I wish I could watch the video or read a transcript of the Hot Coffee McDonald's case to see how the person won.
Not a transcript but a pretty good summary and some facts. Its called the Liebeck case- what I quote here comes from the German version of the Wiki, cause I did not find it in the English version:
The trial was often depicted in such an abbreviated form in public that the combination of "spilled coffee" and the sum of almost three million US dollars in damages at first instance (which had, however, been drastically reduced by the subsequent instance) created the false impression of greedy money-grubbing and the ridiculous disproportionality of US jurisdiction. In Germany, erroneous representations have been spread by several national newspapers[3] and have thus drawn a distorted picture of the case, which has had a lasting effect on local perceptions of American justice.
In the USA, the humorist and author Randy Cassingham published a selection of spectacular cases of damages in the book "The True Stella Awards"[4] In addition, in civil proceedings in the USA there is basically no reimbursement of costs from the loser to the winner of the trial, so that especially in the case of trials through several instances, the winner often has to bear astronomical procedural costs himself. Moreover, since lawyers' fees in the USA are not calculated according to the amount in dispute, but rather according to the time spent, the compensation actually obtained is often reduced dramatically as a result.
In Germany, it's the other way around. That let shine a total different light on that case.
Also, our system is so much different from the US social system. We have a lot more social security and when someone gets sick or disabled or cannot work either through private matters or through work related damages we have insurances (for the latter), covered by every company, which has to pay for certain insurances - most people are totally unaware of that like many other things in German law and order. I can say that with confidence as my first education was an accountant in a government health insurance. People are not ruined here when they cannot work anymore.
I now can understand better the high amounts, even though of course the extremes will remain extreme.
Yeah, knowledge is power. :)
RE: Practice Snippets - The woman who wanted to get rid of hair on her hands