According to Canada.Com a man was awarded $4,081.00 ... for losing the top of his head in a German hospital. 
Yikes!
Seems doctors were keeping the top of his head cold – while they operated – so it could be reattached. The fridge malfunctioned and the man’s lid warmed up too much to be preserved in tact for reattachment.
For his part ... the man requested $27,000 dollars for the hospital's mistake. Unfortunately, he was awarded just over $4000 - by the German courts. Why so little?
“Following consultations with experts, the court found that the operation had caused the man’s discomfort, not the loss of the top of his skull.”
Added to their reasons above -- German experts argued that their new skull roof was actually superior to the man's original head, anyway. For that reason ... he was forced to settle for less compensation.
While this settlement seemed like a no-brainer to German courts … would it have been a fair tradeoff for you?
I would definitely not be happy about that!
It would be one thing to have a superior noggin because my original one was damaged beyond repair in an accident, but quite another because a hospital destroyed my original one. I'd rather have the original.
For me, there are two points to compensation payments. The clue is in the name, of course, but the other point, in my opinion, is to punish the offending entity so that they understand the gravity of their actions and take steps not to let it happen again.
For me, the "slap on the wrist" was missing from this ruling.
Posted by: Declan Chellar | August 29, 2007 2:26 AM | Permalink to Comment