Block, Klukas, Manzella & Shell - September 2018

That’ll Do, Pig Oinkers That Saved Their Owners’ Bacon

More and more Americans are keeping pigs as pets than ever before. With their keen intelligence, laid-back amiability, goofy snorts, and, of course, their stubby little legs, it’s no surprise that people take to these plump, fuzzy animals. And here’s an extra bonus: Apparently, they also save lives! Take the aptly-named Lucky, for example. When Illinois resident Ina Farler woke up to the frantic porcine screams of her best friend, she knew something was up. “He would jump down, run to the door, and then jump back on the bed and hit me really hard,” she told Chicago 5 News. “When I sat up, I realized the room was really smoky.” Her house was ablaze, and her room was quickly turning into an oven. But thanks to Lucky, she was able to grab her two grandchildren, escape from the house, and

call the fire department to stifle the blaze before it took down the entire property. Lucky isn’t the only hog to have saved the day. Jo Ann and Jack Altsman adopted Lulu the pot-bellied pig

but she pressed on in order to check on Jo Ann. Realizing that something was seriously wrong, she slammed back through the doggie door and scrambled out into the road, where she lay down. Lulu eventually convinced one conscientious motorist to slow down and see what the commotion was about. He found Jo Ann unconscious in her home and quickly dialed 911. Though Lulu wasn’t allowed in the ambulance, her owner was rescued and recovered after an intense open-heart surgery. And, of course, Lulu got patched up too!

after baby-sitting her for their daughter. Lulu grew to be great pals with Bear, the family’s American Eskimo dog. When Jo Ann suffered a heart attack while her husband was away on a fishing trip and no one else was around, Bear and Lulu teamed up to rescue their beloved owner. Sensing something was up, Bear barked furiously to get the attention of Lulu, who was out in the yard. Though she’d never come into the house from the yard before, she crammed her bulk through the much- too-small doggie door. In the process, she scraped her belly badly, drawing blood,

MORE TO THE STORY The Truth About the McDonald’s Hot Coffee Case

Stop us if you’ve heard this one: A woman orders a cup of coffee at a McDonald’s drive-thru window. As she drives away, she spills the coffee on herself and decides to sue the Golden Arches because the coffee was just too hot. When the court chooses to side with this greedy, careless woman, she’s awarded over a million dollars. This is the infamous McDonald’s hot coffee case, and it’s the example commonly used when talking about how Americans have become “sue happy.” But the truth is, what most people think they know about this case is all wrong.

coffee at 190 degrees Fahrenheit, a good 60 degrees hotter than home brewers. McDonald’s admitted their coffee was a hazard, and in the decade before Liebeck’s accident, over 700 people had reported being badly burned by McDonald’s coffee. But the restaurant chain had done nothing to address the dangers.

Initially, Liebeck didn’t want to go to court; she just asked the mega franchise to cover her medical expenses. Liebeck only filed a lawsuit when the company offered her a mere $800. The jury was outraged by the restaurant’s negligence and decided to fine the company two days’ worth of

The “greedy, careless woman” was 79-year-old Stella Liebeck, and she wasn’t driving at all during the time of the incident. Liebeck was sitting in the passenger seat of her grandson’s parked car when the coffee she’d ordered from McDonald’s spilled. The hot liquid gave her third-degree burns and

coffee sales, or $2.7 million. Liebeck ultimately settled for $640,000 and McDonald’s finally agreed to turn down the temperature. We’re not saying there aren’t baseless lawsuits, but those often get dismissed early on. Most people don’t want to go through the stress of a lawsuit, but when they’ve been hurt by someone’s negligence, they might not have a choice. Before you buy into the myth of frivolous lawsuits, ask if you are really hearing the whole story. The truth of the situation might surprise you.

Liebeck went into shock. She had to have skin graft surgery on 6 percent of her body and almost died. Her surgeon went on record saying Liebeck’s condition was one of the worst he’d ever seen.

How can someone get so badly hurt from something most people drink every day? As it turns out, McDonald’s was serving their

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