HBO documentary: Hot Coffee

[jw33]

Did anyone just catch it on HBO tonight for the first time? Wow, I admit it was a real eye opener...

[mikec]

Nope. I don't have any pay channels. Just the basics!


What did it cover, aside from the obvious?

[Duncan]

Nope. I don't have any pay channels. Just the basics!


What did it cover, aside from the obvious?

It covered tort reform and mandatory arbitration. I felt bad cause i was also one of those people that listened to the media and thought these people were just people trying to get paid via frivolous lawsuits (probably true in some cases, but not these). Definitely an eye opener, very good show.

[SMEGMA STENCH]

That's always been the problem. Tort reform would be nice, but then what will curb the sheer incompetence of bad doctors and nurses who don't care? There are just as many bad as there are good ones. Its really sad.

[YALE]

That's always been the problem. Tort reform would be nice, but then what will curb the sheer incompetence of bad doctors and nurses who don't care? There are just as many bad as there are good ones. Its really sad.

It's not just about medical malpractice. By far the group paying out more in Tort cases was big corporations, specifically insurance companies. If insurance companies cover the corporations and the doctors, guess who pays? The insurance companies.

I watched the documentary this morning, and I have to say, it was evocative. Do I think there should be limits on punitive damages? Yes. Do I think there should be limits on economic damages? Hell no. All punitive damages do is raise operating costs unnecessarily.

[ELVIS]

srsly... how hot must that coffee have been to burn that old lady like that?? i truly had no idea!

god bless.

[Broncojohnny]

srsly... how hot must that coffee have been to burn that old lady like that?? i truly had no idea!

god bless.

I haven't seen the documentary but I have always known that the old lady got third degree burns. I hear people use that case as an example of out of control lawsuits and I laugh, McDonald's had it coming for that shit. And I'm about as pro-business as they come!

[UserX]

I haven't seen the documentary but I have always known that the old lady got third degree burns. I hear people use that case as an example of out of control lawsuits and I laugh, McDonald's had it coming for that shit. And I'm about as pro-business as they come!

I read that lady was only suing for the medical bills that her insurance didn't cover, it was nothing. It was the jury that awarded her the crazy multi-million dollar deal. While it is a large sum of money for most people, it represented 2 days worth of coffee sales for McDonald's.

I'm downloading it now, I'll prolly watch in the next few days.

[jw33]

You are close. The jury awarded her $160K for compensatory damages and then $2.7M for punitive damages which is about two days worth of coffe sales for mcdonalds. The $2.7M was later reduced by the judge to $480K. Even that amount was appealed and they ended up settling out of court for less. That's all chicken shit though. The really sick part of the show is about mandatory arbitration and the chamber of commerce and how they get judges elected that rule very, very heavily in favor of big corporations in court.

[UserX]

I watched it last night, pretty good film. It's amazing how many of our rights are slowly being dimished right before our eyes. Money and big business have completely corrupted our judicial & legislative systems. Sad thing is, once they're lost, we'll likely never get them back.