The “suing culture” is a misnomer deriding efforts for corporate accountability
In 1994 a 79-year old woman won a historic $2.86 million lawsuit against McDonalds after being burned by hot coffee. What is now famously known as the McDonalds Coffee Case, was quickly ridiculed in the media, as evidence of America’s ‘suing culture’ gone haywire. “Now she claims she broke her nose on the sneeze guard at the Sizzler, bending over the chickpeas,” mocked Jay Leno. Mrs Liebeck, the complainant, quickly became a national joke.
The truth is, Mrs Liebeck was not overreacting. We all know that coffee is served hot, but none of us were prepared to believe that the coffee sold by McDonalds was so scalding, it was capable of causing third-degree burns that sent the elderly lady into shock. That is a risk this elderly citizen did not realise she was taking when she purchased a cup of coffee from McDonalds (the worst you’d expect, would be to ruin your clothes, and be made to slather burnol on your skin).
Mrs Liebeck was not greedy either. The lady demanded McDonalds to pay $20,000 only, enough to cover her medical expenses, which is the bare minimum the corporation could have done. None of this accounts for the excruciating pain, harm to body’s functionality, and all the social and economic inconveniences that come from being stuck in a hospital. It was the court that determined that McDonalds must pay punitive damages of two days’ worth of coffee sales, or $2.7 million. Public has a habit of laughing at those who complain about “mental anguish” as part of a lawsuit, but as a training psychiatrist, all I can do is encourage them to update their knowledge regarding psychological assaults, and what they could lead to.
If there is one thing that became clear after Liebeck vs McDonalds, it is that corporations do not like the ‘suing culture’. Corporate-powered media has gone to great lengths to indoctrinate the public to mock, ridicule, and hate ‘frivolous lawsuits’. People who file such lawsuits against large private corporations are largely views as greedy – and worse – lazy people attempting to make an easy buck off the hard-work of our benevolent financial giants.
Surely if you slip over a wet floor at a bank and fall down, you should be able to pull yourself up, brush off the dirt, and get back to business. In the unlikely case that you’ve fractured a bone or two, you may find it appropriate to curse your misfortune, because after all, accidents do happen.
Indeed, accidents happen, especially when there is human negligence involved.
A friend of mine has been gearing up to sue a private corporation for criminal negligence that led to his injury, as well as numerous injuries sustained by his family members. At a printer shop to print colored hard copies of photographic evidence that he’d gathered, the shopkeeper remarked upon the odd nature of the pictures – images of wound and bruises. My friend casually pointed out that he was planning on suing the corporation responsible for the injuries.
The shopkeeper scoffed, “The suing culture’s here too? This isn’t the West, sir jee.”
This is not the first time one might’ve observed such reaction. Public opinion often goes against people who dare to demand compensation for the injuries they’ve suffered; and God forbid if they demand compensation for ‘pain’ or ‘mental anguish’.
The truth is, if someone were to offer me few thousand rupees to issue a non-lethal, non-debilitating electric shock to my body, I’d probably refuse. Pain is not unimportant. Physical suffering – whether or not it leads to loss of life or bodily function – is not something to be casually disregarded. Of course, if such shock were to be issued to my body against my will, it would not be inappropriate of me to demand some form of compensation. Seeking justice is not the same as being weak. In a way, the mockery of ‘suing culture’ may be linked directly to toxic masculinity.
Regrettably, the Pakistani public is not accustomed to justice. Injuries that would open up a corporation to hundreds of thousands of dollars of losses in damages, may only end up receiving a few hundred thousand rupees in Pakistan. There is simply no precedent for such large, but fair, payouts.
Our distrust of the ‘suing culture’ has left the door wide open to private sector corruption and criminal negligence. If a cement factory were to pollute your regional water table, or drain out a lake – tough luck. The public, in its tragic ignorance, would treat the occurrence as a natural disaster that cannot be helped.
If the seating stalls were to collapse at an entertainment event, injuring hundreds or possibly killing some spectators, even the injured would be inclined to shrug their shoulders, and thank God for the three limbs that were broken in the accident. It barely even occurs to the citizen that a justice system, however convoluted and flawed, exists precisely for situations such as these.
Mrs Liebeck was neither greedy, nor weak. She did not profit off her injury. She did not receive a cent more than what she absolutely deserved, given the nature of her injury, cost of its treatment, and any losses – social or economic – that she suffered later in life because of it.
She did not sue to profit off of her injuries. She braved endless mockery and derision to hold a powerful corporation responsible for its actions, because although we may forget at times, private companies do have a legal obligation towards ensuring the safety of its workers and clients.
Mrs Liebeck sued because she understood her rights, and she cared; not only about herself, but cared for all those after her who may have to face similar injustice, had the problem been left unaddressed and unpunished.
