Comment by moocow01 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by moocow01 | Hacker News Reader

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To some degree... my Uncle sued Fedex, his employer at the time, for unsafe working conditions about 10 years ago after being injured on the job. I'd actually call his lawsuit frivolous but he received a very large sum of money from it. About 5 years ago I used an attorney to communicate with my previous employer about a contract they had broken by not paying the agreed severance compensation.

Im not sure why in this situation you would not consult with an attorney to explore your legal options? Consulting with an attorney and at least initially engaging in a legal discourse with your previous employer is really not that expensive and many times if you have a viable case the legal costs are paid only by a successful settlement. Im not sure what she has to lose here besides seeing if she can get a lawyer to take it on contingency and time documenting the damages.

My honest guess is that IF she has documentation, having an attorney engage Uber would just result in some form of settlement to not have it go into court.

I'd say 'my uncle (not me) in a personal injury lawsuit' and 'I used a lawyer in a contract dispute that ended right there' is a very different setting from 'this is my job that i'd like to keep'.

I don't mean this is merely or even at all a matter of practical difficulty. Few people go home and toss in bed thinking about how they can sue their employer. I find 'she should have just sued' is pretty glib and why I ask "have you done that"? I don't think it's an easy thing and simply throwing it at someone who's taken the time to publicly describe their experience is rather missing the point.

Actually I lied Im a lawyer and have represented many class action lawsuits over my 50 years of experience and my assumption is that you are as well. Happy now?... Look, its very accessible to contact a lawyer and be professionally consulted about your legal options especially for someone who is compensated at the level of an engineer. Personally if I experienced the things exclaimed here Id be tossing in bed thinking about how to sue my employer. I agree that its personally challenging to pursue legal action... but I think supporting and encouraging people who may deserve legal retribution is responsible.

Very well.

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