looked for who in the hypothetical story had the deepest pockets and suggested suing him.
Maybe strip clubs need to post warning signs as you enter a strip club
"Beware of Dancers"
I once got a very bloody nose from a dancer at a popular club popping up from underneath me a bit too close. I was trying to tip her a dollar which can be quite hazardous at times in some clubs. She said a quick sorry. I went to the bathroom to wait for the bleeding to stop. Then I was better and decided to leave. I never once thought I might be able to make money by sueing the club. It was an accident. I guess some people end up with hospital bills and they try to recover some of those costs by filing lawsuits.
I'm glad nobody sued me when I accidently hit someone with a golf ball on the golf course one day many years ago. The guy was even hopping around afterwards. That must have hurt. He was a lot nicer than the people yelling all the way down the golf course "you mother fucker cock sucker" just because I accidently hit a golf ball up into the area they were playing at. They were near the green and I thought that was out of my range. Apparently not I discovered. Some people on golf course are the rudest around. I'm probably lucky the guy I hit one day by accident was nice.
One of my in-laws used to say he played golf to relax. You would see him out on the golf course if you watched him, getting angry at his bad shots. Throwing golf clubs around. The golf clubs would be flying through the air. Strange how some people do things to relax. Supposedly.
14 comments
Pesonally I love to see litigation. It brings out some interesting aspects of the human animal. Of course, I do feel that the court system should always allow costs (and incidental damages) to be assessed against the plaintiff if he loses AND the court feels that the suit was frivolous, without merit, etc, whatever. With this one caveat, I would have to say more lawsuits are better than fewer. Among other things this forces people to more-or-less behave responsibly, without having to pass specific laws or regulations.
If only we had a Secretary Of Common Sense, alas, we do not.
With a lover of regulation in the White House and both houses of Congress filled with people from his party, the clubs are living on borrowed time, unless they act quickly.
This Akron guy got hurt on strip club's property; surely the club has general liability insurance that would cover something like this. It is plausible that the guy had to hire an attorney to negotiate with the insurance company, but what happened to that negotiation? Filing suit is de-rigeur now days I guess.
Years ago, I witnessed an incident where a stage-side patron who had plenty to drink point out in a very loud voice that the dancer on stage was a bit overweight. I think he called her a pig. She removed one of her high heels, crawled over to him and smacked him right up side the face with the heel. He bled a lot from the resulting gash. Staff quickly brought him a towel and offered to call for medical help. He declined - didn't want the wife to know how or where he suffered this wound. I was told that the dancer was fired shortly thereafter, and that the club never heard from the guy again.
The club and the dancer were lucky. This had assault, and lots of personal injury written all over it.
argedbuy First let me ask are you an attorney? The reason I feel that it is unfortunate for people to sue each other is that I feel that most legitimate incidences can be solved between the parties concerned without involving the legal system which in my experience only makes money for the lawyer and court systems involved. I agree with you that the looser should pay but we don't have that system now. So what we have is is a system that allows legal extortion like the case described.
Lots of other people are quick to sue, for even the slightest slights. Because there are highly publicized awards on TV, people think every case is going to be like hitting the lottery. Daytime TV doesn't help with hours and hours of programming of TV shows where people sue each other-Judge Judy, Judge Joe Brown, Judge penny, etc. etc. ad nauseum. People get the idea they should sue because that means they'll be on TV, then they think they'll get to be celebs-it's a sickening ongoing indictment of our poorly constructed, celeb worshipping, litigious, crazy value poor society.
No, I am not an attorney. I do have a college degree, and I do agree that there are some pretty rotten lawsuits. I am familiar with a lawyer, now in prison, who practiced a form of extortion thru class action lawsuits against corporations -- mostly high-tech companies with volatile stock prices. His name is Bill Lerach. Turns out Bill and his partners were PAYING PEOPLE TO BE PLAINTIFFS. Highly illegal. There were serious suspicions about Lerach for years. One day one of his "clients" got in trouble with the Feds on another matter, and spilled the beans on Lerach as part of a plea bargain. Lerach's firm was destroyed, and I believe two other partners went to prison. So I agree with you, the legal system can produce, and has produced, some Frankenstein Monsters. I also agree that a lot of disputes that go to court could be settled through negotiation, avoiding legal fees. I have done that myself in one real estate case. On the other hand, many lawsuits have helped a lot of people get a fair shake. I think each case needs to be judged on its own merits, and from what was printed about the-shoe-in-the-face, it is clear that customer was injured and deserves compensation. There is a movie, "Erin Brokovich" which tells the true story of how a bunch of poor people got justice from a large corporation that was ripping them off. If you haven't seen it, and want to understand the plaintiff's point of view, I highly recommend it. I investigated the veracity of this movie, and except for the excessive sexual teasing of Julie Roberts, it is all true.
"Beware of Dancers"
I once got a very bloody nose from a dancer at a popular club popping up from underneath me a bit too close. I was trying to tip her a dollar which can be quite hazardous at times in some clubs. She said a quick sorry. I went to the bathroom to wait for the bleeding to stop. Then I was better and decided to leave. I never once thought I might be able to make money by sueing the club. It was an accident. I guess some people end up with hospital bills and they try to recover some of those costs by filing lawsuits.
I'm glad nobody sued me when I accidently hit someone with a golf ball on the golf course one day many years ago. The guy was even hopping around afterwards. That must have hurt. He was a lot nicer than the people yelling all the way down the golf course "you mother fucker cock sucker" just because I accidently hit a golf ball up into the area they were playing at. They were near the green and I thought that was out of my range. Apparently not I discovered. Some people on golf course are the rudest around. I'm probably lucky the guy I hit one day by accident was nice.