Dennis Kucinich is actually as wimpy as he looks.

[Chardok]

From HERE

Rep. Kucinich sues over olive pit in sandwich
WASHINGTON – Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio is suing a congressional cafeteria for dental damage he says he suffered after biting into an olive pit in a sandwich wrap he bought there.

Kucinich's attorney, Andrew Young, declined to comment Wednesday on the lawsuit seeking $150,000 in damages from companies involved with the Longworth House Office Building cafeteria. A spokesman in Kucinich's congressional office also declined to comment.

The civil suit filed earlier this month in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia said the wrap "contained dangerous substances, namely an olive pit," that a consumer would not reasonably expect to find in the product served. The suit said that Kucinich suffered "serious and permanent" dental and oral injuries requiring multiple surgical and dental procedures.

Kucinich's lawsuit said the Ohio Democrat bought the sandwich on or about April 17, 2008. He is seeking damages for "past and future medical and dental expenses, compensation for pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment and other damages."

The liberal congressman made an unsuccessful bid for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

Two of the companies named in the suit, Compass Group USA Inc. and Performance Food Group Co., declined comment through spokespersons.

Fucking pussy, what in God's name does his wife see in him?

[Mr Bean]

Yeah he's off the list (Of credible defenders of the left)
For the love of anything Alan Grayson... run again!

[Alyrium Denryle]

Yes, how dare he hold companies to reasonable standards! The monster! Clearly, everything he's ever said is bullshit.

Indeed.

Chardok, Mr. Bean, apparently it was not just a matter of finding an Olive Pit in his sandwich. He actually suffered damage requiring dental work. In other words, he bit down and probably cracked a couple of teeth. Finding an olive pit you are not expecting can be like biting down with 200 lbs/in^2 onto a rock.

[Glocksman]

Yes, how dare he hold companies to reasonable standards! The monster! Clearly, everything he's ever said is bullshit.

Indeed.

Chardok, Mr. Bean, apparently it was not just a matter of finding an Olive Pit in his sandwich. He actually suffered damage requiring dental work. In other words, he bit down and probably cracked a couple of teeth. Finding an olive pit you are not expecting can be like biting down with 200 lbs/in^2 onto a rock.

From the story, it's not the suit itself that looks bad, it's the time that elapsed from the alleged injury to the filing of the suit nearly 2 years later that looks like self interested profit seeking.

As far as Compass foods goes, may they forever burn in Hell for labeling a fucking baloney sandwich 'Kentucky Round Steak' and charging $3 for it.

[Dark Hellion]

Yes, how dare he hold companies to reasonable standards! The monster! Clearly, everything he's ever said is bullshit.

Indeed.

Chardok, Mr. Bean, apparently it was not just a matter of finding an Olive Pit in his sandwich. He actually suffered damage requiring dental work. In other words, he bit down and probably cracked a couple of teeth. Finding an olive pit you are not expecting can be like biting down with 200 lbs/in^2 onto a rock.

Wait AD you're telling me that liberals aren't strange reptilian creatures who require stones for their gizzards and that he didn't get his wife by a mixture of pheromones and singing louder than the other congress-critters?

Jokes aside, I have to wonder what necessitated Kucinich having to actually sue for damages. I would think that a company would be exceedingly willing to pay for damages to a major political figure without having to be sued. While purely speculation I would suspect that either negotiations for compensation fell through or that this is simply some legal formality. Either way it will be spun as a ha-ha pussy liberals (like it already has been in this thread) and the irony of this being the solution so often suggested by free market capitalists and libertarians will go ignored. Sigh...

[Shroom Man 777]

It's not actually pussy liberals. Dennis Kucinich is pretty dorky, even bipartisanly speaking. His wife is very hot though. Mmm, fire crotch. Rawr.

[Darth Fanboy]

Hey can I understand if he broke his teeth on the sandwich, but $150,000? Did the olive pit shatter a tooth in two and a shard flew up through the roof of his mouth into his brain? Or are congressional teeth worth that much more?

(Insert additional comment about the hotness of his wife here)

[Edi]

Anyone who bites down of anything containing whole olives, dates or similar pitted fruit without taking the possibility of pits or pieces of pits being left in there by accident is an idiot. A 150k compensation demand is flat out ridiculous and if it's two years later, the only plausible motive is greed.

Then again, the US practice in evaluating damages has always tended toward the ludicrous.

[General Zod]

Hey can I understand if he broke his teeth on the sandwich, but $150,000? Did the olive pit shatter a tooth in two and a shard flew up through the roof of his mouth into his brain? Or are congressional teeth worth that much more?

(Insert additional comment about the hotness of his wife here)

Obviously congressmen go to dentists that are busy spending so much money on hookers and blow that they have to charge that much just to stay out of the red. Even with my shitty insurance I've never paid more than $1,000 for a root canal and new porcelain crown; the idea that an olive pit can do enough damage to warrant $150,000 is bullshit.

[Alyrium Denryle]

Anyone who bites down of anything containing whole olives, dates or similar pitted fruit without taking the possibility of pits or pieces of pits being left in there by accident is an idiot. A 150k compensation demand is flat out ridiculous and if it's two years later, the only plausible motive is greed.

Then again, the US practice in evaluating damages has always tended toward the ludicrous.

Well, unless he did not know there was something whole in there. It was a sandwich wrap. This is an assumption mind--having worked in deli--but there are plenty of olive spreads one can put into such a sandwich, and there is every possibility that he bit into the wrap, expecting one of these, and getting something that was improperly made. That is speculation of course.

As per the OP, he had to have oral surgery to repair the damage. That can run up a LOT of money and he may also be seeking legal fees in the suit.

[Darth Fanboy]

Obviously congressmen go to dentists that are busy spending so much money on hookers and blow that they have to charge that much just to stay out of the red. Even with my shitty insurance I've never paid more than $1,000 for a root canal and new porcelain crown; the idea that an olive pit can do enough damage to warrant $150,000 is bullshit.

A few expalanations:

-Maybe politicians think medical treatment like this really is that expensive, and that's why Universal Health Care will bankrupt America and is super bad....but Dennis is a Democrat...so maybe he wants UHC so they will pay his $150,000 Dental bill but since it got neutered by REpublicans maybe he thinks he won't be able to afford his new mechano-tooth?

-Gambling and or crack/cocaine debts.

-Hot wife ...... something hot wife

[General Zod]

Anyone who bites down of anything containing whole olives, dates or similar pitted fruit without taking the possibility of pits or pieces of pits being left in there by accident is an idiot. A 150k compensation demand is flat out ridiculous and if it's two years later, the only plausible motive is greed.

Then again, the US practice in evaluating damages has always tended toward the ludicrous.

Well, unless he did not know there was something whole in there. It was a sandwich wrap. This is an assumption mind--having worked in deli--but there are plenty of olive spreads one can put into such a sandwich, and there is every possibility that he bit into the wrap, expecting one of these, and getting something that was improperly made. That is speculation of course.

As per the OP, he had to have oral surgery to repair the damage. That can run up a LOT of money and he may also be seeking legal fees in the suit.

Even if an olive pit really was responsible, this sounds more like Kucinich's tooth was already decayed and just needed a bit of nudging to get damaged.

[Chaotic Neutral]

Well, unless he did not know there was something whole in there. It was a sandwich wrap. This is an assumption mind--having worked in deli--but there are plenty of olive spreads one can put into such a sandwich, and there is every possibility that he bit into the wrap, expecting one of these, and getting something that was improperly made. That is speculation of course.

As per the OP, he had to have oral surgery to repair the damage. That can run up a LOT of money and he may also be seeking legal fees in the suit.

It's worse than that. Congressmen get free health care...

[General Zod]

Yeah, who cares if these companies are negligent? People need to take more personal responsibility.

Good luck proving negligence without resorting to dirty tricks here.

[General Trelane (Retired)]

I also used to think that people filing lawsuits two years after an injury was a sign of greed. But then I got in a motor-vehicle accident. Where I live, such suits must be filed within two years of the incident, and my lawyers waited 23.5 months before formally filing (note, however, that they've been in regular contact with the at-fault driver's insurance company throughout that time in order to share medical information, etc.). The reason for this wait? To have time for medical professionals to make their best assessments of the injuries, the recovery, and the long-term effects. Delays in filing lawsuits really say nothing about the greed of the plaintiff.

[General Zod]

I also used to think that people filing lawsuits two years after an injury was a sign of greed. But then I got in a motor-vehicle accident. Where I live, such suits must be filed within two years of the incident, and my lawyers waited 23.5 months before formally filing (note, however, that they've been in regular contact with the at-fault driver's insurance company throughout that time in order to share medical information, etc.). The reason for this wait? To have time for medical professionals to make their best assessments of the injuries, the recovery, and the long-term effects. Delays in filing lawsuits really say nothing about the greed of the plaintiff.

It seems a bit easier to prove guilt in an auto-accident than something like this. I'd think a clever defense attorney would be demanding all sorts of evidence that the olive pit really was from the sandwich shop and hammering on the point to create plenty of doubt about where Kucinich damaged his tooth.

[General Trelane (Retired)]

I also used to think that people filing lawsuits two years after an injury was a sign of greed. But then I got in a motor-vehicle accident. Where I live, such suits must be filed within two years of the incident, and my lawyers waited 23.5 months before formally filing (note, however, that they've been in regular contact with the at-fault driver's insurance company throughout that time in order to share medical information, etc.). The reason for this wait? To have time for medical professionals to make their best assessments of the injuries, the recovery, and the long-term effects. Delays in filing lawsuits really say nothing about the greed of the plaintiff.

It seems a bit easier to prove guilt in an auto-accident than something like this. I'd think a clever defense attorney would be demanding all sorts of evidence that the olive pit really was from the sandwich shop and hammering on the point to create plenty of doubt about where Kucinich damaged his tooth.

Certainly. But the point I was trying to make is that prudence dictates that the actual filing of the lawsuit wait until the medical professionals have time to make proper assessments. That Kucinich waited to file was taken by some as evidence that he's greedy. That just doesn't fly.

As for proving his case, that's something else entirely. But unfortunately for the defendent, the burden of proof is much lower in a civil trial than a criminal one.

[General Zod]

Certainly. But the point I was trying to make is that prudence dictates that the actual filing of the lawsuit wait until the medical professionals have time to make proper assessments. That Kucinich waited to file was taken by some as evidence that he's greedy. That just doesn't fly.

I'd say the amount he's demanding is more indicative of greed than anything else. I just can't fathom how any damage that was caused is capable of running that high.

[General Zod]

Punative damages. Look it up.

So what? Are you arguing that grabs for punitive damages can't be greedy?

[cosmicalstorm]

Certainly. But the point I was trying to make is that prudence dictates that the actual filing of the lawsuit wait until the medical professionals have time to make proper assessments. That Kucinich waited to file was taken by some as evidence that he's greedy. That just doesn't fly.

I'd say the amount he's demanding is more indicative of greed than anything else. I just can't fathom how any damage that was caused is capable of running that high.

Dental work can cost a lot of money. I lost my two maxillary frontal incisors in an assault when I was 17, two years later when my titanium implants were finished the final cost ended up at ~$7000 due to complications and so on. And this happened in Sweden which is a pretty reasonable country in terms of price of dental care and health-care overall. The medical bills in America are much worse. I'm sure that a couple of temporary fillings, lab manufactured crowns and some oral surgery can easily net you a dental bill of $10.000 or so.

[General Zod]

Dental work can cost a lot of money. I lost my two maxillary frontal incisors in an assault when I was 17, two years later when my titanium implants were finished the final cost ended up at ~$7000 due to complications and so on. And this happened in Sweden which is a pretty reasonable country in terms of price of dental care and health-care overall. The medical bills in America are much worse. I'm sure that a couple of temporary fillings, lab manufactured crowns and some oral surgery can easily net you a dental bill of $10.000 or so.

I'm well aware of how much it can cost, I've had to visit the dentist a number of times over the last few years for crowns, root canals and wisdom teeth removals. That ran me about $5,000 on a shitty health plan. But we're talking about a Congress-critter with free health care. Not your average US citizen.

[Darth Fanboy]

Dude, $150,000 for a tooth? Yeah i'm sure it hurt like hell and required lots work to fix but that's a lot of cash for one tooth, I don't claim to know what the motivation is, nor do I have to to think that the amount being sought is rather steep. My problem isn't that he is allowed to sue, it's that the suit appears to be for far more than what seems reasonable.

[Phantasee]

He's probably just shooting for the moon? The final result can be less, especially if they just settle (less legal fees that way).

[Jadeite]

Dude, $150,000 for a tooth? Yeah i'm sure it hurt like hell and required lots work to fix but that's a lot of cash for one tooth, I don't claim to know what the motivation is, nor do I have to to think that the amount being sought is rather steep. My problem isn't that he is allowed to sue, it's that the suit appears to be for far more than what seems reasonable.

Have you never fucking negotiated anything in your life? Its a common tactic, start with an extreme that you don't expect to get, then work your way down from there to something that you're happy with. It's not like $150k is even really that large an amount of money when dealing with corporate revenues, I would bet that its probably a rounding error to them.

[Phantasee]

You do realize that not all business are monolithic entities that lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in the sofa cushions, right? A cafeteria could conceivably be run by a smaller business that only make a few million a year in revenue, at which point $150 000 is a big chunk of change.