Weird and Unusual Compensation Claims

It is said that we’ve become a compensation claims culture – that with every little accident people are out to find someone to blame and some way to get money from it. We live in a time where it has to be stated that packets of peanuts with contain nuts and cups of coffee will be hot.

For many, of course, there are very valid reasons for seeking legal services and claiming compensation, particularly if something that was not their fault goes onto to have a real, negative impact on their lives.

However, there have been some more unusual events that have led people to seek compensation and others seem to just want to vent some rather odd frustrations.

When Cathy McGowan of Derby, UK, was told by the radio DJ that her correct answer had won her a new Renault Clio, she was obviously overjoyed. When she went to receive it, however, she was given a tiny toy version of the car. She took the Radio station to court and the judge ruled that the station award her with £8,000 to pay for the real thing.

A Romanian prisoner, serving twenty years for murder, was so fed up with his situation that he decided to sue the highest authority that he could. He stated that he had made a contract with god during his baptism that god would be keep him out of trouble in exchange for things such as prayer and worship.

In another faith related incident, Matt Lincoln sued a Tennessee church in 2007 after he hit and fell his head. He claimed that he had been so overcome by the spirit of god that he had he had been unaware of his actions and that the church should have provided someone to catch him. He sought $2.5 million to cover medical bills, loss of income and his general pain and suffering. Unsurprisingly, the church refused to comply, telling Lincoln that as the spirit is omniscient, he should have known no one was behind him.

One rather sexually frustrated woman from Brazil decided to sue her partner after he consistently failed to give her orgasms. She stated that he would satisfy himself and then end intercourse. Unfortunately her case was rejected.

A man from Wisconsin threatened to sue a cable company in 2004. His reason? His family’s viewing habits had turned his kids lazy and his wife fat. He claimed that he had tried to cancel the service, that he hadn’t wanted to remove the box or cut the cable because he thought it might be illegal, and that the remote control had a force that could not be resisted. He later retracted his comments somewhat about his family, especially as, somewhat unsurprisingly, his wife reacted angrily to being called fat.

Seeing as coffee has been mentioned, in 1994 Stella Liebeck sued McDonald's after spilling coffee into her lap and receiving third degree burns. Originally McDonald’s offered Liebeck $800 to cover medical expenses; during the court case, the jury awarded her $2.7 million. This was later lowered in a settlement between the two sides to $640,000. McDonald’s also lowered the temperature of their coffee following the incident. Considering Liebeck suffered burns over sixteen percent of her skin, spent eight days in hospital and underwent skin grafting, then in this instance her seeking compensation appears validated.