And speaking of lawsuits I probably would not bring
We attorneys often stand accused of bringing claims that are better left alone. The hot coffee-McDonald’s lawsuit set us up for years of jokes and abuse. Often, the public’s perception about particular litigation is due to lack on knowledge and understanding about the specific events.
If you really want to see crazy litigation, spend some time reading over suits filed without an attorney, typically by incarcerated citizens, who probably have little else to do for entertainment. Case in point: A federal lawsuit recently dismissed in Indiana in which an inmate tried to hold the security service at the public library responsible for the crime the inmate committed:
Ladell Alexander claimed that if the St. Joseph County Public Library’s security company had done its job, the 4-year-old victim would not have been hurt. Security guards should have confronted him or called police after observing him in an unauthorized area of the library before the molesting incident, he alleged.
Alexander is serving a 16-year prison sentence for the molestation nearly three years ago.
Link.
What I found amusing about this story was Mr. Alexander’s proposal for spitting up the proceeds of the litigation: “Alexander sought a total of $4 million in damages, including $1 million for the young victim’s family.”
But, attorneys do bring some of the ridicule on themselves: A lawsuit filed by the parents of a 5 year old against a Merrillville hotel in Lake county charges the hotel with failing to clean up a used condom before renting a room to the parents. The parents were distressed when their 5 year old, thinking the item was a balloon, was found trying to inflate it. The child tested negative for disease, but the parents are suing for emotional distress. I like the comment the Northwest Indiana Times got from a doctor:
The risk of contracting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, by oral contact with a used condom is “slim to none,” Dr. Len Peruski said. “Except for the gross-out nature, I would not see any big issues with this.”
Link.
