Hopefully Gorilla Glue Girl doesn’t see this.
Nononononono. I like the good will part, but that’s not how it works. If GG offers to pay her ER costs, wig expenses, etc., they’re essentially admitting liability. Once they do that (which they wouldn’t, as their attorneys would have fits), the odds of losing a lawsuit rise exponentially because they HAVE, in the eyes of the law, admitted liability. Trying to get her and her attorneys to accept her costs as a settlement would be a lost cause.
Once GG has, in essence, admitted liability by paying her costs (even if they claim it’s for “good will”), her attorneys are going to want money for pain and suffering. They make very little money if all she gets is ER and wig costs (and those costs are covered x 10 by the GoFundMe), and they’ll advise her to reject any offer by GG that only covers her expenses.
Okay, so just a hypothetical here, since my idea off tossing a few bucks her way in the name of goodwill will encourage others to do the same and be admitting guilt. What if they tossed a few grand into her GoFundMe collection (which has likely already brought in more than she’ll need)? Would that allow them to get her a few dollars while not admitting anything or making future similar lawsuits harder to win?
To be clear, I’m not saying that GG did anything at all wrong. My point was that, with this being viral and likely seen around the world (and the majority of people not placing any of the blame on GG), it would just be a nice gesture. Hell, they could even have her sign something saying that she won’t pursue them for any further money, she’ll publically (or at least on the same platform she’s been on) admit that this was entirely her fault and that, going forward, she won’t badmouth GG.
FWIW, it was just something I tossed out there, I’m not suggestion that they should or have to do this. It was just a ‘thinking out loud’ thing.
I was just thinking along the lines of other times a large company has helped someone out when, legally and morally, they didn’t have to. Look at it from the standpoint of it being good publicity.
Why is it “goodwill” to give someone money simply for being an idiot? Why should she get anything from anyone? I would think much less of Gorilla Glue if they rewarded her idiocy with money.
Really, I love the good will angle. I just don’t think, legally speaking, it’s wise. Suppose GG did throw a few grand into the GFM account. If they do it as GG, it is, again, subject to interpretation as an admission of guilt. If they do it anonymously, there’s no good will.
IANAL, but any agreement she’d sign saying she wouldn’t ask for more money probably wouldn’t be worth the paper it’s written on. I don’t know for sure but assume that it’d be difficult, if not unconstitutional, to keep her from ever commenting negatively on GG.
I hate the whole liability issue and that companies and individuals have to be so careful not to do nice things because it might hurt them in court. Once a guy ran into my car and apologized profusely immediately afterward. I appreciated it, but I kept thinking, “Oh, man, you’re never supposed to say you’re sorry. What if I were a litigious person?”
Remember that whole kerfuffle about the woman who sued McDonald’s because their hot coffee burned her nether region when she spilled it? People scoffed at it as a frivolous lawsuit, but the truth of the matter is that the coffee was incredibly and dangerously hot. McD’s had, in fact, received over 700 complaints about its literally scalding hot coffee. (McDonald’s thinking was, AIUI, that some people like their coffee literally scalding hot and complained if it wasn’t; those who didn’t could always wait for the coffee to cool.) Because it was so hot, when she spilled it, the coffee gave her 3rd degree burns that required skin graft surgery. All she wanted was her medical expenses covered, but McD’s only offered her a fraction of that, so it went to court.
If McDonald’s had been able and willing to apologize and cover her legal expenses, it might have ended there.
I get it. I don’t think it would benefit GG, though. I mean, I thought their response to her was great: compassionate while refusing blame. But they’re getting great publicity out of this already. A lot of people are saying, “Wow, glue that won’t budge after a month, 15 shampoos, and all other efforts to dissolve it? Day-um! That’s the stuff for me!”
I thought it was the size of the award that caused all the scoffing and eye-rolling. It was somewhere in the three million dollar range, in early 1990s money. Of course, it came out later that McDonald’s was definitely in the wrong, and also that despite the jury awarding such a huge amount, the judge actually struck the award down to about 20% of the original amount. So a lot more complicated than the news stories would indicate with headlines along the lines of “Old Lady Awarded $3,000,000 for spilling hot coffee in crotch!”.
I do think the case has some relevance to the OP, so … for those interested …
https://www.caoc.org/?pg=facts
In a story about the case (pdf) published shortly after the verdict was delivered in 1994, one of the jurors said over the course of the trial he came to realize the case was about “callous disregard for the safety of the people.” Another juror said “the facts were so overwhelmingly against the company.”
That’s because those jurors were able to hear all the facts — including those presented by McDonald’s — and see the extent of Mrs. Liebeck’s injuries. Ask anyone who criticizes the case as a “frivolous lawsuit” that resulted in “jackpot justice” if they have done the same.
ETA: the linked PDF in the article seems to be MIA. For those interested, you can just Google:
mcdonald’s coffee lawsuit filetype:pdf
There’s a documatary about this called “Hot Coffee” that’s very good and very much worth watching. It covers how severe her burns were, how they initially asked McD’s to simply cover the medical bills (and were told to pound sand) and what she was eventually awarded(~$3m) vs what she actually received(~$600k). Regarding that last point, the documentary uses a few cases, notably hers, as a vehicle to push tort reform.
I always thought the temperature was to disguise how awful the coffee really was. That stuff was lousy! I also believe the woman deserved every cent she got- the coffee really was was that hot!
I had to use some of the white Gorilla Glue the other day. It’s been in a cupboard for years, and it’s almost too thick to use the spout. (Because of the angle and the job, I ended up taking the top off and using my finger.)
What’s a 4-ounce bottle of white Gorilla Glue cost nowadays? Five bucks? And I’ve had this bottle for years and it’s only half-used? Considering the amortised cost, it’s pretty cheap of me to want to ‘save’ the glue rather than to throw it out and buy a new bottle. But is there any way to thin it out? (If it’s waterproof, I have an idea water won’t work.)
Correct, don’t water down glue, only paste.
If it is significantly thicker than it use to be, probably is time for a new bottle. One of the active ingredients may have evaporated enough to decrease the effectiveness as a glue.
I knew a guy in optics who, instead of using magnetic clamps or 1/4"-20 tie-downs, used to Crazy Glue his optics mounts directly to the optics table. When he wanted to move it he razor bladed it off.
Not recommended.