Fast food companies, tobacco and law suits...

Sothis · Post by **Sothis** » 2002-08-11 05:26pm

I found this article and thought I'd share it with you guys to gauge reaction...

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/commentary ... arter.html

Personally, it's not like McD's or BK are selling addictive products, and it's common sense that eating food covered in grease and filled with fat will do you no good. Plus, have any of these people heard of exercise, or the gym? A lawsuit of the kind threatened is wholly stupid, and yet another sign of people being unwilling to accept responsibility for their own situation.

Post by **Mr Bean** » 2002-08-11 05:31pm

Considering I have McD's near twice a week yet am five pounds under the suggested Weight for my Height and Age I'd be glad to testfiy aginst this either
Idiot
Money-grupping bastard
As the second but add Lazy

And no I'm not possed with a super fast motabalizem and infact I'm annyoed by you people who are(The storys I can spin about my old next-door neighbor and his super fat buring abilties...)
Of course I like the other 99.99999999999999999% of The Popluation has heard of this wonderus thing called Exercice....

*Wonders if he could sue the Bottled Water manfactures as it is possible to drown in as little as two inchs of water...

Temjin · Post by **Temjin** » 2002-08-11 05:34pm

Look kids! Over there are people who are enjoying the great North American past-time of blaming someone else for their own stupid mistakes!

Pathetic.......

Mr. B · Post by **Mr. B** » 2002-08-12 01:34am

Lawsuits are another way of saying "You cannot take responsibility f or your actions."

PEOPLE CHOOSE TO SMOKE.

PEOPLE CHOOSE TO EAT FAST FOOD.

Blaming it on the companies is a major cop-out.

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2002-08-12 01:58pm

I wish law suits like these would get tossed on the first day by the judge.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2002-08-12 03:58pm

I wouldn't lump McD's and the tobacco companies together. McD's sells food that's bad for you, but they're not covering anything up. The tobacco companies, on the other hand, deliberately jacked up levels of addictive substances in their cigarettes even though some of the additives were known carcinogens and then testified under oath that they had no knowledge of any addictive properties whatsoever.

Is someone ultimately responsible for his own choices? Yes. But is a manufacturer liable for deliberately making his product more dangerous than it already is, in order to boost sales? Absolutely. The tobacco companies deliberately made cigarettes more carcinogenic in order to make them more addictive. If they just sold simple tobacco, they'd be able to walk away with the "it's the user's responsibility" excuse. But this deliberate and secret manipulation of the product is what separates them from the junk-food companies.

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2002-08-12 10:40pm

No matter the outcome, a Big Mac and the Wopper are gonna cost more. For all of you not from the U.S., let me tell you how our fucked up legal system works.

Let's say your suid for something real frivilous. You defend yourself in court, and eventually win. Unfortunately, your defense cost more than the origional claim. Does the loser who suid you have to pay your court cost? No! Why you might ask? Because the U.S. hasn't adopted the proven world wide effective concept of "loser pays." If you get suid, it's gonna cost you no matter. You might as well settle, and pay less. When corporations have to pay for stupid suits like the one above, it's the consumer that eventually pays. Cars cost hundreds more, airline tickets are more expensive, medical care cost are going up, and etc. Added to the list will soon be your favorite grease burgers from the local heart attack diner.

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2002-08-12 11:30pm

USAF Ace doesn't even begin to describe the problem. In Pennsylvania, the doctors are leaving because parasitic personal injury lawyers have driven the cost of malpractice insurance so high they can't afford stay in business anymore. It's almost impossible to get orthopedic surgery in the state right now, and that's just the beginning--it's going to get to the point that only emergency care will be available in Pennsylvania, home of the first modern hospital in the United States, and just barely that. It's going to come to a point that there's tort reform in this country simply because the economy is going to grind to a halt without it.

As to the porkers suing fast food companies? Let those fat fucks keel over and die. If there's any justice in this world, that's what they deserve.

Temjin · Post by **Temjin** » 2002-08-13 12:58am

I can see it now.......

The guy wins the case because the judge is an idiot, then going to the local BK to celebrate.

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi · Post by **Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi** » 2002-08-13 10:58am

When people get fat from fast food, they did it because they're dumb. It's all a matter of personal responsibility.

Banning junk food in schools won't stop kids from becoming fat. Vending machines in schools are no more responsible for childhood obesity than vending machines in any other public place. What will the schools do to stop kids from eating junk food in school? Frisk them for Twinkies on the way into the cafeteria?

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2002-08-13 01:01pm

RedImperator wrote:In Pennsylvania, the doctors are leaving because parasitic personal injury lawyers have driven the cost of malpractice insurance so high they can't afford stay in business anymore.

It much worse in Las Vegas. Trama centers are closing down, doctors are becoming scarse. The Nevada government wants to adopt a successful California law capping rewards for "pain and suffering," but the trial lawyer lobby is vehemently opposing the move at every step.

Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2002-08-13 02:45pm

It used to be that societies had rights and individuals had responsibilities. That lawsuit is just another example of how, today, individuals have rights and societies have responsibilities.

The fact is, that fat man had every right to refuse fast food. I have met many people who do not eat fast food because they understand that it is bad for them. It isn't like fast food is addictive (like nicotine), or like the industry is forcing anyone to eat it. That man should be responsible for his own choices in life, as the rest of us are. This is just another example of someone saying: "Society didn't protect me from myself. I should be compensated."

Sothis · Post by **Sothis** » 2002-08-13 02:50pm

I've now added a page on my site about this, that should make for interesting reading, though bear with me whilst I update the links.

Edit- it occured to me that including the link to my page might help people see it.

http://www.geocities.com/sothis5/Burger ... suits.html

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2002-08-13 11:07pm

USAF Ace wrote:
RedImperator wrote:In Pennsylvania, the doctors are leaving because parasitic personal injury lawyers have driven the cost of malpractice insurance so high they can't afford stay in business anymore.
It much worse in Las Vegas. Trama centers are closing down, doctors are becoming scarse. The Nevada government wants to adopt a successful California law capping rewards for "pain and suffering," but the trial lawyer lobby is vehemently opposing the move at every step.

Same here. The trial lawyer lobby is the perfect example of the small, but powerful lobby setting the legislative agenda. The only real way to overcome it is to whip up popular outrage to such a degree that opposing tort reform is political suicide. Happily, I think that day is coming. The lawyers are killing the goose that's laid the golden egg by driving the doctors out of town. Once enough people have had to drive to Ohio or New Jersey to see a specialist, they'll be demanding Harrisburg bring them the head of the personal injury industry.