This is where my previous sympathy for his situation ends.

Getting rich the American way: suing! Whenever you eat bad food, spill hot coffee on your lap, or someone punches you, you struck oil! Sue them for all they're worth! Sue! SUE!

Sometimes I hate this fucking country and all its lazy stupid people. Of course, I'm one of them too. I just haven't found a finger to put in my campbell's soup yet.

Thank God that despite tough economic times people can still sue their local police department.

Well, I mean, he did get thrown into a vending machine and through a glass door. What other recourse does he have? The office wasn't fired.

Of course, in my opinion $21 million is excessive, but that's for the jury to decide.

It's okay, the police department will settle and the guy will walk away with a couple hundred thousand.

If being pushed into a vending machine causes flashbacks, and loss of sleep, I think it might be wise for him to sue his parents for raising such a pathetic person.

I hate frivolous litigation. The guy would never have made 21 million bucks as a Wal Mart greeter. So even if he is now totally unable to work, $21 million bucks in lost wages is insane. As for punitive damages, I think that unless you lose a limb or something, a few thousand bucks spent at the talking doctor should make you right as rain. I used to feel sorry for this guy. He didn't think he was doing anything wrong and he was viciously assaulted for it. But now it looks like he's just looking for a payday. Mr. Greeter Guy: Have some self-respect. Don't cater to the ambulance chasers. Have the police cover your medical expenses and a couple years of counseling if you really need it and get on with your life.

obviously 21 million's excessive, and there's no way he'll get that, but like any negotiation, you start high. if the guy wasnt a cop and didnt have any money of his own i'm sure he wouldn't have shot that high. overlooked in all this is that the cop was on duty doing his xmas shopping. glad our tax dollars are paying him for his shopping time. here i am doing it on my own time like a sucker

@Yossarian:

Why??? I mean the F ing cop threw him through a glass door!

It's the cover-up that gets them every time. The local police dept should have responded and investigated properly, before it hit the press, instead of their dismissive knee jerk stand-by-your-man cover up.

Good for him. Everyone else is doing it why hate this guy for it? If this was like the judge with his pants it would be different. This guy actually had something done to him. At least be like everyone else and sue.

I'm all for suing to stand up for your rights, but ...21 million? I think what is wrong with our country is people get compensation that is beyond what they deserve. If the man lost both arms, both legs and was struck blind...I'd say maybe 2 million. That is 10x more money than he will ever see in this lifetime as a walmart greeter. As for just getting pushed down and having bad dreams? Maybe $2,500.

Now, if the arm/leg/vision situation had happened to a Nobel prize winner that was on the verge of developing a cure for cancer, yes, 20 million seems like fair compensation.

He got thrown into a vending machine and then through a glass door by a POLICE OFFICER.

The officer should be fired and this guy should be awarded a shit-ton of money. Easy as that.

I don't recall the story. Did the Wal-Mart greeter touch the officer in any fashion?

@pda_tech_guy: Who will pay the $21 Million? The state, as it sounds like he is going after the police force since he was on duty.

If this was a civil suit, then fine...but I can understand not having sympahty for him if he is going after tax payer money.

@AlteredBeast: I mean, civil suit against just the cop, not against the police force.

How do you know he wasn't on the verge of developing a cure for cancer and, because of this trauma, now he can't remember what it was?!@Saboth:

@Patrick Henry: Your stereotype of Americans have offended me, I'm gonna sue you!

@plyhard13: He could sue Pepsi for making their vending machines too hard.

@ Patrick Henry- Just a little info for you. It was proved in court that the manager of that particular McDonald's(I assume this is the coffee on the lap instance you are referring to) knowingly kept the coffee near boiling temperatures to keep the senior customers from drinking the coffee so fast. That store was giving free coffee to seniors and McDonald's wanted to save the $.75 it costs for a cup of coffee. That lady then had to have skin grafts on her vagina from the burns. Next time think about your grandmother getting vaginal reconstruction before mentioning this story.

Has the story changed? Originally it was the intervening customer that was thrown through the glass, not the greeter (who was only pushed into the vending machine). Change in the story or confusing use of pronoun?

@pda_tech_guy: Because in most legal systems you'd have to prove that what happened was going to cost you that amount in lost earnings, medical bills or whatever other costs you might incur. I'm sure the US system requires some level of that, but the settlement amounts are just astronomical. Don't get me wrong, the greeter certainly deserves compensation, but that amount just seems beyond excessive.

The old guy was pushed to the ground. Another customer was shoved through the glass and, while cut up, notice *he* isn't suing. From the original article:

"A police report says a customer then told Det. Freeman, "You can't push down an old man" and began struggling with him. It says Det. Freeman then shoved that man, Gholom Ghassedi, through a glass door"

hell, I'd sue too if it meant I could settle and get some money and not have to be frickin Wal*Mart greeter anymore!

After the police deptment did not fire the officer in question , nor did they file criminal charges on him, I hope the guy gets every last cent of the 21 million. Maybe if a few more police dept's got sued like this, they would quit hiring poeple who are barely qualified to be bouncers in redneck bars.

Of course if the greeter would have downloaded a song w/o paying for it, you'd have people on here screaming about how he stole something and they would have no problem with the music company suing the man claiming the song is worth the national debt of a small 3rd world country once it was torrented.

@AlteredBeast:

I work for State Law Enforcement and the State will only cover you if you were acting within the scope of your job and justified according to the law. Otherwise you are on your own.

@Saboth: I'm assuming that the $21 million is for punitive damages. I'm not a lawyer but from my LIMITED legal education, the point of punitive damages is to deter this behavior in the future. The question is, is the behavior worth $21 million of deterrance?

In this case, actually, I think there needs to be a punitive message. Taking $21 million of taxpayer's money and giving it to some guy may not be the right way to do it but the whole point is, police officers should have a terrific respect for innocent civilians and have to face serious consequences in these cases.

@pda_tech_guy: So the appropriate compensation for that is over 400 times the median annual household income in this country?

Is there any evidence that he has sought appropriate compensation before filing a Powerball suit?

Add up his medical bills. Add in any rehab he needs. Add in the counseling he surely needs after this life-altering event. Pay him for any unpaid time off work. Double that total and add it in for "pain and suffering" so that he receives three times his other damages.

@Patrick Henry: *Obligatory defense of the hot coffee lawsuit* the lady suing had no intention of taking Mcdonalds to the cleaners, she merely wanted them to pay for the medical expenses where it was proven beyond any doubt that the corporation as a whole held a percentage of responsibility for the damage. The additional money awarded was not asked for and was brought down to a couple hundred K which was likely used to pay her lawyers.

I'm sure she's better off financially for the lawsuit but the only people really making out in these lawsuits is the lawyers on both sides of the courtroom

@AlteredBeast: Fuck it, lets make this a class action suit. I'm in. Anyone else?

@Yossarian: Ditto. Couldn't have said it more succinctly.

@faintandfuzzies: Yes, but not in a fashion as to be any threat

@ksf4: That was what I was coming to ask, I'm pretty sure the other customer went through the glass, as he refused medical treatment and went home

@plamoni: While I don't think that this is a frivolous lawsuit, 21 million is definitely excessive.

I'm sure it's just a tactic and should he win he probably won't get more than a couple hundred K which he may never see and will probably squander away.

Also, I thought that in civil cases like this you couldn't specify punitive damages...you could request them and specify a concrete amount of money that the event cost you, like the cost of the medical bills and lost wages.

I never feel bad for anything that happens to anyone at Wal-Mart. Seriously? Don't shop there. Does Target ask for receipts? No. Meijer? No.

21 million? WTF? Did he break a hip? He's 71...isn't he about at the end of his life expectancy? I'm not trying to be rude, but for the love of all that's Holy, $21 million dollars?

He probably won't get 21 million. These things usually get settled for some undisclosed amount, and the dude should be compensated, especially after the officer seemed to be getting away with it (although now he's getting at least some punishment)

Also? it's TN. Drive around it.

Only young plaintiffs with severe brain damage and a long life expectancy get $21 million. This thing will probably settle for $10,000.

Now if that cop had been an NFL player, you wouldn't have heard another word about this and the cop would now have a bodyguard

@skizsrodt:

I'm in!

Evidence continues to mount in support of old Billy's solution.

How did he come up with $21 million? Why not a nice round number like $20 million. I guess the million is just an extra poke in the eye.

Come on, $21 mil? For an assault. Fire the cop, make him work as a walmart greeter, and pay for the mans hospital plus a little extra for the trouble. Out of the cops pocket. And grow up a little, many people get assaulted and beat up without demanding ridiculous payment. And pay for the window, and the vending machine. if the PD has to pay for this, it's going to come in the form of less cops and reduced help time to the people who need it.

@Jage: I agree. I mean, being thrown through a glass window can't be a pretty or comfortable thing.

I imagine they're starting way high and expecting any final judgment to be much, much lower.

walmart just needs to stop harassing its paying customers.

@plyhard13: You're forgetting that he was 71 and he was also thrown through a glass door after being shoved into the machine. I can see why he isn't sleeping well. Does that entitle him to $21 million? That's for the jury to decide I guess.

@plyhard13: Yes, because being traumatized by a dickhead with a badge makes you pathetic.

The quality of the comments 'round this place has slipped quite a bit as of late.

And the lesson here is, if your employer asks you to treat every customer like a criminal, think about finding another job.

@HIV 2 Elway Resurrected: Those lawyers need to get paid somehow!

Wal-Mart needs to get rid of that dumb checker. It's legal for someone to refuse the greeter and they don't even do anything. One of them had the audacity to accuse my dad of stealing a BIG PLASTIC BIN because she was too stupid to locate it on the receipt. The alarm didn't go off and we have no reason to steal. Absolutely pathetic. The manager called me to apologize since she was being a B. Seriously, how do you steal a clear plastic three drawer bin? Idiots.

/end rant.