To Sue or Not to Sue

Sometimes I just really wonder about people. I just had a little old lady call me here at the office asking me if we would handle her case. Apparently she ordered some shoes through the mail, and when she received them, she put them on to wear around the house. You know, to break them in. Anyway, according to her, when she took off the shoes, her one foot was all bloody and the toenail on her big toe was coming off. She told me she went to her doctor right away, and he put her in the hospital immediately. She claims they may have to amputate her toe. I asked her if there was something in the shoe, or if it was defective in some way... her answer? "No, nothing like that, dear. They were just a little too small."

Now you know why I love my job.

What makes people think that they can sue anyone for anything?? Sigh. Sometimes I really think that money IS the root of all evil. (I wouldn't know personally, since I don't have too much myself) But if the thought of getting rich quick can make a sweet little old lady try to sue a shoe company for her own choice to order the wrong size shoes, God knows what it can do to the really warped people. Wait, yes, I do know, because I DEAL WITH THEM EVERY DAY.

There was also the guy who wanted to sue the owner of the bar he was in, a premises liability case (supposedly). THIS guy said that he fell in the bar and hit his forehead on the pool table, splitting open his forehead and requiring several staples to repair it. I asked him if he had been drinking, since being impaired may affect his potential claim. His response? "Of course! It was quarter beer night!" Then I asked him how he tripped. He said he came back from the bathroom and tripped over a pool cue that was lying on the floor near the pool table. (Ok, possible liability here... management shouldn't leave pool cues lying around... give the guy the benefit of the doubt...) Was this pool cue in plain sight of the bartender, if the bartender happened to look that way? Yes. Now comes the payoff question (and answer) - does he know how the pool cue got there? Yup. He set it there before he went to the bathroom and forgot about it. Case closed.

People, do me a favor. Hire a lawyer if you have a legitimate claim. But you can't sue someone for your own stupidity. And if you have to question whether or not your injury was caused by stupidity - it probably was, so DON'T CALL A LAWYER. You will wind up on someone's blog looking like an idiot.

God bless America - and Happy Fourth. I'll be back on Tuesday.