Bridge Accidents: Bizarre Accidents and Big Lawsuit Pay Outs

In light of the recent San Francisco Bay Bridge Wire Collapse, where a 5,000 piece of metal came crashing down and struck three vehicles and injured one person (this will equal a huge lawsuit undoubtedly), here are some related Bridge Accidents...

Bay Bridge Accident: Big Rig Truck Drives Off!

Not sure what this trucks driver was doing, my best guess is this poor guy fell asleep at the wheel or had one too many coronas before driving...

Car Drives Off a Bridge

It isn't clearly exactly how this happend, but apparently, some Driver ended up driving off this bridge in a horrific crash. Here is the aftermath...

Accident on SF Bridge - Street Racing

Some rice rocket racers were going wild with their integras and civics screaming down the bay bridge probably maxing out at 110mph with a whopping 180hp. Watch the video and see what happens at the end...

Now, Here are 7 Lucky yet "wacky" true lawsuits that made some plaintiffs temporarily or permanently rich...

1. Drunk Guy Gets Paid Millions

Although Dustin Dibble was intoxicated at the time he was hit by a New York subway train (and the court declared him to be 35% responsible for his injuries), a jury in 2006 still awarded him $2.3 million in damages since his right leg had to be amputated after the accident. Prior to that case, back in 2002, James Sanders stumbled onto some subway tracks and was hit by a train. Sanders also had to have his right leg amputated and he lost an eye. The jury awarded Sanders $7 million for his injuries. New York City is currently appealing both verdicts.

2. $100,000 for Being Locked in A Storage Room for 63 days?

Forty-four-year old Wanda Hudson was accidentally locked into her storage unit in Alabama in late 2001 by a Parkway Storage employee. Two months later, someone working in a neighboring unit heard noises coming from Ms. Hudson's unit and went to investigate. When this person found Ms. Hudson, she weighed only about 85 pounds. She claimed she had lost about 65 pounds while locked in the storage unit. Ms. Hudson said she had managed to survive on canned goods and fruit juice stored in her unit during her ordeal. She was rushed to a hospital for immediate care. (Ms. Hudson had rented the unit after her home had been foreclosed on by her creditors and she needed a place to store her possessions.) Although Ms. Hudson was found partly culpable for her injuries, the jury awarded her $100,000 for her 63 days of confinement in the unit. (A Mobile County Circuit Court jury decided this case back in 2003. The award was never appealed).

3. Getting Kicked Out of a Stadium and Cashing Out!

While the song "God Bless America" was playing in 2008 at Yankee Stadium, a fan decided to go use the restroom, unaware that the Yankees had a policy of limiting spectator activity during the playing of the song Plaintiff Bradford Campeau-Laurion was surprised when two New York City Police Department officers approached him, told him his behavior was improper and then ejected him from the ballpark. Campeau-Laurion then sued over this embarrassing event. Although the Yankees never had to admit fault in the matter, a jury awarded Campeau-Laurion $10,001 in damages and ordered the defendants to pay his $12,000 in attorney fees.

4. Ouch.. I spilled Coffee On myself, Pay me Millions!

Stella Liebeck's personal injury lawsuit against McDonald's (involving hot coffee) has been written about far more often than most. Unfortunately, the true facts of her case and how it ended are rarely set forth accurately. In a nutshell, Ms. Liebeck accidentally dropped scalding coffee in her lap after she and her nephew (the driver) purchased it at a McDonald's drive-through window. While at one time a jury did award her $200,000 in compensatory damages and $2.7 million in punitive damages, the $200,000 was later reduced to $160,000 and her punitive damages to $480,000. (Her burns were apparently rather severe and she required extensive medical treatment for one or two years.) At a later time, when the defendant was trying to appeal the awards, the parties entered into a confidential settlement. Supposedly, the amount of that settlement remains a secret to this day.

5. Don't Let a Target Store Target You for Defamation!

A South Carolina woman won a major court victory after a Target Store accused her of trying to use a counterfeit $100 bill in one of its stores. After the incident, a store employee sent the woman's picture to 75 other businesses, indicating that she had tried to pass counterfeit money. A jury awarded the woman $3.1 million dollars in damages. When Target later tried to get that amount reduced on appeal, the parties decided to enter in to a settlement agreement for an undisclosed sum. (During the trial, the Secret Service proved that the $100 bill used by plaintiff Rita Cantrell was lawfully issued U. S. currency.)

6. Kissing Your Way Out of a Traffic Ticket?

Mayra Leyva was stopped by a traffic cop in New Mexico who promised to grant her leniency if she'd give him a kiss. Although the woman actually did kiss the cop because she was afraid of what might happen if she didn't, she later sued and was awarded $40,000. Now that this cop is facing criminal charges for this same incident, he may soon have to put his entire love life on the back burner if he's forced to do some hard time in jail.

7. Paid Millions for Driving Over a Pot Hole!?

Once again, a New Yorker scores in the courts. Back in 2002, a Manhattan plaintiff claimed she accidentally drove her car into a large pothole on Atlantic Avenue, causing her to suffer neck and back injuries. In her suit, she alleged that the pothole was three feet long and four feet deep. New York City agreed to pay her $1.2 million to settle her claim. While many of these cases ended in a somewhat odd fashion, they do make you wonder how courts determine when to hear a case or when to throw it out. No one wants to be harmed and cheated due to someone else's negligence. However, a few of these cases make you wonder if the plaintiffs didn't eventually laugh all the way to their banks.

Have You Been in a Bizarre Accident? Want to see if you can cash out with a lawsuit? Submit your case details to a Personal Injury Attorney in your area immediately for a confidential review.