Greedy People

[JohnOfSheffield]

Originally posted by: TheSnowman
Fleshconsumed, if I rented a house from you and wound up having it swept up from around me by a tornado, would you owe me for my stuff? We had a contract that I could keep my stuff in your house, but it all got swept away and trashed.

And if you were paying for a cab fare and i drove off with your bags, right into the ocean, then you should have to pay for my mistake?

Two sides to this coin too.

Funny how there always are two sides, isn't it?

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn

Originally posted by: GoPackGo
Do they have to pay taxes on the 5K? If so then it should have been 10K

I don't think you have to pay taxes on insurance settlements.

I remember reading a story years ago about a self employed guy who sued his own company for neglect due to an injury he suffered on the job. He 'won' and paid himself off and was able to write off the settlement as a business expense and didn't have to pay personal income taxes on the income generated due to settlement either.

I am not sure something similar applies to this case, but I am guessing that it does.

WTF!

i have a crap load of malpractice insurance. maybe ill injure myself while massaging a obese woman and sue my LLC.

 

[Kanalua]

Originally posted by: GTKeeper

I think 5,000 bucks is pletny for immediate relief. If someone does have long term effects then that can be resolved at a later date.

Not so fast...accepting the $5K probably come with some kind of stipulation saying that the $5k satisfies all claims against the airlines...

I'm sure plenty of attorney are telling their clients not to deposit these checks...

 

[StageLeft]

Hard to say, but it sounds reasonable as is. Sometimes things just suck, these people managed to do ok considering and there was no negligence.

 

[bozack]

gotta admit that is pretty traumatic, and if these people have to fly again for their job then that might put some serious strain on them emotionally.

 

[ericlp]

Hey! This is America! Now your gonna take away their right's for lawyers to get rich??????

I'm sure a bunch of attorneys are just dieing to get a bunch of crash survivors together for a class action against the airline. Greedy America.

This is the reason why we are in trouble. Tho, again, I guess it really wouldn't be the airline but the airlines insurance company they would be suing and anyone knows that I'm sure that if they cash the check the waive any rights to sue later. It's all in the fine print.

 

[kylebisme]

Originally posted by: JohnOfSheffield
And if you were paying for a cab fare and i drove off with your bags, right into the ocean, then you should have to pay for my mistake?

Of course not. Your mistake. your place to pay.

On the other hand, if you were just driving us along the road and a herd of elephants rammed us into the ocean, then that wouldn't be any mistake of yours, and hence no reason either of us would owe eachother anything.

Originally posted by: JohnOfSheffield
Two sides to this coin too.

Funny how there always are two sides, isn't it?

It is disturbing how you think in terms of two sides while ignoring an infinite number of other possibilities, and constantly spout bullshit.

 

[CLite]

They do test engines for bird intake. Ultimately the insurance Company of the engine company will be footed with the bill, this will involve long term emotional/physical damages. The engine company's insurance will be paying 100's of millions of dollars.

Example:
Person A says my career requires me to fly, I can no longer do that, my projected salary is $100k / year. The insurance company will pay that plus projected earnings increase for the rest of Person A's life.

If everyone had died the insurance company would actually be facing less damages, because the above scenario is not allowed if Person A dies.

This was all explained to me by a friend of my who works at Traveler's Insurance.

My take on all of this: fuck greedy bastards.

 

[child of wonder]

Originally posted by: CPA
The need to sue the birds, not the airline.

I was just thinking this.

The accident was a natural disaster. The airline isn't responsible for what birds do. This is an inherent risk associated with flying just like bad weather.

Then again, if you were one of those passengers and you knew you could push the airline harder and walk away with $1,000,000, are you saying you wouldn't do it?

 

[BeauJangles]

Originally posted by: bozack
gotta admit that is pretty traumatic, and if these people have to fly again for their job then that might put some serious strain on them emotionally.

It doesn't mean you're entitled to millions of dollars to make yourself feel better.

 

[Genx87]

Most of them probably cashed the check and moved on. For the rest of them they can have a day in court or settle out. The lawyers will get most of it anyways hehe.

Anyways it is a pretty good move on US Airways part. Send the check out with a letter that indicates this absolves US Air from litigation in the future. Even if only half the people take the bait they saved themselves more than the cost of that 5K.

 

[Squisher]

Originally posted by: BeauJangles

Originally posted by: bozack
gotta admit that is pretty traumatic, and if these people have to fly again for their job then that might put some serious strain on them emotionally.

It doesn't mean you're entitled to millions of dollars to make yourself feel better.

No, but a good lawyer would make the argument that the airlines has now prevented me from continuing in my present job and has an obligation to keep me living in the manor in which I'm used to until I can obtain another similarly paying job including if that means retraining and re-education.

My wife travels for her job, and if it were her on that plane I could kiss that income goodbye. She makes more than $5000 in a month.

I imagine there are people from that crash that are scared to leave their house.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Genx87
Most of them probably cashed the check and moved on. For the rest of them they can have a day in court or settle out. The lawyers will get most of it anyways hehe.

Anyways it is a pretty good move on US Airways part. Send the check out with a letter that indicates this absolves US Air from litigation in the future. Even if only half the people take the bait they saved themselves more than the cost of that 5K.

Did the cash actually come with such a letter? My understanding is that this wasn't intended to be their total compensation, just enough to ensure that no one was put in a bad financial position by having to front the cost of replacing their stuff.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: fleshconsumed

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: fleshconsumed
Don't know about emotional damage, but if people had more than 5K of baggage, they should be compensated.

Why? If they were concerned, they should have gotten insurance.

Your argument can very well be reversed, if airline was concerned for potential problems, they should have gotten coverage.

Passengers and airline made a contract. Passengers agreed to pay money and airline agreed to deliver them and their belongings safe and sound from place A to place B. Passengers have paid the money, however airline could deliver their end of the bargain. Therefore the least they could do is reimburse tickets (which they did) and compensate customers for their lost baggage (which they are reluctant to do).

You've never read the fine print on your tickets, have you.

 

[Superrock]

Originally posted by: Mxylplyx
I'm tempted to hijack this thread with a long diatribe on the need for tort reform.

This country needs tort reform.. It's crippling our economy.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Squisher

Originally posted by: BeauJangles

Originally posted by: bozack
gotta admit that is pretty traumatic, and if these people have to fly again for their job then that might put some serious strain on them emotionally.

It doesn't mean you're entitled to millions of dollars to make yourself feel better.

No, but a good lawyer would make the argument that the airlines has now prevented me from continuing in my present job and has an obligation to keep me living in the manor in which I'm used to until I can obtain another similarly paying job including if that means retraining and re-education.

My wife travels for her job, and if it were her on that plane I could kiss that income goodbye. She makes more than $5000 in a month.

I imagine there are people from that crash that are scared to leave their house.

where is the negligence on the airline's part? the plane hit some birds. it's an act of god and it's a miracle sully was able to land it in the hudson without more serious injuries. sometimes bad sh!t happens and it's no one's fault.

the $5000 is intended as immediate relief. it's not a settlement. more will be coming once the insurer can figure things out. i'd rather get $5000 immediately and have to wait a while for some more than have to wait a while for anything.

 

[ebaycj]

Originally posted by: Rainsford

Originally posted by: miketheidiot

Originally posted by: 2Xtreme21
Who the fuck carries > $5000 worth of stuff on a plane with them? Especially NYC to Charlotte. Plus, it's for the insurance companies to decide what each lost item was worth. These people who want more than $5k are being greedy pigs and nothing more. More money won't just make your mental fears of flying miraculously disappear.

laptop, suit, luggage, camera, phone, etc, can quickly run into the multiple thousands.

Maybe, but I suspect people who carry that much stuff onto a plane are in the extreme minority. Hearing some anecdote from someone who takes their entire collection of professional photography equipment on the plane with them doesn't really change that. People should be compensated for their lost belongings (whatever the price), and some extra for their massive inconvenience. But honestly...it was a freak accident that they were lucky to survive thanks to the skill of a pilot employed by the airline they are trying to extort. Being greedy looks pretty stupid if you ask me...

I would wager that at least 50% (probably closer to 100%) of first class carries more than $5k worth of stuff with them. If you're paying nearly $1000 for comfort on a flight, you probably have expensive stuff.

 

[ebaycj]

Originally posted by: Citrix

Originally posted by: ProfJohn

Originally posted by: GoPackGo
Do they have to pay taxes on the 5K? If so then it should have been 10K

I don't think you have to pay taxes on insurance settlements.

I remember reading a story years ago about a self employed guy who sued his own company for neglect due to an injury he suffered on the job. He 'won' and paid himself off and was able to write off the settlement as a business expense and didn't have to pay personal income taxes on the income generated due to settlement either.

I am not sure something similar applies to this case, but I am guessing that it does.

WTF!

i have a crap load of malpractice insurance. maybe ill injure myself while massaging a obese woman and sue my LLC.

Be sure to set up another LLC ahead of time, so that the new LLC can buy the assets of the old LLC (if it goes into bankruptcy) for pennies on the dollar. Then you will be able to get malpractice through another carrier without paying ridiculous rates. Then once everything is set up, you can re-name the new LLC to the same name as the old one.