Armless Woman Sues McDonalds

[ConspiracyBuff]

Chicago Woman Born With Tiny Arms Denied McDonald's Service for Using Feet:


A woman has filed a lawsuit against a McDonald's (javascript:siteSearch('McDonald's');) franchise, claiming that employees in two suburban Chicago restaurants refused to serve her because a birth defect forces her to use her feet as hands.
Dawn Larson was born with Holt-Oram Syndrome (javascript:siteSearch('Holt-Oram Syndrome');), which left her with diminutive hands just six inches from her shoulder, according to a report Monday in the Chicago (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,287716,00.html#) Sun-Times.

I drank my baby bottle with my feet," she told the paper. "Nobody ever taught me how to do it, I just did it. I can ride a regular 10-speed bike. I can swim. It has not been a problem in my life at all. It didn't stop me from having four boys. I've never dropped one of them."....
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,287716,00.html

[oldcoastie]

Seems like McDonald's in in deep doo-doo.

[BEST45CAL]

McDonald's...figures. These are the same people who will spit on a police officer's chicken sandwich.

[Wolfcounsel]

Why did they do that, really? Was her husband not wearing a tie or what?

Stupid retard dumbasses! I hope they get fried with that lawsuit!

[Beowulf]

For once a lawsuit that is legitimate!

[Rhino]

Denied service for using her feet, woman says
DRIVE-THRU DEBACLE | Says McDonald's workers balked at tiny hands, short arms

July 2, 2007
BY ABDON M. PALLASCH Legal Affairs Reporter/apallasch@suntimes.com
In a lifetime of using her feet the way most people use their hands, Dawn Larson never felt as discriminated against as she did at McDonald's, she said.

Born with Holt-Oram Syndrome, Larson has diminutive hands about six inches from her shoulder.

That has never stopped her from leading a productive life....

...According to a lawsuit Larson filed against the restaurant's owner last week in Winnebago County, when Larson pulled up to the second window to get her food, an employee said "with a tone of disgust and repulsion," "What's the matter with you? . . . You ain't got no arms. ... Let me see your arms," and drew back the bags of food from Larson's outstretched foot. After making more allegedly rude statements, the employee closed the window and went to consult a manager, the suit states.

The manager appeared at the window and likewise stared in disgust at Larson while her children watched from their seats in the car...http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/451958,CST-NWS-mcd02.article

[ThomasMore]

Think there's another thread on this.

My guess is some young McD employees couldn't get past the "eww" factor, and freaked out. Nonetheless, they are in a customer service business. No excuse. The woman's got a valid complaint.

[Rhino]

Think there's another thread on this.My bad. Threads merged.

[DesertFox]

I'm not so sure she has a valid complaint. I certainly sympathize with her, and laud her guts in making as normal a life as she can.

Nevertheless, it's not at all normal to see someone eating with her feet, and I can well imagine other customers getting queasy. It's courtesy on the part of others not to stare, but a reciprocal courtesy on her part would be not to expect people to accept her eating with her feet in public.

I'd have served the gal, but wouldn't have felt comfortable.

[Antigone]

I'm not so sure she has a valid complaint. I certainly sympathize with her, and laud her guts in making as normal a life as she can.

Nevertheless, it's not at all normal to see someone eating with her feet, and I can well imagine other customers getting queasy. It's courtesy on the part of others not to stare, but a reciprocal courtesy on her part would be not to expect people to accept her eating with her feet in public.

I'd have served the gal, but wouldn't have felt comfortable.

The problem DF is that she wasn't eating in public, she was picking up her food from the drive thru.

[buckeyepete]

She was at the drive through window. She wasn't "eating in public" with her feet.

When my wife and I are out in the public, we have to decide if I take her into the ladies room or the men's room to take care of her. Usually, it's the ladies room. You should see the looks I get from both men and women. I'm still waiting to get arrested.

But, at most places, I ask a lady to stand by the door and advise others that I'm in there with my wife. No problem so far, but the looks are unnerving.

[Gonzo67]

Very true, she wasn't trying to eat in the restaurant, she was taking it home to eat. She has a valid complaint. Screw McDonalds, their food tastes like shit anyway and their fries suck.

What I wanna see is, how the hell was she driving? I mean, I accept that she could, and if she could demonstrate that she could do so safely, I see no reason to deny her the privilege of driving... but HOW?

She must be one flexible girl to be able to sit in the front seat behind the wheel, get her feet ON the steering wheel and still not have her head under the dashboard.

Call me insensitive if you wish, but that's some freaky shit I would like to see!

Try it once. Sit behind the wheel of your car and try to touch the steering wheel with your feet. For that matter, if your keeping your feet at 10 and 2, what are you pushing the gas pedal and break with? A talented male with his third appendage could probably figure something out... but what was she using?

[Wolfcounsel]

"I'd have served the gal, but wouldn't have felt comfortable." --DesertFox

I would have understood that she needs to use her feet to eat, and I would not have batted an eye at all. If my boss had something to say about it, I would have told him where to stuff his fries and quit.

[buckeyepete]

Gonzo now knows how the lady drives her car.

I threw him to the floor, streached his left leg above his head, his right leg behind his back, and now he realizes how she can operate the steeringwheel and the gas/brakes at the same time.

As soon as he gets out of traction, I'll teach him how a one legged man can kick ass.

[Rhino]

The problem DF is that she wasn't eating in public, she was picking up her food from the drive thru.Yeah, and everybody knows that the snot nosed kid at the drive thru window has clean hands.

[Rhino]

What I wanna see is, how the hell was she driving? I mean, I accept that she could, and if she could demonstrate that she could do so safely, I see no reason to deny her the privilege of driving... but HOW?I was wondering the same thing.

[Wolfcounsel]

"Try it once. Sit behind the wheel of your car and try to touch the steering wheel with your feet. For that matter, if your keeping your feet at 10 and 2, what are you pushing the gas pedal and break with? A talented male with his third appendage could probably figure something out... but what was she using?" --Gonzo67

I saw a video one time, I forgot where, but it was of a man with no arms, not even little ones, and he drove a car with the foot pedals modified to reach the steering wheel level. He drove the car better than any maniac I've seen.<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

[DesertFox]

If she was driving thru, I don't see that McDonald's has any reason to object.

[DoctorDoom]

What I wanna see is, how the hell was she driving? I mean, I accept that she could, and if she could demonstrate that she could do so safely, I see no reason to deny her the privilege of driving... but HOW?I was wondering the same thing.You're thinking in terms of the physically able. However, outfitting cars with non-standard controls is a fairly common modification.

Vehicle Modifications (http://www.infinitec.org/live/driving/carmods.htm)

One is a floor-mounted steering "wheel" for foot operation.

With a foot-operated steering system, the steering “wheel” is really a disk that is mounted on the floor next to the foot pedals and attached to the steering column. For ease of use, the vehicle’s power steering system is modified for operation with reduced effort. Generally, a shoe is attached to the steering disk with a pivoting attachment so that the driver can slip his foot into the shoe and steer with it. The accelerator and brake pedals can then be controlled using the other foot.

In most cases, the vehicle’s original steering wheel remains intact and functional and can therefore be used by alternate drivers to operate the vehicle as they normally would.Foot-operated controls (http://www.enjoythedrive.com/content/?id=30879)

Here's a typical one.

http://www.steeringdevelopments.co.uk/DrivingControls/FootSteeringPics/Picture11.jpg

This shows a typical ‘left foot’ steering system where by the “foot plate” location device mirrors the sole of the shoe to provide a positive location.

The steering works by pivoting the foot location device by the heel by ± 6 degrees.

The right foot is used to operate the brake and gas pedals in the normal way.Foot Steering systems (http://www.steeringdevelopments.co.uk/DrivingControls/FootSteering.htm)

Questions?

[Rhino]

Questions?Does it come in chartreuse? :evilgrin:

[Sarah]

I hope she wins.

[Riverboat]

On the bright side, she couldn't spill any hot coffee on herself.

[DeclinetoState]

"60 Minutes" once had a story about an armless woman, Bonnie Consolo (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072847/), who lived a fairly normal life. She drove a car without any special controls. They did a follow-up story on her a few years later. It turned out then she was looking for a job, as she had recently become unemployed. One of the "60 Minutes" viewers gave her one.

The viewer was President Reagan.

[DoctorDoom]

Does it come in chartreuse? As an extra-cost option. :biggrin:

[DoctorDoom]

She drove a car without any special controls. I sincerely doubt that it would be allowed now.