Woman Trips Over Package, Sues FedEx
This Week’s Wacky Wednesday: Woman Trips Over Package, Sues FedEx
If you are like most people, then you have probably placed an online order at some point in your life. You know that when the delivery service comes to the door to drop off the package, they are going to put it by the doorway, so you can see it when you come into or out of your home. It’s a very common practice, and it is done with packages from UPS, USPS, FedEx, and others. Because it is common, and because most people tend to look where they are going, you wouldn’t expect there to be slip and fall type lawsuits regarding this. Of course, there are.
The Problem with Packages
A woman in Florida claims that she fell over a package that was delivered to her doorway by FedEx, and that she suffered from humiliation, mental anguish, and severe physical pain. She says that it was the fault of FedEx and the driver because they did not warn her about just how close the package was to the door.
In most cases that will involve a slip and fall injury, you need to show that the owner of the property was negligent in their maintenance of the property. However, this was her own piece of property, and the FedEx employee was doing their normal job, just as they always do. Her fall, to most, seems like it would be her fault since she did not watch where she was going.
However, when she filed this suit, FedEx sang a different tune. They ended up settling with her very quickly. You might be wondering why they would settle when it does not seem like they did anything wrong. The reason is simple. They have a reputation and brand that they need to maintain, and they do not want to have to go through a legal battle to deal with this type of problem. The battle could be long and expensive, and the longer it drags out the more potential damage could come to their brand. For them, and for many companies in this situation, it often makes more sense simply to settle.
In fact, this is one of the reasons that so many people tend to file these types of lawsuits, even when they have suffered no real injury. They know that the companies want to avoid this type of spotlight, and they are often willing to settle. For some, these types of lawsuits are an easy way to a payday. This diminishes the fact that there are many legitimate lawsuits that need to be filed on behalf of true victims, which can be slowed because the courts are clogged with frivolous suits.
The moral of this tale is that if you order something online, or if you are just walking out the door or anywhere for that matter, watch where you are going. You never know what evil boxes might be out there, lurking, just waiting for their moment to trip you and humiliate you.