RCI loses 'trumpet lawsuit'

[pmang]

If you're a cruise ship musician, haven't fallen far enough already?

 

 

Are you kidding me???? You want to put down somebody because you think a "cruise ship musician" is something to make jokes about?.... Someone who has trained for years at their art and decides to take a job that offers year round work and a guaranteed paycheck is fodder for your lame jokes about where they stand in the pecking order of the entertainment world? What do you do for a living???? Hate to think of your thoughts on the waiters... they must really be beneath you.....

[PeterPan]

as a matter of fact i was kidding. And yes, i am a musician. (note that all of my posts in the thread were musical puns.)

 

remember when this use to be a fun website to come to?

 

amen!!

[KMagz]

Are you kidding me???? You want to put down somebody because you think a "cruise ship musician" is something to make jokes about?.... Someone who has trained for years at their art and decides to take a job that offers year round work and a guaranteed paycheck is fodder for your lame jokes about where they stand in the pecking order of the entertainment world? What do you do for a living???? Hate to think of your thoughts on the waiters... they must really be beneath you.....

 

As a matter of fact I was kidding. And yes, I am a musician. (Note that all of my posts in the thread were musical puns.)

 

Remember when this use to be a fun website to come to?

[funat55]

Maybe he slipped on a starfish.

 

/I keed, I keed

 

Oh no! Not the dreaded starfish. Actually, that is quite funny.

[sissymaryuk]

There is no other country in the world with the degree of litigation we have in this country. Think about it. He slipped. It could happen to any one us on any given day. Accidents exist in life. There is too much of tendency to assign blame here. It's sad but an unavoidable fact of life. Bad things happen to good people. Also understand that this is not a case of Royal Caribbean "paying up". We all pay for this. Royal Caribbean incurs higher insurance costs or out of pocket fees. This leads to higher travel prices for you and me. Make no mistake we pay for this.

So, if you slipped and fell on some oil in a supermarket, and broke your arm, you wouldn't expect to be compensated by the supermarket?

 

The Stage & Production Manager, and the Stage Staff would've been responsible for making sure the stage is safe, not the musicians. Smoke fluids have a tendency of collecting on the grid above the stage, and dripping down.

 

The orchestra are generally, far and away, the best musicians you'll see on a cruise ship. Better technically than any of the guest entertainers, showband or Schooner Bar acts. The job of a musician involves years of training, often from an early age, and is more of a vocation than just a job. Think of a dancer not being able to dance again, or a sportman's not being able to play again. It must be really hard mentally not being able to do what you love anymore. I really don't think that this award was that extreme.

[Captain Jake]

There is no other country in the world with the degree of litigation we have in this country. Think about it. He slipped. It could happen to any one us on any given day. Accidents exist in life. There is too much of tendency to assign blame here. It's sad but an unavoidable fact of life. Bad things happen to good people. Also understand that this is not a case of Royal Caribbean "paying up". We all pay for this. Royal Caribbean incurs higher insurance costs or out of pocket fees. This leads to higher travel prices for you and me. Make no mistake we pay for this.

beats the alternative.Can you imagine all the quacks that would be practicing medicine if the insurance companies didn't weed them out .Lawsuits should be a deterent for negligence

:cj

[thelion]

The irony is, if RCCL complied with US labor laws, then worker's compensation statutes may have preempted this lawsuit from going forward. Can't feel sorry for them in this case.

 

RCCL does not employ US workers for the most part, so why should they follow US labor laws. Should a company that operates in England follow our laws? China? Japan? Sudan?

 

For that matter, even NCLA doesn't follow US labor laws the same way shoreside jobs do. I worked on their ship and was injured (by their negligence) and was told due to the Jones Act (yay for old, outdated laws!) I could not recover any damages.

 

Shipside workers get screwed. It is a fact of life. Tip your waiter, he has a crappy job and gets paid a pittance for it.

[klingoncruiser]

What a joke our court system is sometimes. Sheese.....:rolleyes:

[philnpen]

Only my 2 cents opinion.

 

First of all, the musician (age not stated) deserved an award of some amount.

 

Next, are the statement from the Mickie D's coffee suit. The woman (80ish) placed the cup of coffee between her legs and drove off before an emergency stop caused her to spill her coffee. I don't know where the third degree burns remark came from since my Boy Scout First Aid manual and fireman's training says that 3rd degree results in charred flesh and I don't see how even extremely hot coffee can cause that. First degree - redness, 2nd degree - blisters, 3rd - degree burnt flesh.

[FertilityDoc]

beats the alternative.Can you imagine all the quacks that would be practicing medicine if the insurance companies didn't weed them out .Lawsuits should be a deterent for negligence

:cj

 

This could easily denigrate into a difficult discussion. There are some facts however. We have the most expensive litigation system in the world bar none. It dramatically increases the costs of doing business here and makes us less competitive. There is a reason why cruise ships are not registered in the US.

 

As far as physicians being sued, it is a capricious lottery system. Any plaintiff lawyer knows 2 things. First you can hire a expert to say anything you'd like them to. Sadly some physicians who are not successful in practice make their living this way. When a jury hears 2 conflicting opinions there is a natural human tendency to be sympathetic towards the person who was injured despite the facts of the case. You are also awarding someone elses' money. It costs more to defend these suits which biases the system towards settling whether you have a good case or not. Why should someone have to pay to defend themselves if they are found to be not negligent. We desperately need a loser pays system here in the US. There are other countries with such a system. It would help to get rid of the frivolous lawsuits filed on a daily basis which attorneys mostly settle because of the greater defense costs. Trust me this does nothing to weed out bad physicians. When a professional society or hospital moves to sanction a physician both are going to have their own coterie of lawyers. It is rare for a physician to lose their license as is the case in most professions.

 

I had a funny experience a few years ago. A patient was suing a chiropractor for allegedly causing her miscarriage. There was zero evidence that this was the cause. I testified as a an expert witness. I remember during the deposition that the plantiff's attorney was dismayed by the facts I presented. It made his case weak. I remember he looked at me and commented " So we are enemies?" I responded " I thought this was a search for the truth". He did not like that observation at all.

 

PS - I guess we'll have to outlaw those dangerous fog machines. Lets sue them too for not putting a warning about walking across a stage carrying a trumpet.

 

I'll get off my soap box now.....

[betsyl]

Yup, one more reason for my somewhat jaded and skeptical views of the US tort system.

 

Everybody hates lawyers until they need one!

[TahoeBob]

Only my 2 cents opinion.

 

First of all, the musician (age not stated) deserved an award of some amount.

 

Next, are the statement from the Mickie D's coffee suit. The woman (80ish) placed the cup of coffee between her legs and drove off before an emergency stop caused her to spill her coffee. I don't know where the third degree burns remark came from since my Boy Scout First Aid manual and fireman's training says that 3rd degree results in charred flesh and I don't see how even extremely hot coffee can cause that. First degree - redness, 2nd degree - blisters, 3rd - degree burnt flesh.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald's_Restaurants

She placed the coffee cup between her knees and pulled the far side of the lid toward her to remove it. In the process, she spilled the entire cup of coffee on her lap.[9] Liebeck was wearing cotton sweatpants; they absorbed the coffee and held it against her skin as she sat in the puddle of hot liquid for over 90 seconds, scalding her thighs, buttocks, and groin.[10] Liebeck was taken to the hospital, where it was determined that she had suffered third-degree burns on six percent of her skin and lesser burns over sixteen percent.[11] She remained in the hospital for eight days while she underwent skin grafting.

[Kellie Poodle]

http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2010/06/jury-awards-17-million-to-trumpeter-who-hurt-arm-on-royal-caribbean-ship/97637/1?csp=34travel

 

 

Something sounds fishy. 9 years? Isn't there a two year statute of limitations on personal injury?

 

I'm fairly certain it will be reversed on appeal.

[John Henry on CC]

Something sounds fishy. 9 years? Isn't there a two year statute of limitations on personal injury?

 

I'm fairly certain it will be reversed on appeal.

If there is a statute of limitations, it pertains to the time to FILE the suit.

 

NINE YEARS refers to the time that it took for the suit to make its way through the system.

[xpcdoojk]

By posting this shows how little you know about the facts in the the McDonalds coffee case. Third % burns should not happen from a cup of coffee. Please do some research before you post something you know nothing about.

 

I suggest kindly, Tahoe Bob, that OB knows a heck of a lot more about 3rd degree burns than you do. Of course, your lack of knowledge has never gotten in the way of your trashing people in the past. :rolleyes:

 

jc

[Garyorient]

Are you kidding me???? You want to put down somebody because you think a "cruise ship musician" is something to make jokes about?.... Someone who has trained for years at their art and decides to take a job that offers year round work and a guaranteed paycheck is fodder for your lame jokes about where they stand in the pecking order of the entertainment world? What do you do for a living???? Hate to think of your thoughts on the waiters... they must really be beneath you.....

 

You must be really fun to be with at parties.:(

[Captain Jake]

Only my 2 cents opinion.

 

First of all, the musician (age not stated) deserved an award of some amount.

 

Next, are the statement from the Mickie D's coffee suit. The woman (80ish) placed the cup of coffee between her legs and drove off before an emergency stop caused her to spill her coffee. I don't know where the third degree burns remark came from since my Boy Scout First Aid manual and fireman's training says that 3rd degree results in charred flesh and I don't see how even extremely hot coffee can cause that. First degree - redness, 2nd degree - blisters, 3rd - degree burnt flesh.

 

looks like your Boy Scout Manual is wrong

:cj

[Ocean Boy]

Actually the award was reduced to 160k plus 480k for a total of 640k and yes the final agreement was sealed.A lawyer friend of mine said if my injury happened in a restaurant I would get 100k without going to court

:cj

 

So the moral of the story is if you are going to get hurt don't do it at home?

[Ocean Boy]

Everybody hates lawyers until they need one!

 

I don't hate anyone. The tort system in this country is out of control and I am sick of tired of certain lawyers constantly blurting out their 800 numbers on TV proclaiming that if you have been wronged call me an I will get you the money you deserve. I recall one commercial where some dude who was supposedly in a car accident proclaims.... "I was hurt really bad until my lawyer hit that other driver and made him pay."

 

I guess there is nothing like money to make everything better.

[Paul65]

I suggest kindly, Tahoe Bob, that OB knows a heck of a lot more about 3rd degree burns than you do. Of course, your lack of knowledge has never gotten in the way of your trashing people in the past. :rolleyes:

 

jc

 

Nor does your lack of knowledge appear to get in the way of you trashing people, either. Tahoe Bob was correct to say that a cup of coffee should not cause third degree burns. Thus, the fact that it DID cause third degree burns in the case in question helps to establish the fact that the coffee was kept way too hot. Therefore, Ocean Boy was a bit lacking in facts, himself, when he ignorantly belittled the lawsuit.

[Captain Jake]

I don't hate anyone. The tort system in this country is out of control and I am sick of tired of certain lawyers constantly blurting out their 800 numbers on TV proclaiming that if you have been wronged call me an I will get you the money you deserve. I recall one commercial where some dude who was supposedly in a car accident proclaims.... "I was hurt really bad until my lawyer hit that other driver and made him pay."

 

I guess there is nothing like money to make everything better.

 

You can't lump all lawyers with TV lawyers or call all lawsuits money grabbing.There are companies out there that would rather pay a few wrongful death or injury lawsuits than fix a problem because it's cheaper to the bottom line to pay the lawsuits than to fix the problem.If it were the other way around they would fix the problem.True some sue for no reason at all but there are just as many who just let it go

:cj

[Ocean Boy]

By posting this shows how little you know about the facts in the the McDonalds coffee case. Third % burns should not happen from a cup of coffee. Please do some research before you post something you know nothing about.

 

Here is what I do know. When I buy coffee I assume that it is hot. I know that hot stuff has the ability to cause burns. I know that styrofoam and paper cups are flexible. I know that thigh muscles hardly provide the dexterity of hands as to control and feedback and thus I would not place a hot cup of liquid there and take off the top thinking that I would be able to apply the right amount of pressure with my thigh adductor muscles so as to not cause the cup to either flex or tilt and not spill this hot liquid.

 

Go do all the research on the case that you want. Using some basic common sense would have avoided the injury.

[Captain Jake]

Here is what I do know. When I buy coffee I assume that it is hot. I know that hot stuff has the ability to cause burns. I know that styrofoam and paper cups are flexible. I know that thigh muscles hardly provide the dexterity of hands as to control and feedback and thus I would not place a hot cup of liquid there and take off the top thinking that I would be able to apply the right amount of pressure with my thigh adductor muscles so as to not cause the cup to either flex or tilt and not spill this hot liquid.

 

Go do all the research on the case that you want. Using some basic common sense would have avoided the injury.

 

and having the common sense to serve coffee that would not cause severe burns would have also.My guess is you can't get severe burns from carry out coffee today.Common sense will tell you that no one can drink coffee that causes second degree burns

:cj

[Paul65]

Here is what I do know. When I buy coffee I assume that it is hot. I know that hot stuff has the ability to cause burns. I know that styrofoam and paper cups are flexible. I know that thigh muscles hardly provide the dexterity of hands as to control and feedback and thus I would not place a hot cup of liquid there and take off the top thinking that I would be able to apply the right amount of pressure with my thigh adductor muscles so as to not cause the cup to either flex or tilt and not spill this hot liquid.

 

Go do all the research on the case that you want. Using some basic common sense would have avoided the injury.

 

True. As with almost every accident, there were both unsafe actions and unsafe conditions. You seem to be of the opinion that it is OK for a company to ignore easily avoidable unsafe conditions, and all the onus should be on the company's customers to use precautions to avoid the dangers.

 

Not everyone will agree with you on that, though.

[Mark_K]

Something sounds fishy. 9 years? Isn't there a two year statute of limitations on personal injury?

 

I'm fairly certain it will be reversed on appeal.

If statute of limitations were an issue, it would never have gotten to trial. Also, it varies by state and is not uniformly two years, I believe Florida is four years for negligence cases.