Jerusalem – An Israeli man who bought a bottle of Diet Coke in a Bnei Dror store sued the Coca Cola company for 9,000 NIS after the bottle shattered while he was holding it, injuring his right hand.
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According to the unnamed man, he placed the soda in the refrigerator when upon his arrival at home. Later in the day he removed the soda from the refrigerator and placed it on the marble counter in his kitchen. When he went to open the bottle, it shattered in his hands, with some of the fragments damaging to his right hand.
Yediot Ahronot is reporting that the man claims he contacted the Coca Cola company who sent representative to examine the situation the next day, collecting the remnants of the defective bottle. They referred the claim to their insurance company who refused to pay the claim, contending that the bottle was not stored under optimal conditions and it was a lack of caution on part of the claimant that caused the bottle to shatter.
The case was taken to small claims court in Netanya where the man sought damages of 5,500 NIS for ten days worth of lost wages caused by the accident and 3,500 NIS for pain and suffering. Judge Harvey Groves ruled that while Coca Cola was responsible for any injuries caused by the defective bottle, as the plaintiff did not seek medical treatment at the time of the accident, other than to have his mother bandage his hand, this was clear proof that no actual monetary loss was sustained due to the injury.
“All signs indicate that the injury was clearly of a superficial nature, which entitles the plaintiff to compensation only for pain and suffering,” wrote Judge Groves in his ruling, ordering the Coca Cola company to pay damages of 700 NIS for pain and suffering and court costs of 300 NIS.
In the US he would have gotten $50K out of court minimum. Good that EY has not fallen victim to this mishegoss.
In the early 1970s – 1972, to be precise – when 1.5 liter glass bottles of Coke went on sale in Israel there was a tragic case of such a bottle exploding. A shard of glass severed a woman’s artery R”L and she rapidly bled to death.
The immediate result was that all such bottles were covered or coated in plastic film to contain any fragments of glass if C”V another bottle were to explode or to be broken. Of course, now large glass bottles of soda have been phased out and we have plastic containers instead.
Following on from that, it strikes me as odd that Coca Cola is still marketed in (small) glass bottles – especially when we have 330 mL cans or 500 mL plastic bottles.
good thing in israel the glass coke zero’s. seriously thinking of moving here for it.
no< its really gooooood