3 BILLION DOLLARS

to a smoker.

http://www.cnn.com/cnnfn/2001/06/06/news/p.../philip_morris/

Am I the only person who thinks this is INSANE? How come only in the United States something like this would happen?

Can some of the legal people (sunchild?) explain to me how people come up with a number like that?!?

I can't believe some guy actually blames the tobacco companies for his mistakes.

Puzzled Canadian,

Rob

 

it's insane. as a former smoker, i would say that we ALL knew about the risks of smoking, even when those tobacco companies didn't disclose anything we knew about the risks.

it's like awarding $3 Billion to someone whose obesity developed into serious heart and other medical conditions that was a result of all the McDonald's hamburger and fries the fool ate over the years.

should we start suing McDonald's?

should we start suing the automakers for making products that create more carbon monoxide in 1 minute than a carton of cigarettes? we inhale it too!

 

Damn! I wan't 1% of that

 

He will die of cancer, but his family will be set for life

 

And we are all stuck paying for it for the next few years. Jurys STILL don't seem to understand that giving one person a huge settlement screws everyone else - we are stuck paying for that settlement. Phillip Morris owns/is owned by a company whose products are not strictly cigarettes.

Our legal system is way beyond messed up, and the ONLY people who win are the lawyers.

 

Sometimes I think our country has become a society of victims. No one wants to take resposibility for their own actions. It's always someone else, or product, or company who is the cause. We all know smoking can cause cancer and lots of other health problems. We have known this for years. I smoked 2 packs a day for over 25 years before quiting in 1984. Thank God I have never had a problem from smoking, but if I do, it will be because I chose to smoke, just as I chose to quit.

Don

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Don H
[B]Sometimes I think our country has become a society of victims. No one wants to take resposibility for their own actions. It's always someone else, or product, or company who is the cause. We all know smoking can cause cancer and lots of other health problems. We have known this for years. I smoked 2 packs a day for over 25 years before quiting in 1984. Thank God I have never had a problem from smoking, but if I do, it will be because I chose to smoke, just as I chose to quit.

 

This verdict will be being appealed long after the fool is dead from either cancer or old age. We should all make decisions based on informed opinion. This poor man did not, and he does not deserve to be compensated any more than the idiot who scalded their privates with hot coffee at Mickey D's. Unfortunately, the only winners here are the lawyers. Not that's there's anything wrong with that.

 

My understanding is that there is a certain mentality among our society that not only won't take responsibility for their actions, but tries to blame someone/something else. The "sympathetic" jurors award high payments based on "emotions" since they know somebody who has suffered in a similiar manner and they "hope" that if they (or their loved ones) bring a suit, the jury will "return the favor". It's like that lady that was awarded some obscene amount when she "burned" herself after spilling the coffee she got from a McDonalds drive thru on her lap. She said that there was no warning that the coffee was hot.

 

I don't live in the US but from what I heard your legal system is a joke. Mind you tho, I think the system here in Australia is not much better. SOme things you hear on the news, I jsut cannot beleive. A guy, who was drunk at about 10times the legal limit, who some doctors said should've been clinically dead, was driving and ran over a young girl ... 10 or 12 don't remember. He got something like 9 year in jail, with a minimum sentse of 6 year if he behaves well. Don't remember the details so don't flame me if I got things wrong.
And once again: then again, I come from the former USSR, and I can tell you that if you had to go thru the legal system there ... not the worst in the world, but damn close I'd say.