Few people would argue that the litigation process is one through which our justice system works for people who have been legitimately victimized, particularly when it comes to personal injury. After all, sometimes there is no other legal recourse than to seek compensation through the legal system.
On the other hand, many personal injury claims turn out to be, to put it kindly, dubious. In fact, many personal injury claims don’t really amount to anything remotely resembling a legitimate claim; instead, they more resemble something of legal comic relief.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the more questionable personal injury claims that have occurred in the past. Obviously, we can’t get into the nitty-gritty details of exactly who was involved in these claims, but we can relate stories you’ll find all across the world.
The case of the slacker who got the punishment he deserved: One worker made a claim against his employer’s company when a prank being played on him went wrong and caused him some harm. As it turned out, the original prankster was the plaintiff himself. He had been slacking off during work and pulling pranks on others before he got what he deserved. Not only was the case thrown out, but, the worker was eventually fired.
Not buying into the beer fantasy: One man decided that he’d had enough with the bikini-clad fantasies presented by beer commercials and sued a beer company because he wasn’t experiencing what the characters on TV were experiencing. This man wanted to be refunded the amount of money that he’d spent on beer over the years – presumably, with an eye on somehow using the money to make the fantasies shown in the commercials something more of a reality. He never got his chance because the court threw out the case.
Could she drive or not? A woman was in a car accident and filed an insurance claim as, according to her, she was not able to walk for more than a short distance after the accident. The insurance company, unable to prove otherwise, granted her claim. However, because of the size of the settlement, they made sure to hire someone to survey the woman’s activities. As it turned out, she was perfectly healthy and capable of walking through shopping centers with great ease.
Hardly shooting the moon: If we told you that a college student mooned other students from a third-floor window, you’d probably be able to guess what happened next. You got it – he fell out of the window. He then went on to claim that it wasn’t his fault; rather, it was the university’s fault because the students were not properly protected. The case turned out to be unsuccessful, which is good news for the rest of us who would prefer that the legal system listens to common sense.
There are a lot of dubious legal claims made regularly. Unfortunately, while they may be amusing, they often cost people a lot of money. Make sure you file an injury claim only when the claim is legitimate.
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