10 Personal Injury Lawsuits You Won’t Believe Were Real

Personal injury law often deals with serious and tragic circumstances, but occasionally, it can be simply bizarre. 

At Morgan & Morgan, our law firm has over 35 years of experience in personal injury claims, and we’ve seen a few strange cases along the way.

Here are 10 real-life personal injury lawsuits that range from eyebrow-raising to downright unbelievable.

The following cases discussed are shared for educational and illustrative purposes only. They are intended to highlight important legal principles and outcomes. These may not be cases we were directly involved in.

1. A Sharp Sandwich

A New Yorker got an unpleasant surprise when he bit into his Subway sandwich—a knife baked into the bread. While he wasn’t physically injured, the man claimed he felt sick after he ate a portion of the sandwich, alleging his illness was due to knife contamination. He was awarded $20,000 for his personal injury claim.

2. A Haunted House That Was Too Scary

A woman sued a haunted house attraction, claiming it was excessively frightening and caused her emotional distress. The case was ultimately dismissed, it highlighted the legal complexities surrounding entertainment experiences and personal injury claims.

3. A Weatherman Rains on a Woman’s Parade

In Israel, a woman sued a television station after an inaccurate weather forecast led her to dress lightly during an unforeseen rainstorm, resulting in illness. She claimed the incorrect forecast caused her to catch the flu, miss work, and run up a hefty medication bill. The court awarded her $1,000 in damages.

4. Thumbs Down in a Bathroom Accident

In 1999, the world followed the lawsuit between Cedrick Makara, Newmark Realty, and 40 Worth Associates.

While at work, Makara used the public restroom only to find that the door to exit had no doorknob. He became desperate to get out and placed his thumb over the hole in the latching mechanism, when someone suddenly opened the door from the outside, which twisted his thumb to the point that the balance of its tendons was lost.

Makara sued the company and was awarded $3 million. His wife collected $750,000 out of goodwill for the mental and physical torture she had been through.

5. Michael Jordan Lookalike Reclaims Identity

An Oregon man filed a lawsuit against Michael Jordan and Nike founder Phil Knight, claiming emotional distress from being constantly mistaken for the basketball star. He sought $832 million in damages. The case was dismissed.

6. Exploding Toilet Sends Woman Flying

A Philadelphia woman filed a lawsuit against the property owners of her apartment building after improper water pressure caused her toilet to explode, sending her flying from the stall. 

The lawsuit, filed in 2007 and alleging that an exploding toilet caused her severe injuries, remains unresolved in the public domain. Despite media coverage at the time, there is no publicly available information confirming whether the case was settled or proceeded to trial.

7. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter

One dissatisfied customer of Dunkin Donuts in Massachusetts Discovered that his bagels were slathered not with real butter but rather with margarine or another butter substitute. He was billed $.25 for the “butter,” so he organized a class action lawsuit.

He sued 23 Dunkin Donuts locations, seeking damages for misled consumers. Those who received the butter substitute were entitled, he argued, to three free bagels in the future, and Dunkin’ Donuts was to use real butter or advertise the use of a substitute. The man filing the lawsuit would be paid $500 as the class representative.

8. Failed Subway Suicide, Now a Liable Injury Claim

A woman in NYC attempted to commit suicide by lying on subway tracks. The arriving train seriously injured her but did not kill her. She sued the city for her injuries. The court in New York awarded her $14.1 million in damages.

9. A Whale of a Tale

In 1999, Daniel Dukes hid in the SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, after hours, to fulfill a life-long dream of swimming with a real live orca.

While it isn’t clear exactly what happened next, the staff found Dukes’ dead body draped over the animal the next morning. He had sustained numerous injuries, and the funeral had to be held as a closed casket event.

Dukes’ parents, Michael, and Patricia Dukes filed suit, arguing that SeaWorld was at fault. They claimed that inadequate security allowed their son to sneak into the park and remain there after hours.

They added that there were no signs warning the public that the animal was dangerous. 

After their son was ridiculed by the media and SeaWorld countered their claim, the couple withdrew their lawsuit.

10. A Real Headbanger

During the 2009 Tony Award broadcast, Bret Michaels, the lead singer of rock band Poison, got hit in the head by a set piece. The injuries he suffered were serious: a broken nose and brain hemorrhage that appeared a few months after the incident. 

He sued CBS claiming that they did not properly instruct him how to leave the stage safely. The court ruled in his favor although nobody disclosed the settlement sum.

Morgan & Morgan Can Help – No Matter How Strange Your Injury Is

These cases are still real accidents that happened to real people. At Morgan & Morgan, we have fought For the People for over 35 years, and no matter how strange an accident may be, we stand by our clients and fight for compensation they need and deserve to move forward with their lives.

If you've experienced an injury due to someone else's negligence, don’t wait. Contact Morgan & Morgan today for a free case evaluation to learn more about your legal options.