Wal-Mart sued for improperly assembled bicycle

Frank Krygowski

On Jun 20, 12:08 pm, "* * Chas" <verktygj...@aol.spamski.com> wrote:
> "still just me" <wheeledBobNOS...@yahoo.com> wrote in messagenews:lnhn54l5lrrulu249k4dge72ak54dtjf7l@4ax.com...
>
> > On Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:28:28 -0400, clare at snyder dot ontario dot
> > canada wrote:
>
> > >Hot tea and hot coffee in drivethroughs is the HEIGHT of stupidity.
> > >Kinda like the Braille on drivethrough cash machines.
>
> > So companies that sell burning hot beverages at a drive through should
> > be responsible for their stupidity?
>
> I don't know if it is still the case but you used to be able to buy beer
> in 6 packs at drive through windows in Oklahoma and parts of Texas???

You can do that in Ohio.

- Frank Krygowski

Tom Kunich

"Frank Krygowski" <frkrygow@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:93cf2920-c16a-48ba-8a9b-4e7ed133e5f9@a1g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
>
> Perhaps it's time for the human race to move completely away from
> cooked foods? Perhaps we can't handle the risk!

I think that's what they want. What do you think Frank, should be open a
Tepid Food Parlor?

* * Chas

"Tom Kunich" <cyclintom@yahoo. com> wrote in message
news:ZKGdnQ3aPvLnzcDVnZ2dnUVZ_r3inZ2d@earthlink.com...
> "Frank Krygowski" <frkrygow@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:93cf2920-c16a-48ba-8a9b-4e7ed133e5f9@a1g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
> >
> > Perhaps it's time for the human race to move completely away from
> > cooked foods? Perhaps we can't handle the risk!
>
> I think that's what they want. What do you think Frank, should be open a
> Tepid Food Parlor?
>

http://www.hsegroup.com/hse/text/cowboy.htm

Chas.

Tom Kunich

"* * Chas" <verktygjunk@aol.spamski.com> wrote in message
newsemdnRPF5o4xD8DVnZ2dnUVZ_uadnZ2d@comcast.com...
>
> "Tom Kunich" <cyclintom@yahoo. com> wrote in message
> news:ZKGdnQ3aPvLnzcDVnZ2dnUVZ_r3inZ2d@earthlink.com...
>> "Frank Krygowski" <frkrygow@gmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:93cf2920-c16a-48ba-8a9b-4e7ed133e5f9@a1g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
>> >
>> > Perhaps it's time for the human race to move completely away from
>> > cooked foods? Perhaps we can't handle the risk!
>>
>> I think that's what they want. What do you think Frank, should be open a
>> Tepid Food Parlor?
>>
>
> http://www.hsegroup.com/hse/text/cowboy.htm

I think we're on the same wavelength Chas.

still just me

On Sat, 21 Jun 2008 11:19:18 -0700 (PDT), Frank Krygowski
<frkrygow@gmail.com> wrote:

>FWIW, I know a person who sat down to a plate of hot pasta, took in a
>large mouthful, and badly scalded the roof of her mouth. She did
>visit an ER for the injury. But she never considered suing. She just
>accepted her responsibility for the incident. Which is, I believe,
>what most people do.

Was the pasta at 160 degrees? Did she have $10,000 in medical bills as
a result?

A Muzi

> Frank Krygowski <frkrygow@gmail.com> wrote:
>> FWIW, I know a person who sat down to a plate of hot pasta, took in a
>> large mouthful, and badly scalded the roof of her mouth. She did
>> visit an ER for the injury. But she never considered suing. She just
>> accepted her responsibility for the incident. Which is, I believe,
>> what most people do.

still just me wrote:
> Was the pasta at 160 degrees? Did she have $10,000 in medical bills as
> a result?

Once Carl clarified that she wasn't driving, who cares?

Whether we have opinions about personal responsibility, money grubbing
coffee vendors, how hot is hot or what have you, it really does not bear
on our area.

I have a particularly rabid response to behemoth pilots trying to aim
their vehicles inside the lane stripes while drinking beverages,
watching video and gesticulating on the phone. But even I know that her
case was not remarkable in any respect (award reduced later). If you
want to pursue that sort of thing, there are astounding verdicts, few of
which bear on the technical aspects of cycling.
--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

SMS

still just me wrote:

> Actually, if you do some reading on the McDonald's Hot Coffee Lawsuit
> you will find that it was not at all frivolous.

<snip>

Yeah, but it's just such a good anti-lawyer sound bite that the the
neo-con radio talks show hosts, and even the late night TV talk show
hosts couldn't resist taking the whole incident completely out of context.

The woman who was burned was a passenger, not the driver, McDonald's
_knew_ that they were serving coffee far too hot to drink when served
having received more than 700 claims for burns prior to this case, and
they lied about the reason they serve it so hot. The jury reduced the
compensatory award of $200K by 20% to $160K because they found the
plaintiff 20% liable. The judge reduced the punitive award against
McDonald's from $2.7 million to $480K, and the two parties settled for
an undisclosed amount. McDonald's reduced the temperature of the coffee
they served from 180 degrees to around 160 degrees.

SMS

A Muzi wrote:

> As a cyclist who drives infrequently but takes driving seriously my
> personal opinion is that every ditz brain who drives a motor vehicle
> while drinking a beverage should be boiled in oil. A cup of hot water is
> a good start.

The woman in the McDonald's case wasn't the driver, she was a passenger.

> Maybe she'll pay better attention to the cyclists in the lane next to
> her without the coffee distraction.

Perhaps, but do you really think that a passenger needs to pay attention
to the cyclists in the next lane?

Chalo

Eric Vey wrote:
>
> http://www.madisonrecord.com/news/2...-for-improperly...
>
> * . . .
> During Tony Willyard's first ride June 4, 2006, the handle bars
> "detached from the steering stem, causing Plaintiff to lose control of
> the bicycle, flip over the handle bars, and strike the ground, hitting
> his right shoulder on the curb, and causing Plaintiff severe and
> permanent injuries," the complaint states.
> * . . .

For what it's worth, I worked on two Walmart bikes for a couple of
neighborhood kids (a brother and sister) today. They were both 20"
Mongoose freestyle bikes. The kids brought them to me because there
was "something wrong with the steering".

Now, both these bikes were relatively new and in almost unused
condition-- knurled texture intact along the centerline of the tires,
paint clean even under the BB, no noticeable brake wear. But they
were both so ineptly assembled that I think the job qualified as
negligent.

All eight of the brake pads on the bikes were set up so they contacted
the rim over less than half of their widths, with the remainder
rubbing the tire when the brakes were applied. But the worst part was
the "steering" problem: The stem wedge bolts were so loose that the
handlebars could easily be turned with respect to the front wheel.
One was so sloppy that I could slew it to and fro without even
immobilizing the front wheel, the other was loose enough that I could
slip it by holding the front tire in one hand and twisting the
handlebar crossbrace with the other hand.

The mag wheels on one of the bikes were so loosely toleranced that a
tire blew off at less than its rated sidewall pressure while I was
inflating it. That's a manufacturing issue, but it's the retailer's
responsibility to sort it out with the manufacturer instead of just
handing it off to the end user-- particularly when the end user is a
child.

The kids reached their limit of patience with the bikes' loose
handlebars when they both wiped out simultaneously going around a
corner. Children have no reason to know one way or the other about
the roadworthiness of their bikes, but whoever assembled the bikes at
Walmart sure does. If one or both of those kids had been seriously
hurt, I think a lawsuit against the retailer would have been
completely justifiable.

Chalo

Carl Sundquist

"SMS" <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote in message
news:vWl7k.16525$co7.2784@nlpi066.nbdc.sbc.com...
>
>> As a cyclist who drives infrequently but takes driving seriously my
>> personal opinion is that every ditz brain who drives a motor vehicle
>> while drinking a beverage should be boiled in oil. A cup of hot water is
>> a good start.
>
> The woman in the McDonald's case wasn't the driver, she was a passenger.
>

What should we with all the people who drink a beverage while riding a bike?

A R:nen

"Carl Sundquist" <carlsun@cox.net> writes:

> What should we with all the people who drink a beverage while riding a
> bike?

Yeah, the instructions that come with at least Campagnolo bottle cages
tell you that you are supposed to stop to have that drink. Not sure if
there is a big fugly warning label as well (yet, anyway).

Tom Kunich

"still just me" <wheeledBobNOSPAM@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:rbls545ammrlajk1n8hmh13ukmktk40opm@4ax.com...
>
> Apparently there are those here who believe that anything a vendor
> sells is "buyer beware" with no corporate responsibility or liability
> at any level.

And yet you seem to be saying that buyers are so stupid that vendors should
be required to hold their hands 24 hours a day.

Frank Krygowski

On Jun 21, 8:26 pm, still just me <wheeledBobNOS...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Sat, 21 Jun 2008 11:19:18 -0700 (PDT), Frank Krygowski
>
> <frkry...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >FWIW, I know a person who sat down to a plate of hot pasta, took in a
> >large mouthful, and badly scalded the roof of her mouth. She did
> >visit an ER for the injury. But she never considered suing. She just
> >accepted her responsibility for the incident. Which is, I believe,
> >what most people do.
>
> Was the pasta at 160 degrees?

I believe it was, judging by the scalding she received.

> Did she have $10,000 in medical bills as a result?

No, but OTOH, she was sensible enough not to dump the plate of pasta
into her lap.

- Frank Krygowski

Frank Krygowski

On Jun 22, 9:40 am, still just me <wheeledBobNOS...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
> We've just been round and round on this.
>
> Apparently there are those here who believe that anything a vendor
> sells is "buyer beware" with no corporate responsibility or liability
> at any level.

And apparently there are those here who believe that any inane action
by the most daffy consumer must result in compensation, with no
personal responsibility or common sense at any level.

FWIW (and a bit more on-topic) I think badly assembled bikes, like the
ones Chalo describes, should be cause for action. But serving food or
beverages hot should not be cause for action, whether or not the
customer decides to balance their teapots on their head.

- Frank Krygowski