The holiday season is certainly my favorite time of the year. I immerse myself in stereotypical seasonal activities, like gleefully walking through the falling snow, ice-skating, and sipping hot chocolate. I also enjoy watching favorite holiday movies. Regardless of what you celebrate, these movies brighten our moods and warm us up on the coldest of winter days. In the Boston climate, that’s rather important!
It’s best to not overthink the movies, and go along with them, in a brief suspension of disbelief. However, after you’re joyful and cheerful, it could also be fun to analyze holiday films, perhaps through a legal lens. Bizarre and comical plot twists and jokes could result in us thinking, can these characters file a lawsuit?
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
Clark Griswold sets out to create the perfect family Christmas with many relatives under his roof. However, not everything goes according to plan, as his ideal thoughts of Christmas clash with reality, and family tensions rise.
As in many comedies, this movie is full of personal injury disasters, mostly caused by Clark. For example, on his way to pick out a Christmas tree, Clark crashes his car into a snow bank, which could have resulted in an abrasion from his shoulder to his abdomen, or fractures of the ribs. He also covers his house with 25,000 lights, and falls while doing that. Although the fall is quite slow as Clark slides from the roof, to the gutters, then falls into the bushes, he could have easily suffered spine or head injuries. Clark also sleds at speeds that are not realistic, but considering he smashes through a cabin, snowdrifts, and a toy collection bin, he should have had neck trauma and a broken arm.
While these are just a fraction of Clark’s injuries, does he have any viable cases? Since a personal injury case is based off liability and damages, and Clark was responsible for his injuries, it’s hard to imagine that these would result in any cases. On the other hand, Clark’s neighbors could have probably sued him for the numerous damages to their house. Amongst other accidents, Clark breaks their window twice, with a Christmas tree and with a flying icicle.
Home Alone (1990)
As a family leaves for Christmas vacation to Paris, the parents accidentally leave behind their 8 year old child, Kevin. Two burglars, Harry and Marv, decide to target the family’s home, but Kevin continually attacks them with different booby traps throughout the movie.
Multiple lawsuits could be filed in this movie; primarily, the burglars could sue Kevin for their numerous personal injuries. Just to name a few – they fall down frozen stairs, their faces are hit with a paint can, and their hair catches on fire. An iron falls on their face, they step on broken ornaments, and their hand burns on a brass knob. Harry and Marv should be in significant pain, with broken noses and ribs, sprained necks, and black eyes, to say the least.
Although Kevin’s defense might be that he was trying to protect himself and his home from the thieves, the bandits could argue that Kevin’s attacks were disproportionate. Therefore, they could easily sue for head injuries and burns. In terms of the burns, the award would depend on their severity, but just think about the Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants case, also known as the McDonald’s hot coffee lawsuit of 1992. Plus, if a medical professional could prove that Harry and Marv have post-traumatic stress disorder, that could lead to an additional reward.
Elf (2003)
On the North Pole, Buddy the Elf discovers that he is actually a human that has been raised by elves. Therefore, he sets on a conquest to find his birth father in New York, and absorbs himself in the New York lifestyle.
You might be surprised that there can be several cases filed against the North Pole. First, the holidays are a busy time for the North Pole staff. As Christmas approaches, the elves have to not only work longer hours, but also make up for the toys that Buddy doesn’t have time to make. Due to Buddy’s inabilities, the other elves pick on him and therefore create a hostile work environment for him. He is also forced to test jack-in-the-boxes, even though he fears clowns. If the elves are overworked and underpaid, and if Buddy’s work environment traumatizes him, he and the other elves could potentially sue the North Pole for workers’ compensation!
Second, since Buddy is scared of clowns, he doesn’t do a very good job testing the jack-in-the-boxes. As a result, some go untested, which means that malfunctioning toys could end up in children’s hands. If a defective jack-in-the-box does harm a child, this could lead to product liability suits against the workshop.
All jokes aside, we hope you have a fabulous Thanksgiving this week and a very happy holiday season! Remember to stay safe so you don’t find yourself in the middle of any of the lawsuits mentioned above (unless you’re playing the role of the attorney, of course). And if Buddy the Elf or Harry and Marv don’t come to you with their cases, contact us to learn how eGenerationMarketing can increase your Social Security disability, personal injury, workers' compensation, or employment law caseload!
Sources: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/home-alone/kevin-mccallister-injuries-real-life-facts/ http://www.kkdpc.com/clark-griswold-is-a-personal-injury-nightmare/ http://underscoopfire.com/dreadful-injures-clark-griswold-suffered-in-christmas-vacation/ http://www.lockton.com/whitepapers/Holiday_Parody_Elf_Dec_16.pdf