Paul O’Brien of Leeds, Great Britain, says the Royal Mail letterbox in his house is just like every other one in the development and that mail carriers have had no problem using it. Still, he’s being sued by cake decorator Joy Goodman, who says her finger was badly hurt when the thing snapped as she was pushing a leaflet, less charitably termed junk mail, through it; she can no longer pursue her trade. Says O’Brien: “I just cannot believe someone who came on to my property uninvited, to put junk mail through my door that I didn’t want, can now sue me because she hurt herself. … It seems like we’re becoming more and more like America. Everyone wants compensation.” (“Homeowner sued after woman delivering junk mail claims she injured her hand in letterbox”, Daily Mail, Feb. 21).
U.K.: Injures finger dropping junk mail in letterbox
Paul O’Brien of Leeds, Great Britain, says the Royal Mail letterbox in his house is just like every other one in the development and that mail carriers have had no problem using it. Still, he’s being sued by cake decorator Joy Goodman, who says her finger was badly hurt when the thing snapped as she […]
2 Comments
Isn’t it a federal crime here in the U.S. to put anything that isn’t real mail into a mailbox? Such as flyers, doorhangers, etc that aren’t sent through the USPS? I guess it’s not the same in the UK. Hopefully they’ll dismiss the suit – but I wouldn’t bet on it. No one wants to take responsibility for their own actions anymore. It seems people think that there should be no risk whatsoever for anything one would do.
The UK has long been a ‘compensation’ society. If something goes wrong, then someone owes someone else money; usually the government ends up paying the bill.
What is different, though, is that it doesn’t usually get to British courts. The government and its multitude of agencies are well trained. They pay on demand, without requiring the services of an attorney usually.