Have it your way was once a popular refrain in a Burger King ad. But in this case a deputy sheriff named Edward
Bylsma in Vancouver, Washington, didn't get the burger he expected. Some miscreant behind the counter spit in it before handing it to him. Gross.
But the deputy sheriff didn't eat it. Instead, he opened the bun, discovered the spittle, sent it off for a DNA test, and identified the culprit. The spitting punk pleaded guilty to felony assault and was sentenced to 90 days in the slammer.
But here's where the story turns nasty. The deputy sheriff was so traumatized by the sight of the spittle that he suffered emotional distress. At least that's what he claimed in his lawsuit against Burger King and the franchisee under the state's product liability law. The lower court threw it out because he suffered no physical injury. But on appeal the state supreme court ruled in January, 2013, that emotional distress without physical injury was sufficient to make a claim.
So unless it gets settled, the deputy sheriff will have his day in court. Via Reasonably Disgusting.
And that raises another question. What if Bylsma is such a good story teller that jurors are so traumatized by his testimony that they, too, suffer the same emotional distress he suffered? Could they collect, too?
They probably could in one of those Judicial Hellholes. Washington only got an dishonorable mention, but they're trying to move up.
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