Remember that
Japanese couple who sued Apple and Sony over one of those famous burning batteries? Well it looks like the companies have decided to settle, and will pay the fire-damaged pair a total of ¥1.3 million (or around $13,000). Of course, this is a bit less than the absurdly low $16,700 the two were asking, but percentage-wise they didn't make out too badly. During the trial, Apple Japan apparently accepted responsibility for the incident but couldn't justify settling out of court due to a request for "excessive compensation," while Sony maintained its distance by suggesting a link between the battery and burns wasn't clear. We're sure the guy who made the trip to the hospital thinks otherwise.
[Thanks, Jackie]
posted Apr 15th 2008 9:02AM
If your going to go through the trouble of suing, then go all the way... their doctor bill is probably more than what they were awarded.
That's because probably they are in Japan? I don't know the local laws, but just assuming that its not as bad (or good) as the US.
Or because the health care system doesn't work like the US one..
not every country is like the USA, where you can burn your own dumb ass on hot coffee and sue the restaurant chain for a zillion dollars... you can't sue for subjective things like "pain caused" here in canada, and it seems like Japan may have a similar legal system.
The cofee lady is a true story, made me think that an american life is worth more than a Japanese life.
Japanese medical services is offered through a universal health care insurance system that provides relative equality of access, witch is not the case in the US.
So if you want a universal health care system in the US better vote for the party tha promote it in nov.
That multi-million dollar lawsuit over coffee is actually deeper than it appears. According to a personal injury lawyer, that particular restaurant was serving abnormally hot coffee, had been warned and threatened numerous times about the temperature of their coffee, yet nothing was done. Apparently, it took a lawsuit to make them correct the temperature of the coffee. Still a lot of money, but it didn't just come out of the blue like some people think.
Really who cares, the settled
they thought $16,700 was excessive?
think different. think life-threatening.
life-threatening. Not life-taking.
Thinking different. :)
"excessive compensation"? you've got to be kidding
So essentially he was burned for another $3,700?
that laptop burn looks nasty.
in america they wouldve been asking for millions.... billions!!
They did get a million; just because they didn't convert it to a million in U.S. dollars, it's still a million in Yen...
Those burns look like special effects from an ALIEN Trilogy film.
Japan: where plaintiffs are awarded reasonable compensation instead of multi-million dollar jackpots.
Sorry, people in japan actually have health care.
and a doctor who stitches up a cut smaller than 6 inches square can only charge $5 in japan.
that's 5000 yen.
While I hate frivolous coffee lawsuits as much as the next guy, you would be mighty pissed if your laptop exploded while sitting on your lap/mere inches from your johnson. It isn't as if he was misuing the machine, either, so yeah, I would imagine that Apple and Sony should be held accountable for more than that.
Chicksta, I don't know if you're just joking, but one Japanese Yen is still worth on one U.S. cent to Apple, Sony, and the plaintiff. That's why a PS3 costs many thousands of Yen but "only" $500 here.
Joking? "...pay the fire-damaged pair a total of ¥1.3 million"
It is a million (local units of currency) to them... you can twist that into other currencies and make it sound paltry or huge, but regardless of that, they did sue for over a million and got over a million, to them.
Chicksta doesn't understand how foreign exchange works, it's ok, most people don't.
1 cent = 1 yen
1.3 million cents = 1.3 million yen
13 million cents = 13,000 dollars = 13 million yen
The Japanese don't have a Dollar/Cent system. It's just a Yen to Cent system.
Just to add: 1 penny can't buy anything in the US much like how 1 yen can't buy anything in Japan.
I really don't understand why western currency even uses a decimal based system.
Chicksta, you apparently have more looks than brains. (If you really are a girl and that is you)
You realize in Japan a million yen is not and extraordinary amount to the average Japanese person. It doesn't matter that is a million of their local currency. It's like me saying I'm gonna give you a million pennies. Thats only $1000.
Japan happens to not have the same type of denominations that we use in the U.S. In Japan everything goes in terms of Yen, the most basic unit (would be like our penny). They don't have a system where 100 Yen equals a Japanese dollar, they just call it 100 Yen. The average Japanese salary is between 300,000 and 500,000 Yen. Does that mean every Japanese is a multi-millionaire? NO!
"It is a million (local units of currency) to them... you can twist that into other currencies and make it sound paltry or huge, but regardless of that, they did sue for over a million and got over a million, to them."
And that would be like me suing someone for 1,000,000 pennies.
Learn something about the subject your talking about before you open your mouth.
Damn, you guys are freaking idiots. They live in Japan. They got 1.3 million Japanese Yen. This makes them a millionairre in their own currency...
Good God - it seems that not only do you lack a national health service in the US - your schooling system is clearly in need of some help!
Bah, I forgot a zero, should read:
*Thats only $10,000.
Seminole and CMOS, you guys are both f-in idiots. I didn't say 'they got a lot of money' or that yen=U.S. dollars in any way, shape, or form. I simply read the frigging article, and quoted (thus why I used QUOTES) the part that said that they got 1.3 million yen.
And after three attempts, you finally came to the same conversion rate *that was already in the article*.
I said EXACTLY was Lloyd said I did. I was being facetious, but I forgot to dumb it down for the LCD readership.
And yes, that is me in the picture, somehow (U.S.) American yet not fat, and I'm obviously running +50 on the brains department in comparison to either of you.
Chicksta,
You are right in they received a million of their currency. But the way your post reads implies that they were suing for a huge sum of money, "they did sue for over a million and got over a million, to them." That ignored the fact that the Yen is essentially a penny in the Japanese monetary system, so they were suing for a much smaller sum that it appears. You can also misread your, "It is a million (local units of currency) to them" part because in the western world me measure things in Dollars, Pounds, Euro, etc. not the smallest denomination. So when you say local currency units it seems to read like you were implying the Yen has the same value to the Japanese as a Dollar does to an American.
All that inference comes from your first post up a little bit where you said, "They did get a million; just because they didn't convert it to a million in U.S. dollars, it's still a million in Yen..." Which once again looks like you were saying a Yen is the same to a Japanese person as a Dollar is to an American.
So you may not have "said" they got a lot of money, or a yen= a dollar, but it sure could be implied from it. All CMOS and I were trying to do was show that a million Yen wasn't as big as it sounds and the fact the Japanese consider a million like we consider a thousand.
As far as Lloyd goes, I can't tell if he was kidding with his "This makes them a millionairre in their own currency..." comment. Taking it from his bashing of our education I don't think so. Which goes to show his lack of education. A million pennies doesn't make me a millionaire.
Yep. That is why nobody cares when a Japanese person gives his / her opinion. When they go "... and here are my two cents on this... " it is actually isn't worth anything.
On a side note though, are you aware that Zimbabwe just started printing 1 million Dollar bills. I mean 1 million Zimbabwe Dollars. I guess that makes everyone in Zimbabwe a millionaire
I'm not sure why I'm responding to someone who obviously can't read...
I said "you can twist that into other currencies and make it sound paltry or huge." Which means, in some currencies, the number needed to equal that worth will be bigger, in some, the number needed to equal that worth will be smaller, and neither has any bearing on the 'worth' of the amount (when converted to other currencies or equating it to cost of living, etc.). Why is that hard to understand?
There is no possible way that my post 'implies' anything by reading it; it's the person reading it who interprets. That's standard-issue PEBKAC. I didn't ignore anything, imply anything, and the only one capable of misreading anything, again, is the reader, not the author. So, some people were smart enough to get what I meant, some weren't; and you couldn't even figure out Lloyd's comment, so there you go. The penny analogy (while accurate in terms of conversion), does not hold water - U.S. currency is not based on the penny (it is based on the dollar), while Japanese currency is based on the Yen. If someone requested a settlement of a million pennies, that does not make it the U.S. standard of currency, but it does mean that they have a million units of a form of currency. His education still seems spot-on.
the real question is: Does it still work?
Well of course it sounds reasonable, you got your price of a new laptop sans exploding batteries, fix/replacement table and of course, getting that plasticy burning smell out of their home. If only America worked that way, the economy wouldn't be turning to shit, certain parts of the country could catch up to 1995, maybe even 2000, and my parents would have bought the house much sooner and cheaper. YAY Japan.
I would like a laptop without exploding batteries.
I will choose one which don't use Sony batteries.
it has nothing to do with the laws, it has everything to do with culture.
the whole "sue for a billion dollars" mentality is very American, probably has something to do with why everyone's so fat and uneducated.
Yea, right i have seen your TV programs........yea and not everyone is small and short, like children:(
you've seen korean TV programming?
also: are you a pedophile?
Since you base your opinion of the U.S. off of what you see on TV, does that mean that Japan is full of a bunch of Anime loving dipwads who participate in stupid game shows. Hey, I saw it on G4 so it must be true.
LOL no not into midgets, But I see you comb your hair to be a bit taller?
@seminole: ironically, AMERICA is full of anime loving dipshits who participate in stupid game shows (smarter than a 5th grader, anyone?)
@gypsy: i'm 5' 11"
Conclusion : You better get a good lawyer or take what their willing to give U.
That ammount of money is almost a slap in the face and really good example of how Apple or Sony really care about it's customer .
Gee I just got a offer of100K from workmans comp, and thought that was a small settlement
EDIT: Sorry, it's 1.3 million cents = 13,000 Dollars = 1.3 million yen
My mistake, forgot a decimal.
You could have just read the article, since they've already done all that hard math stuff for you...
"Well it looks like the companies have decided to settle, and will pay the fire-damaged pair a total of ¥1.3 million (or around $13,000)."
A sensor with no sense, it seems.
Let them enjoy the settlement , would not be worth the time........
It must be real cool living in Japan. Where else can you pay 100k rent or 300 something for a cup of coffee.
I mean, they must be feeling so rich.
Lol, you guys all kill me with the focus on the word "million!" By using the term, you can be a millionaire in many countries (much easier in Korea where it's 900won=$1 or Ecuador where it's 25,000 sucre=$1) but it's pointless when most people know that you mean dollars when you say someone is a millionaire in the US. Not sure how they joke about it in Europe, Canada, or where ever else you are.
The point that this article makes to me is that the Japanese don't play around with frivilous lawsuits like other countries; i.e., US and Europe, so you better hope your figures match the damages or the judges won't give you diddley-squat... and the lawyers here know that.
Is it me, or is that burn mark where the hard drive should be on a Macbook Pro? I know the battery is more centered than that. Maybe only one side burned?
My sony battery exploded last week
O_O
my fear of batteries exploding has just risen tenfold.
may be a replacement battery is another good choice.
likes the site: http://www.laptopbatteryweb.com