A Coffee Case

[May K. Toney]

By Steve Irsay, Court TV
EASTON, PA. (Court TV) —

A couple isn't crying over spilled coffee they're suing.
A court battle is brewing between Brent and Virginia Zimmer of Gilbert, Pa., and Lafayette College. The couple is seeking $150,000 in damages from the college and its dining services over two carafes of spilled coffee.

The Zimmers allege in the suit that Brent Zimmer suffered second- and third-degree burns on his neck, back and buttocks after a waitress spilled coffee on him during an event last October.

According to court papers, Zimmer suffered scarring and nervous system damage that still causes him pain. He also allegedly lost some $3,250 in income and incurred $825 in medical expenses.
Lafayette University officials would not comment on the suit. The lawsuit accuses the defendants of transporting the coffee in a hazardous manner and failing to warn patrons and properly train and supervise servers.

And while she was not hit directly by the scalding coffee, Virginia Zimmer also claims she was burned emotionally in the incident.
"She heard the screams and moans of her husband as he was being burned," the suit claims, and suffers emotional distress and the continuing loss of her husband's assistance and companionship.

[Kathleen Padgett]

It's difficult to believe someone suffered scarring and nervous system damage if their medical expenses were only $825.00. Doesn't seem appropriate to reward $150,000 in this case, seems excessive to me. I'll refrain from judging them for their choice to sue, but there are far too many frivolous lawsuits out there, people seem to see it as a get rich quick scheme.

[May K. Toney]

Originally posted by Kathleen Padgett
I'll refrain from judging them for their choice to sue, but there are far too many frivolous lawsuits out there, people seem to see it as a get rich quick scheme.

You're right, Kathleen. We live in a litigious society where anyone can sue anyone for anything. The courts are so plagued and overrun by silly lawsuits, it takes years for the real cases to be heard. Carriers attempt to stand their ground on such cases but are often forced to offer some amount of settlement just to get the file off the books. An all too common scenario for the plaintiff is file, wait and settle. File enough cases and sooner or later you'll hit the jackpot.

[Mr Jose Bonavich Jr]

May, Kathleen,

I hate to say it but the college will probably settle. After the jury decision in the McDonald's case, it seems that coffee that is not clearly maked "caution: contents may be extremely hot" could be considered a legal avenue for free money ;)

When did society become so "unaware" that we need warning stickers on coffee? :)

[Byron Burke II]

And we wonder why Insurance on everything is so high!!!!!!!!

[Brian A Kelly]

Originally posted by Leisl D Olson

I hate to say it but the college will probably settle. After the jury decision in the McDonald's case, it seems that coffee that is not clearly maked "caution: contents may be extremely hot)

Hi Leisl,
Yes I agree with you, but in my opinion, it seems that the high profile companies, such as McDonalds are the one's hit the hardest. They tend to lure in the media, and once that happens, a settlement is in the works, pronto.
The little guys out there with no super power image, are generally thrown out before it ever starts.

As for the case with Lafayette College, it will probably settle for a minimal amount just to extinguish the situation.

[Michele Maconship]

Originally posted by May K. Toney
. . We live in a litigious society where anyone can sue anyone for anything. The courts are so plagued and overrun by silly lawsuits, it takes years for the real cases to be heard. Carriers attempt to stand their ground on such cases but are often forced to offer some amount of settlement just to get the file off the books. An all too common scenario for the plaintiff is file, wait and settle. File enough cases and sooner or later you'll hit the jackpot. . .

I can provide a perfect example of a fraudulent lawsuit. When I was age 19 (many years ago) I was on my parent's car insurance policy, and unknowingly had too much insurance on my older model vehicle. I skidded in a rainstorm on the way to class one day and rear ended a large pickup truck at a stop sign (I was driving a Toyota two-door, which was about a third of the size of this truck) The truck had one of those huge, metal bumpers, and had no visible damage, not a scratch. The young man driving never complained about any pain or problems at the time. Over a year later, I received a letter in the mail that this man was suing my car insurance company for permanent back damage! We did a little research and found out that in between the time of the accident, and the time that he decided to sue, he had opened, owned, and operated a martial arts school. In addition to that, his family owned a septic business, and my father saw him out there working on heavy equipment on a daily basis. The night before the court date, my car insurance company settled with this man for $100,000. And, my car insurance policy was cancelled. To this day, it still bothers me, not because I lost my car insurance and had to take out another policy, but because this was so obviously a fraudulent claim, and someone undeserving received a large sum of money that they were not entitled to.

[Robert Smith -]

It's very sad to know that we now live in a society where anytime anyone can get an easy stake, they will take it. Unfortunately people don't seem to understand that mistakes will and do happen, but for the most part, a mistake is a money making scheme. I agree with the rest of you on this.

[Mr Jose Bonavich Jr]

Michele,

I too was involved in a car accident a number of years ago ;) . I was driving a small pick-up and was rear-ended by a man not paying attention. I did sustain whiplash and soft tissue damage, and of course my bumper was "toast" :D . Unlike your "victim" I did not file for anything other than the repair of my truck and the initial doctor fees, I think it came to something like 500.00 dollars.

I suppose I could have "played" up my injuries since he was driving a very expensive, new car but the thought never entered my head. I guess it's just a different mentality. ;)

[Kathleen Padgett]

I was surprised to hear of Michele's insurance company settling on this one, given the obvious physical abilities of the "injured". I thought insurance companies would fight almost anything to avoid paying unnecessary damages? It seems like that case would have been fairly easy to prove, since the "injured" party ran a martial arts business after the fact. Definitely sounds like someone who was not entitled to the money.

[Michele Maconship]

Originally posted by Leisl D Olson
Michele,

I too was involved in a car accident a number of years ago ;) . I was driving a small pick-up and was rear-ended by a man not paying attention. I did sustain whiplash and soft tissue damage, and of course my bumper was "toast" :D . Unlike your "victim" I did not file for anything other than the repair of my truck and the initial doctor fees, I think it came to something like 500.00 dollars.

I suppose I could have "played" up my injuries since he was driving a very expensive, new car but the thought never entered my head. I guess it's just a different mentality. ;)

This just means that you are an honest person, Leisl, and in my book, that is the best quality you can possess.

[Michele Maconship]

Originally posted by Kathleen Padgett
I was surprised to hear of Michele's insurance company settling on this one, given the obvious physical abilities of the "injured". I thought insurance companies would fight almost anything to avoid paying unnecessary damages? It seems like that case would have been fairly easy to prove, since the "injured" party ran a martial arts business after the fact. Definitely sounds like someone who was not entitled to the money.

Surprised was not the word when I received the phone call that the insurance company had settled. "Incensed" was more like it, and I do not typically have a hot temper. It was very frustrating. At the time, I was very young and didn't really understand how insurance worked. But I knew what this man had done was wrong, because there is no way that a person can do physical activity such as martial arts with an injury such as the one he claimed. Also, it was so long after the fact, it must have been about a year after the accident that he put in the claim. I believe that he must have sustained the injury while working teaching martial arts . . . just my opinion. I am not sure if I would like insurance fraud investigation, but it would really be satisfying to catch someone like this in a lie.

[Bryan McManis]

Too many frivolous law suites in this country only in America. God bless the USA.

[Kathleen Padgett]

Hi Michele,

I can certainly understand your frustration. I hope your insurance rates didn't increase too much at the time, seems extremely unfair and it's unfortunate that some people are apparent masters at being able to take advantage of these situations for personal and immediate financial gain.

It would definitely be a good and satisfying feeling to catch and stop offenders from getting away with these acts of severe dishonest and deception.

At least you didn't get hurt in the accident:)

[Mr Jose Bonavich Jr]

Michelle,

Thanks for the compliment. :) Honesty seems to have gone by the wayside at least in my experience. My mother says I'm "to honest" at times but I would rather not have to worry about maintaining the lie and those little "white lies" ...well personally I would prefer my friends to tell my the truth regardless. ;)

[Jansen Horne]

People want something for nothing.It seems to me anywhere and everywhere you have got to be on your P&Qs for your actions. Just a fact

[LaVaughn Bennett]

So sad but in todays world alot of people know how to "work the system."

[May K. Toney]

Originally posted by Kathleen Padgett
I was surprised to hear of Michele's insurance company settling on this one, given the obvious physical abilities of the "injured". I thought insurance companies would fight almost anything to avoid paying unnecessary damages? It seems like that case would have been fairly easy to prove, since the "injured" party ran a martial arts business after the fact. Definitely sounds like someone who was not entitled to the money.
Hi Kathleen,
Having worked with insurance companies for almost 20 years, I can tell you that the laws in most states benefit the plaintiff more than the defendent. When I entered the industry, the motto was, "It's not what you know but what you can prove that makes the difference...". But as time went by, this changed to, "It's not what you can prove but which party is most convincing in the eyes of the judge or arbitrator." Now, there is so much "bad case law" out there and so many variables, you just never know what will tip the scales in your favor.

The rising costs of litigation, the over taxed adjusters, the cost of data integrity to track and manage these cases and the clients who are folding under the weight of long term case reserves all impact the decision to fight or settle a claim. Unfortunately, in most cases, it's simply cheaper to settle than to go to trial.

[May K. Toney]

Originally posted by Michele Kohan
Surprised was not the word when I received the phone call that the insurance company had settled. "Incensed" was more like it, and I do not typically have a hot temper. It was very frustrating. At the time, I was very young and didn't really understand how insurance worked. But I knew what this man had done was wrong, because there is no way that a person can do physical activity such as martial arts with an injury such as the one he claimed. Also, it was so long after the fact, it must have been about a year after the accident that he put in the claim. I believe that he must have sustained the injury while working teaching martial arts . . . just my opinion. I am not sure if I would like insurance fraud investigation, but it would really be satisfying to catch someone like this in a lie.
Michele,
I'm agitated just listening to the situation. As a claims adjuster, I faced this kind of thing all the time. It was hard to put personal feelings aside and remain objective. However, my thoughts immediately turn to the adjuster handling the case. It may be that he or she didn't cover all angles here...dig and document...to prove or refute this case. As with any field, there are some who are sloppy and lazy in performing their duties. While I admit that most adjusters are running on overload and stressed to the max, there's absolutely no excuse for shoddy work and decisions based solely on the need to close a file. If the adjuster fails to weigh each case on its own merits and conduct a very detailed and thorough investigation, everyone pays.

[Rod Elliott]

I was "set up" in a parking lot at Christmas time 2 years ago. A guy from a cab company snuck up behind me as I backed out of my parking space. He had to have his lights off and then turned them on after I hit him. It was just a little tap; I don't back out of a tight parking space at any speed.

I got out and looked at his car, you could not even find a mark. My car didn’t have a mark either. He said he needed to call it in to his boss. Well wouldn't you know OLE Johnny on the spot arrived in about 3 minutes with a digital camera. I mean where was this guy, waiting around the corner.:confused:

He takes pictures and we exchange information. Did I mention the front end of their car was taped on both sides to hold the headlights in place? It was held together with clear plastic tape.
Not much gets past me in automotive, I've seen about all the short cuts and cheap ways people fix their cars. LOL
The guy tells me they probably won't even file a claim. Ha Ha Ha, what a con.


The next day I phone my insurance company. I tell them about the accident and give them the name of the company. I told them it was a 0000 and to make sure they looked at the vehicle and pictures. I made them aware of the tape and prior condition.

My Insurance Company called me for some reason, related to the accident I imagine. I asked them about the claim and what happened. They told me they paid the claim to the tune of 800 and some dollars. Man was I fried, I got a little hot on the phone and asked if anyone there knew how to pay attention to details or instructions.

My rates never went up but I did change companies and pay far less now. If they were dumb enough to pay that claim or that amount, I know everyone pays too much for their insurance. Geez, I get frosted every time I think of that incident.

Rod Elliott

[Kathleen Padgett]

Hi Rod,

I agree that some insurance companies charge excessive rates... It's important to be an informed consumer in order to avoid being taken advantage of. Some sales professionals are focused primarily on big commissions and some even prey upon the naive and unsuspecting. Unfortunately, not all states have strong regulations to prevent this. I changed insurance companies last year due to the receipt of an outrageous bill for the renewal of the annual premium... ready for this?

$15,000

That's more than my mortgage!!!! There's no justification for that, since I have a clean driving record, and I reported them to the insurance commissioner to no avail, as in my state, lobbyists seem to have succeeded in getting legislatures to write laws that benefit the corporations in the majority of cases, and often times disregard the consumer's rights. I called another insurance company, and saved (or prevented overpayment) over $9,000 per year, unbelievable. The insurance commissioner's response was "rates are competitive", so in other words, my state apparently does not have a law that prevents excessive premiums. It's a buyer beware system, with no apparent recourse if wronged. It's clearly political.

Corporations with fleets of cars pay these kind of rates, not individuals. Needless to say, I called my agent and protested the rate. I actually had to push and push them to process a refund and only received a mere $600 after I did my own research and determined they put my two teenage sons (with clean driving records) on the two most expensive cars, and put me on the cheaper one... a no brainer to me?? In my case, to this particular company, it was all about profit and completely devoid of morals.

[Rod Elliott]

Hi Kathleen,

$15,000, wow that is a hefty sum. I wonder how in the world they think it would slide by without the insured catching such a huge difference. I don't know, maybe they count on some people just paying the premium. Sad indeed that there isn't some type of regulation. I guess it does depend on the state laws.

I'm glad you caught them and put up a good fight. If not, part of that just would go into someone’s pocket as commission. Good for you.

Years ago I decided to question my agent on the term uninsured motorist. It was on my policy because I thought that if the other person were uninsured it would repair my car. I found out it did not pay for repair of my car. I said, well just what does it cover?
He told me it covered my medical if I was injured. Well I have complete medical. I never went into detail but it's possible it may have covered more than my medical policy. I'm sure it varies depending on the company. I decided to drop that and saved over $80 a year. It doesn't sound like much but it all adds up. If anyone is paying for both, I think it would be a good idea to find out exactly what they’re paying for.

I'd be happy to bust any persons involved in insurance fraud. They are the people that helped make insurance rates sky-high.

Rod Elliott

[Michael Harris]

One solution would be for friends and neighbors of the "injured" party to check it out and beat the **** out of them if it is frivolous.

I have seen this suggested many times. Do not let you family, friend, and neighbors get away with this kind of nonsense.:mad:

[Kathleen Padgett]

Hi Rod,

I'm in total agreement with you.... cheers to your conscientious efforts to monitor your insurance and prevent others from committing fraud. I don't know anyone who wants to pay excessive premiums.

Yeah, I did put up a good fight, I was pretty feisty with the agent and underwriter, whom I called directly, hehe. I wasn't about to pay $15k, or anything even close to that:D They lost a good customer too, pay my bills on time, have good credit and no accidents, duh to them!:)

[Michele Maconship]

Originally posted by Rod Elliott
I was "set up" in a parking lot at Christmas time 2 years ago. A guy from a cab company snuck up behind me as I backed out of my parking space. He had to have his lights off and then turned them on after I hit him. It was just a little tap; I don't back out of a tight parking space at any speed.

I got out and looked at his car, you could not even find a mark. My car didn’t have a mark either. He said he needed to call it in to his boss. Well wouldn't you know OLE Johnny on the spot arrived in about 3 minutes with a digital camera. I mean where was this guy, waiting around the corner.:confused:

Rod,

Apparently, the "set up" scenario is not as unheard of as we would think. An investigative training course that I am currently enrolled in touched on this subject and the instructor explained a "set up" to be exactly as you described! I'm so sorry this happened to you. The only gratification in this is that someday you and I will be out there working against these types of individuals and hopefully will be able to curtail some of this type of fraud.;)

[Rod Elliott]

Michele,

I'm sure it is not unheard of and I'm glad to hear people are being made aware it exists. Two or three of those a month is a tidy little sum. Obviously they never repair the vehicle, just add a little more clear tape. I remember the company, at a later date when I'm better educated I may check them out. You can count on me to add these types of crooks to my list.

Rod Elliott

[Michele Maconship]

Originally posted by Rod Elliott
Michele,

I'm sure it is not unheard of and I'm glad to hear people are being made aware it exists. Two or three of those a month is a tidy little sum. Obviously they never repair the vehicle, just add a little more clear tape. I remember the company, at a later date when I'm better educated I may check them out. You can count on me to add these types of crooks to my list.

Rod Elliott

Go get 'em, Rod!:D

[Michael Harris]

Rod,

I like your attitude! :D Go get those suckers.

[Andre Scott]

Ive learned everyone has their hustle. I also feel that some cases should be shreaded in half.

[Rosemary Lynch]

One of the things I hope to do with my licenses, when I get it, is specialize in insurance fraud cases. In the meantime, I have a ways to go but I would like to work for an insurance c9ompany and learn this stuff. I think there is way too much insurance fraud going on, and I would like to help put an end to it.
Workmen's comp is another avenue rife with fraud.
This is primarily where I wish to go with this business.

[Corinne Pedriani--]

Originally posted by Michele Kohan

Rod,

Apparently, the "set up" scenario is not as unheard of as we would think. An investigative training course that I am currently enrolled in touched on this subject and the instructor explained a "set up" to be exactly as you described! I'm so sorry this happened to you. The only gratification in this is that someday you and I will be out there working against these types of individuals and hopefully will be able to curtail some of this type of fraud.;)

Rod,
I too, am so sorry that this happened to you. Don't these people pulling these 00000 realize how many people they're hurting? I guess (if they're smart enough to realize it) they don't care.

Michele,
I would love to put some of these 0000-artists out of commission! It infuriates me that these people are out to make a quick buck, and everyone else ends up paying for it.

Here's another 0000 I've heard of. You all might already know, but I didn't; and I would be just the idiot to fall for it:

When you come to an intersection where you have a STOP sign and the other person doesn't, they wave you on to go ahead of them. Don't do it! If it's a 0000, they will hit you, and you'll be a fault. (I'm sure they'll have a "witness" nearby, too.)

Who comes up with this stuff? :(

[Rod Elliott]

Rosemary,

Fraud and Judgement Recovery at this point is what I'm thinking. I'm going to make an example ot of someone, sometime in the future.

Rod

[Michael Runner]

Talking about frivolous lawsuits, I've got a good for you.

This guy buy an RV, he's driving down the road and decides he wants a cup of coffee. He gets up ( from behind the wheel) walks back to make a cup of coffee. The RV runs off the road crashes and I think he may have suffered minor bumps.
The kicker is this guy files suit and wins a new RV and $4 mill, all because no one told him he couldn't make coffee while driving down the road. The RV manual now has a statement saying you can't ake coffee while driving down the road.

[Ronald Gilkie]

It does seem hard to believe that someone had severe skin burning and nervous system damage over spilled coffee. It would be interesting to hear the end result of this case. There has to be medical documents that has to be provided to the court for this case to be reviewed. Especially for the money that the plaintiff wants.

[Susan Yee]

Sometimes I think these frivolous people-00000000 lawsuits should abide by British law, i.e. the LOSER pays all court costs, which would make them think before hiring a lawyer. Then 2nd of all, any leaks to or by the media would automatically NULL AND VOID the lawsuit. Maybe this would make them RATIONAL before they litigate...

[Yoner Valmyr]

Coffee is bad for you...Hot or cold.

[Michael Runner]

It does seem hard to believe that someone had severe skin burning and nervous system damage over spilled coffee. It would be interesting to hear the end result of this case. There has to be medical documents that has to be provided to the court for this case to be reviewed. Especially for the money that the plaintiff wants.

Unfortunately, when it comes to law suits you can find an "expert" witness to say what ever you want. :confused: