The Most Famous Personal Injury Cases

September 20, 2019

Harris v. McGraw
Escola v. Coca-Cola
Bret Michaels v. CBS
Gloria Estefan v. Tractor-Trailer
Liebeck v. McDonald’s
Do You Have A Personal Injury Case?

A personal injury case allows an injured plaintiff to receive compensation for harm caused to them by the negligent or intentional acts of someone else.

There are a variety of different situations that can lead to personal injury cases. Here are some of the most common types of personal injury cases:

Car accident
Medical Malpractice
Slips and falls
Libel and slander
Dog bites
Assault, battery and other intentional torts

Most of the personal injury cases come and go without anyone ever knowing about them. Chances are that you’ve even been involved in a personal injury case at some point in your life.

Typically they aren’t a huge deal. The case goes to trial, a settlement is reached, and then everyone goes about their business.

However, some personal injury cases gain national attention and take the world by storm.

This is either because of the parties involved or because of the implications, the settlement might have on future laws and personal injury cases. Sometimes it’s both.

Below is a list of personal injury cases you may have already heard of that captured everyone’s attention.

I met with Harry Brown personally and he sat with me for 20 minutes at our initial consultation to explain everything. He even called after my surgery to see how I was doing. I met with him several more times after that and was kept informed about my case throughout. I highly recommend Harry Brown as an attorney.

STEVEN SWEENY, SAVANNAH

Harris v. McGraw

I almost positive you know who Dr. Phil is, but do you know about his personal injury case from 2011?

Dr. Phil and his wife were filed with a personal injury claim due to an animal attack.

Their dog attacked a house guest by the name of Janet Harris.

After the incident happened, the McGraws showed negligence by convincing Ms. Harris to keep the incident quiet as well as not to seek any medical attention.

Because she listened and didn’t receive treatment, the dog bite led to a series of medical complications.

Those complications included a loss of hearing and hand tremors which caused Ms. Harris to be unable to work permanently.

To seek compensation, Ms. Harris hired a personal attorney to file a $7million lawsuit against Dr. Phil and his wife.

The case was finally closed in 2013 after lengthy negotiations with Ms. Harris receiving an undisclosed amount of compensation.

Escola v. Coca-Cola

This case happened some years ago, so this may be less familiar to most.

In 1944, Escola, a waitress, was injured by a coke bottle that exploded as she was holding it.

This resulted in injuries that included skin cuts so deep that her blood vessels, nerves, and muscles in her thumb were severed.

That lead her to hire a personal injury lawyer to file a case against Coca-Cola.

She would eventually win and receive just compensation for her injuries.

Bret Michaels v. CBS

The lead singer of Poison, Bret Michaels, sued CBS after suffering an injury at the Tony Awards in 2009.

He claimed not to have been properly instructed on how to exit the stage and hit his head on a set piece.

The host of the Tony’s that evening, Neil Patrick Harris, joked that Bret Michaels took “headbanger” to a whole new level, but it was soon apparent that his injury wasn’t a joke.

Michaels suffered a broken nose as well as a brain hemorrhage a few months later due to the injury.

He filed a personal injury claim against CBS, and the courts ruled in his favor.

The amount he received has not been disclosed.

Gloria Estefan v. Tractor-Trailer

Okay, this wasn’t a literal fight between Gloria Estefan and a tractor-trailer, although that might make for a great movie.

However, in 1990 while Gloria Estefan was touring with her band, their tour bus was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer.

Estefan suffered a broken back and to miss a year of touring and concerts. She also had to learn to walk again along with being able to stand the stresses of touring.

In the end, the tractor-trailer company was held liable for the incident.

Estefan and her husband filed the lawsuit for medical expenses, lost income, as well as pain and suffering.

The couple was awarded $8.95 million in damages.

Liebeck v. McDonald’s

I can almost guarantee that you’ve heard of this case.

This is the case that lead to every cup of coffee in McDonald’s being labeled as hot.

Obvious right? Of course the coffee is hot.

This case is often used to represent how “ridiculous” the personal injury system can be.

However, if you dig deeper, you realize that McDonald’s was indeed at fault.

The reason we think the plaintiff was ridiculous was because of a well-orchestrated PR smear by McDonald’s.

The case started in 1994 when Stella Liebeck purchased a coffee at the drive-thru of the McDonald’s.

She spilled the coffee in her lap while trying to remove the lid and suffered third-degree burns on her legs.

She sued for $20,000 to cover medical expenses as it was found that the coffee at McDonald’s was being served hotter than the average cup of coffee.

McDonald’s thought they could win the case, so they didn’t settle, taking the case to court.

This turned out to be a big mistake on the part of McDonald’s.

The judge initially awarded Liebeck $200,000, of which she would receive $160,000, as she was deemed 20% at fault.

However, the case continued, and she would eventually be rewarded $2.7 million for punitive damages.

Do You Have A Personal Injury Case?

Although it might not be publicized all over the news or media outlets, if you’ve suffered an injury due to the actions of someone else, you need to get what you deserve.

The right lawyer after a personal injury accident will take you by the hand and guide you through the process to be sure you get what you deserve.

The lawyers at The Brown Firm have years of experience with personal injury cases, and they would love to help you with yours.

If you’re ready to get started, click the button below.