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...College Anaesthetists Perth I referred to two examples of cases of this kind which were said to be part of the Stella Awards, that is, awards given to the most outlandish examples of negligence verdicts. The ABC's Mediawatch program, citing a website described as overlawyered.com, said the two cases to which I had referred were fictitious. Overlawyered.com, however, itself lists many cases of the same genre. Three are worth mentioning.
The first is the case that was the inspiration for the Stella Awards. The awards are named after Stella Liebeck, who spilled a 49-cent coffee on herself while eating a hamburger at McDonald's. She sued McDonald's and successfully recovered over $500,000.
The second is the case of Shelly Moore, who left her daughter, Shannon, unattended in her car. The car burst into flames and Shannon was horrifically burnt. Shannon sued Philip Morris, who made the Marlboro cigarettes Ms Moore smoked. Shannon's claim was that a smouldering cigarette caused the fire and her injuries were the tobacco company's fault for failing to design a cigarette that would not stop burning. Philip Morris settled for $2 million.
The third is a case where two carpet installers, who admitted that they read the label of the adhesive they used, and admitted they understood the adhesive was inflammable and should not be used inside, used it inside anyway, caused an explosion, were burned badly, sued and won $8 million.
These three examples are typical of the vast number of negligence cases that have been resolved, in recent times, with little regard to the personal responsibility of the plaintiff for the loss sustained.
What does personal responsibility mean? It means taking responsibility for one's own decisions and actions. It means personal accountability to the standards of society.
This simple proposition carries with it implications that are contrary to many trends in popular modern day culture. Being responsible for one's behaviour means acknowledging the existence of objective standards against which behaviour can be measured. This means...
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