Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend by
the name of Common Sense who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red
tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such
valued lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm and that life
isn't always fair.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies
(don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge). His health began to rapidly deteriorate
when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch, and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student only worsened his condition. It declined even further
when schools were required to get parental consent to
administer aspirin to a student but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Finally, Common sense lost the will to live as the Ten
Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, spilled it in her lap, and was awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents,
Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by two stepbrothers; My Rights and Ima Whiner.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

So true.......

Common Sense doesn't encourage consumerism (if that is a word) and consumption. He also doesn't encourage understanding and compassion and knowledge that humans have feelings and make mistakes. Therefore, he had to die. F*** him, right!

True.

HOWEVER, the McDonalds case of the lady spilling coffee on herself isn't a very good example.

Did you know that the "huge some of money" was not asked for by the plaintiff? She only asked for an amount to cover her medical damages. And the huge amount was also taken away in the appeals process.

Also, the lady suffered third degree burns. If she spilled it on herself and it was hot enough to cause third degree burns through her clothes how was she supposed to drink it? Shouldn't McDonalds serve their product in a manner that it can be consumed right away?

Also, did you know that this was not the first case in which McDonalds was sued for their hot coffee? But despite other people suffering damage from their product they STILL refused to serve their coffee at a reasonable temperature.

I think common sense was missing on the part of McDonalds not the lady who spilled the coffee.

Plabonte,
If I make a pot of coffee at home, pour it into a cup and spill it on myself within a minute of pouring, or for that matter drink it right away, I will get burned. It is the nature of a hot beverage....it is hot, and people need to be careful.
I would rather get a piping hot coffee and let it cool to a comfortable temp. for me than get a luke warm coffee that I have to chug before it gets cold.
Plus there are warning labels all over the cups now.

I agree Spence. But when you go to a fast food place and order (especially the drive through) you should reasonably expect to enjoy (or at least consume) your purchase right away.

When you order a soda you want it cold. Would you expect to get a frozen soda and have to wait for it to thaw? After all its better to have a cold soda that you have to wait for then a warm one right?

And remember this wasn't a little scalding she received it was third degree burns which are very severe.

plabonte,
I have to disagree.
When you go out for pizza, you've never burnt the roof of your mouth with the cheese??
So should you be able to sue the pizza place for that?
That would be obsurd, in my opinion.
It should be up to the person to figure out for themselves how hot or cold something is.

This has become a noation of people who can't think for themselves. People blame their lack of good judgement and common sense on everyone but themselves.
An example, A person in our state drove off a corner. He sued the state because the corner wasn't marked well enough (Oh, this was in broad daylight). The state settled and paid him.
He didn't drive off the corner because it wasn't clearly marked, he drove off the corner cause he was either too stupid to drive or wasn't paying attention. Either way, it was his problem.

We've become a nation of blaming other people for our mistakes. Everyone (not everyone, but you know what I mean) wants someone else to pay for our mistakes, when we should all be responisble for our actions.

There are those people who feel we don't have enough laws, we need to impose more laws to protect those people who cannot seem to make it in real life.
Must have the warnings on everything. Next, ovens will have little strobe signs that flash HOT when they are on. Electrical sockets will have warnings not to put your finger in them, although I never understood how you could put your finger in an outlet.

This is just my opinion, I apologize if it offends anyone. 🙂

Sorry, got carried away. 🙂

BTW, tarheel, cool post.

Lawyers are the bane of modern society...

A little medical terminology

First-Degree: Minor
The least serious burns are those in which only the outer layer of skin (epidermis) is burned. The skin is usually reddened, and there may be swelling and pain; however, the outer layer of skin has not been burned through.

Second-Degree
When the first layer of skin has been burned through and the second layer of skin (dermis) also is burned, the injury is termed a second-degree burn. Blisters develop, and the skin takes on an intensely reddened appearance and becomes splotchy. Severe pain and swelling are accompanying symptoms.

Third-Degree: Severe
The most serious burns involve all layers of the skin, including nerves. Fat, muscles and even bones also may be affected. Areas that are charred black or appear a dry white also usually occur.

I believe you are talking first degree burns Opatience. Was the lady careless yes. But she suffered third degree burns. There is no possible reason to serve something THAT hot. Common sense would tell us that. It would also tell you to check the cover before you drink something. But my point is only that this case gets thrown around a lot but people don't really know all the facts to it.

plabonte,

Could you tell me where you read the facts you're quoting? I'm curious to know both sides of this story.

If you'd prefer to email me; [email protected]


Thanks,
Dave

I read them when this case came out but don't remember the site I read them on.

But I'm sure if you did a "Mcdonalds hot coffee case" search you would come up with a lot of them.

what plabonte doesn't realize is that this is another one of tarheel's right brain tests....