Man awarded US$7.2 million in popcorn lung lawsuit

I would say he is a candidate for the Darwin award as what moron would do that, but in being a moron he made $7.2 Million under our judicial system so perhaps he isn't as brainless as he appears.

So eating two bags of micro-wave popcorn a night is NOT good for your health...

...who'd have thought.

It wasn't the popcorn itself...


It was the inhaling...

Like cigarettes, it's not smoking that kills you, it's the inhaling.

Just breathing here is dangerous. While air pollution levels have improved, the air quality, especially in the winter, is just as bad as being a smoker. They just haven't clued into the high levels of asthma here and other respiratory diseases being signs of a problem. I haven't had microwave popcorn in a coon's age, but if the steam is toxic...maybe we should ban the product.

Sounds to me like this went exactly as it should have. A consumer used a product that caused him damages and he was appropriately compensated for those damages. Isn't this how the system is supposed to work?

It's FOOD. He got a lung disease from SMELLING HIS FOOD. What's the problem? He should have known better not SMELL HIS FOOD?

It's FOOD. He got a lung disease from SMELLING HIS FOOD. What's the problem? He should have known better not SMELL HIS FOOD?
I'm pretty sure that if he didn't not smell the same thing twice a day for 10 years straight, but like 12 times a year, he would not have this. I'm pretty sure that the label did not say "DO NOT SMELL THE FOOD IN THIS BAG OF POPCORN TWICE A DAY FOR 10 YEARS", simply because no one does that.
Don't you agree this falls in the same category as "Do not dry animals in the microwave"?

I guess lack of common sense makes you rich.

I disagree, Brenda. Companies need to be prodded to make their products safe. Is sniffing two bags of popcorn a day a bit odd? Sure. But it should be the company's responsibility to ensure that all people, even odd people, who use their products aren't harmed by them. Civil litigation is the most effective mechanism to keep corporations in check and consumers from being injured and ripped off by them.

No! ITS FOOD. It's meant for HUMAN CONSUMPTION. If he were suing because it made him fat, then fine, he's an idiot. If he were sniffing the amonia under the sink or shoe polish, then fine, screw the moron but we are talking about FOOD.

It doesn't matter that his food-smalling habit is unusual, we all have quirky habits. A reasonable person would assume that they could smell their food all day long every day and not get lung disease. Do you assume that if you smell your food too much you'll get lung disease?

Also, note that the defendant didn't even try to claim the victim behaved irresponsibly in court. They tried to claim the illness came from something else, which the court didn't buy.

So sniffing shoe polish is fine, twice a day, for 10 years, but sniffing food is not?
Just because you know food is for indigestion and shoe polish is not?
That doesn't make sense then either...

Have you EVER read on ANY label, that you should not sniff it for 10 years, twice a day? It doesn't even say on glue that you should not sniff it...

Gee, who'd'a thunk that inhaling artificial butter flavoured chemicals could be hazardous to one's health.

Not that I agree with it, but that's the argument.
We don't expect people to sniff glue or shoe polish every day so we shouldn't need to put warnings to tell people not to do it. But everybody smells his food, it's expected, and because of this, it should be perfectly safe to do so, even if it's the same thing, every day, twice a day for years.

You misunderstand me. Had he sued a shoe polish company for sniffing shoe polish, then screw him, he should have known better. But food is understood to be safe.


Now THAT doesn't make sense. ITS FOOD!!! What don't you understand? YOU EAT IT. Have you ever read on any food label that it's safe to smell even one time??? Have you ever even read a food label that says its safe to chew and swallow? No. Know why? Because it's FOOD!!! Food is meant to be smelled and eaten, therefore it's assumed to not cause disease due to excessive smelling. When there are health considerations from over-consumption of a food product, the obligation is on the food manufacturer to put a label on it.