Ralph Lauren is being sued by over twenty-two plaintiffs who claim they suffered injuries as a result of their clothing manufacturer’s negligence. Ouch. Polo Ralph Lauren has been making similar complaints, with varying degrees of blame, to OSHA for years now, but have always settled disputes with little litigation. In fact, many of these suits are worded so broadly that they do not even accurately describe the alleged injuries suffered by the plaintiffs.
Ralph Lauren Lawsuit
As is the case in many large companies, Ralph Lauren has its own internal investigators who look into serious allegations involving its products. When these findings are released, the company does not hesitate to use the law to silence opposition and force out those whose testimonies do not match up to its own internal view of what happened. This is not entirely unlike Enron, where huge fines were doled out to Enron executives for ignoring warnings about their financial mismanagement. In both cases, the public was largely kept in the dark about the company’s inner workings, which only came about through the exposure of internal emails that had been deleted or simply erased.
The plaintiffs in the Ralph Lauren case are suing not only their manufacturer but also their landlord and the property management corporation that leased the lot where the company operates its business.
The complaint seeks compensation for physical and mental pain and suffering, loss of work wages, future wages lost from the loss of employment, future earning loss/ disability pay and punitive damages (ostensibly for negligent hiring and firing). A common strategy used by these litigants is to ask a judge or jury to award them triple damages for pain and suffering and punitive damages, because they feel entitled to these because the lawyers are “actively” pursuing them, even though they are defendants in the lawsuit. This strategy may be effective if a judge/jury feels sympathy for their argument; however, courts generally refuse to allow triple damages in personal injury cases because they believe the plaintiffs are simply attempting to “paralegale” their negligence claims. (Paralegale is the practice of combining three or more similar acts into one claim.)
There are some good lawyers out there who handle such lawsuits on a contingency basis, meaning that they only receive a percentage of any settlement.
However, it is still a very profitable business for them, so you will find many of them on retainer when a case comes to trial. Some of these lawyers will do anything in their power to defeat your case and in the end gain nothing more than the fees of the attorney.
Before going to court, it is important to prepare a strong defense.
This begins with documenting all of the facts of your case thoroughly. Also, you must be prepared to explain how the supposed negligence of the company actually occurred. If you can prove that your story is true, this will help your case, but if you can’t prove your story, you should let the case go to trial.
You must follow this advice if you want to get the maximum amount of money possible from your case.
Remember, Ralph Lauren pays a lot of money to settle a case and they always want their money back. They don’t care how many times you lose. They only care about getting what they are owed. These lawyers are experienced in dealing with cases like yours and will do everything in their power to ensure that you receive the maximum amount of money from your case.
