NationStates Jolt Archive

And we should stop the practice of allowing people to have their stupid mistakes funded at the taxpayer's expense. There's no problem maintaining a rescue service, but the rescuee should have the _chance_ to repay the government for his rescue. Especially when the rescue is necessary, due to negligence and carelessness on the part of the _victim_.
Good work Canada, eh?

As if injured buttocks and a damaged ego weren't enough, a man who leapt off a moving ferry to attend a baseball game on Mayne Island must now pay $1,392.
In Victoria provincial court, Christie (Jay) Leggatt, 45, pleaded guilty to mischief and was handed a conditional discharge. Leggatt was placed on probation for six months during which he cannot ride the ferries. And he was told to repay the $1,392 B.C. Ferries was said to have spent trying to rescue him.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=0d9de67a-b488-4f1f-8c7a-307593b3aad0&k=16067

I cannot disagree.

I guess no one else can, either.

Credit's due where credit's deserved.

Considering that bit of stupidity forced him to move as well, I think he's learned his lesson.

I'm all for creative punishment. Make 'em pay for their current injury, but also treat them for stupidity. Make them wear helmets, shoulder, elbow and butt pads everywhere. A life jacket should also be mandatory. And heat insulated gloves.

Make him pay for his own future emotional trauma...

*bong haze fills room*

The judge could have added the expense of the medical treatments he recieved. The judge showed restraint, another typical Canadian stereotype.

So how do you make it abuse proof? Make it impossible for negligence from a company (on a huge scale, like a loose floor tile that causes a three-storey plummet, not a cracked pavement that causes a stumble) to blame their own incompetence on a hypothetical stupidity of the injured person?

I, too, cannot disagree. While I'd never volunteer to go back to even the early 20th century to live, I must admit that in older, less "civilized" times stupid people were removed from the gene pool ... or, rather, removed themselves more frequently. Now they just hire lawyers.

So how do you make it abuse proof? Make it impossible for negligence from a company (on a huge scale, like a loose floor tile that causes a three-storey plummet, not a cracked pavement that causes a stumble) to blame their own incompetence on a hypothetical stupidity of the injured person?
A good point, one requiring thought. Stupidity in the user (plummeter) does not cause material failure (as of floor tiles), whereas, for instance, user dumbness is definitely involved in placing a cup of very, very hot coffee between your legs while driving and then suing the company that sold you the coffee after you get scalded. It's suits like that which cause those warnings on product labels that you read and go, "Well, of course!" I heard some time back that Microsoft was considering amending their documentation to say "press the space bar" instead of the traditional "press any key" because too many people were calling tech support asking about the ANY key.

So how do you make it abuse proof? Make it impossible for negligence from a company (on a huge scale, like a loose floor tile that causes a three-storey plummet, not a cracked pavement that causes a stumble) to blame their own incompetence on a hypothetical stupidity of the injured person?
I don't think that's needed. The idea that the dummy pays should be a huge deterrent for stupid stunts.

A couple years back, maybe 5, a fellow was at the Atlanta airport. He was in the gate area and then he realized that he left some possession back in the unsecured area. He bolted back to the area, checked for the object, then realized his flight was boarding and he'd never make it, if he proceeded through the lengthy security process. He jumped the fence, so to speak, bypassing security by going 'down' the 'up' staircase, where arriving passengers come into the main terminal.

The airport was shut down, thousands of people were delayed and inconvenienced, probably millions of dollars were lost, and maybe thousands expended before he was found and hauled off to jail.

He should have re-imbursed anyone that had a valid claim against him, airlines, salesmen, anyone that lost money because of his stupidity. I think the Japanese pioneered this idea, if I recall correctly. It's something called gomen money.

"But ... but, Your Honor, it seemed like a good idea at the time!"

"But ... but, Your Honor, it seemed like a good idea at the time!"
Hehe, if only that would work :p . I think its good that he has to pay up for his own stupidity

FINALLy Canada gets it right!!!! Jk,...


But umm, I used to be a ski patroller at Sugarbush Resort in VT. You would not believe the amount of stupid shit people do. We have a chairlift that goes over like a 30 foot cliff, some dumbass snowboarder thought it would be "cool" to jump from the chairlift, and try to ski down the cliff. Well, long story short, he jumped to early, and landed ON the cliff. However, the story gets better, it was 5 minutes till lifts close. So we didnt know he was missing until his friend finally told us the stunt that he pulled. It took 2 fire departments, 16 ski patroller, and 10 hours to get him off that damn cliff.
Hell, if it had been up to me, I woulda just let him rot there, it would have been a good warning for others not to do that, and I wouldnt have had to miss dinner!!! :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: