The US has always been known for its somewhat bizarre and over-the-top lawsuits. In recent years a number of truly wacky personal injury claims have been launched (some of them even ending successfully).For every famous injury claim that makes the headlines, there are hundreds that do not. Remember the monstrously overweight boy who sued a well-known fast food restaurant because apparently they didn't warn him that eating excessive amounts of burgers would damage his health?
Less well known, there was the man who put his camper van on cruise control at 70mph so he could make a cup of coffee in the kitchen area of the vehicle and then when, not surprisingly, it careered off the road he sued the manufacturers because they didn't tell him that it wouldn't steer itself around bends.
Then there was the nudist who made a personal injury lawsuit after he attempted a firewalk in the buff. Apparently he should have been told that tramping through flames in his birthday suit was likely to leave his delicate parts slightly more delicate.
Despite the bizarre nature of these accident claims, the people involved have obviously felt strongly enough about their case to warrant setting in motion a lawsuit. Some of them have even been successful! Of course, the majority of compensation claims that reach the courts, both in the UK and in the US, are nowhere near as controversial as those mentioned above. Many actually involve people who genuinely do deserve damages.
However, seemingly weird and wonderful claims do still seem to be made - and many of them, for one reason or another, occur in the United States. So many occur, in fact, that American journalists have compiled a list of the strangest cases to hit their courts during recent years. Here are a few of the best you may not have heard of:
A woman who suffered an ankle injury after slipping in dog's urine left on a kitchen floor made an accident claim against the owner of the house. But the strange part was that the man whose kitchen she was in - was one of her best friends! She insisted on taking her pal to court, claiming he should have cleaned up his dog's mess.
And won.
Another case from the US. A man from Iowa made a personal injury claim after a stay in a hotel turned somewhat nasty. The gent in question was staying at the Alton Holiday Inn when he became embroiled in a disagreement with the manager. Instead of resolving the complaint, the manager allegedly told his guest to shut up and then proceeded to gnaw a chunk out of his finger. The plaintiff subsequently took the hotel boss to court in an attempt to win $150,000 in injury compensation. And won.
An American gentleman named Carl Cornett was happily devouring a bag of salted peanuts when he chomped on something a little hard and cold. Spitting the offending object into his hand, he was disgusted to discover it was a tooth. But it wasn't his tooth - in fact it wasn't even a human tooth. It turned out to be the fang of an unidentified animal. Not surprisingly, Mr Cornett made a personal injury claim against the peanut manufacturers, alleging that the creature's tooth had made him violently, physically and mentally ill.
And… lost (won the case, lost the compensation).
The list goes on and on.
Have YOU been injured? Need no-win-no-fee advice?
As already mentioned, the majority of cases here in the UK and over in the US are far more normal than those above and usually feature people with a genuine and deserved claim for damages. If you feel you could be entitled to personal injury compensation as the result of a non-fault accident - personal injury solicitors in the UK like InjuryLawyers4u are there to help.
Visit the InjuryLawyers4u website and make a free assessment.
