As humans we can all agree that accidents happen, so when we find ourselves inconvenienced by the mistakes of other people, it’s not uncommon to give them grace and move on with our lives. However, sometimes the accidents that happen are just too big to brush off.
In today’s litigious world, personal injury claims are very common and sometimes the stories leading up to them can be a little ridiculous. From things like getting crushed by a wrestler, to being pushed out of the window by a shoplifter, we’ve compiled 7 strange personal injury claims that made us scratch our heads.
Year: 2003
Category: Medical Malpractice
In 1983, CB went to her family doctor and defendant Dr. O seeking options for birth control. The result was Dr. O inserting an IUD for CB and recommending that she have this IUD replaced in 2 years. When CB returned 2 years later, Dr. O speculated that the original IUD had spontaneously disappeared and instead inserted a second IUD.
That same year CB had the second IUD removed by a different doctor and made attempts to conceive with her husband, but they were unsuccessful and decided to stop trying. It was later discovered in 2000 that the original Copper 7 IUCD remained in CB's body, and it was surgically removed. The plaintiff then sued Dr. O for medical malpractice and was awarded $75,000.
Year: 2013
Category: Negligence
On August 14, 2011, Mr. Burns was a spectator at a wrestling performance at “The Lodge”, and sat just outside the ring so he could enjoy the show. The events that followed would lead to wrestler Derek Wylde aka “Dangerboy” lifting his opponent Hacker, and throwing him outside of the ring, causing him to land on 43-year-old Mr. Burns.
Although Mr. Burns did not seek medical attention right away, he claimed that weeks later he was still in pain and had limited movement. He was able to show medical records showing that he had minor injuries, but after a lengthy case with minimal evidence he was awarded just $6000.
Year: 2012
Category: Medical Malpractice
Another case where someone goes in seeking help for a small problem and leaves with an even bigger one. On May 11, 2006, Robert Dickie went in for a standard wisdom tooth removal by the defendant who is an oral surgeon. What he left with was 3 extracted wisdom teeth and a broken jaw. This resulted in him having his jaw wired shut for 8 weeks, during this time he could barely eat, talk, or work.
This incident would be frustrating for anyone, but Robert Dickie was a construction worker who had been playing the bagpipe for 32 years, and he practiced often so he could compete in summer competitions. He alleged that the surgery was unnecessary, and he wasn’t fully aware of the papers he was signing prior to his surgery. In the end he was awarded $35,000 in damages.
Year: 2016
Category: Assault
Plaintiff Wieslawa Soczek has been married to her husband, defendant Jan Soczek for 36 years. On May 30, 2010, Mrs. Soczek was assaulted by her husband in a brutal attack. She describes the situation by saying her husband sprayed her with a flammable liquid, used a lighter to set her body on fire and then stabbed her in the chest while she was trying to escape. This incident put her in a coma for 9 weeks, resulted in 37% of her body being covered in third degree burns and caused over $256,000 in damage to the property.
Jan Soczek was charged with attempted murder, pled guilty and was sentenced to jail for 11 years. Wieslawa Soczek was awarded $225,000 in damages and was able to receive the care she needed to make a recovery.
Year: 2010
Category: Assault
Store associate Evan Georgiou was at work on January 8, 2002, when the defendant, David Vassos came in and attempted to shoplift items from the store. Mr. Vassos was apprehended by Mr. Georgiou and his brother and while trying to flee, pushed Mr. Georgiou through a plated glass window of the store causing property damage and injury.
On January 27, 2003, Mr. Vassos pled guilty to assaulting Mr. Georgiou and his brother. The judge ruled the general damages for Mr. Georgiou’s injuries at $125,000.
Year: 2006
Category: Medical Malpractice
Those of us who exercise know that there is a bit of burning involved when it comes to getting active and losing stubborn weight. But in the case of 57 year old Eva Webb, who received a tummy tuck on February 2, 1999, she experienced serious complications after her procedure in hopes of removing belly fat. Not only did she develop a deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, but the heating pad that was given to her to help relieve her pain left her with burns that she would eventually need a skin graft for.
After years of going back and forth with her surgeon and defendant Dr. Weiglein, Ms. Webb was awarded $100,000 in damages.
Year: 2010
Category: Defamation
Mark Demarco was in matrimonial litigation with his estranged spouse and needed a new lawyer after his last one had stopped working for him. In May 2003, John Leigh Daboll began acting for Mr. Demarco but was unable to appeal a strike against Mr. Demarco’s pleadings, as he had failed to pay previous cost awards. After only 3 months of acting for Mr.Demarco, Mr. Daboll advised him that he could no longer act for him, and the retainer ended.
Mr. Demarco was so offended by Mr. Daboll’s decision to end the retainer that in 2008 he placed advertisements in the local newspaper that included negative comments about Mr. Daboll. No action was taken by Mr. Daboll at first since he thought it was an isolated incident, until he realized these ads were also being run in local community and shopping newspapers, as well as on websites like the Dirty Lawyer Registry. Mr. Daboll sued Mr. Demarco for defamation and was awarded $50,000 in damages.
As you can see, sometimes the stories leading up to a personal injury claim can be very strange. However, here at PainWorth you're free to calculate your own claim using our personal injury settlement calculator here, no matter how odd your own personal injury story might be.
