February 23, 2009
Yet Another Reason to Boycott McDonald’s
If you've been a reader here for a while, then you know that I have a love/hate (mostly the latter) relationship with McDonald's. McDonald's used to be my Thursday savior. I used to pick up food for dinner on Thursday nights because there simply wasn't enough time to make dinner and get to karate on time. In recent months, I convinced Big I that eating McDonald's food before going to karate really made no sense at all. Karate is about being healthy and strong. McDonald's, despite their best marketing efforts, is not.
Tonight, I heard about this story. If you can't see this video, you can go here to view it. You can also go here to read more about it.
For those too lazy to click, a 21-year old McDonald's employee named Nigel Haskell was shot several times while on the job at McDonald's. McDonald's is denying his workers compensation because of the circumstances surrounding his being shot. Was he dealing drugs on the job? Joining a gang perhaps? No. While working his shift, a male customer got up and began an argument with a woman. He hit the woman in the face and Nigel, being a good samaritan, ran up to the jerk, a convicted felon and 1st class something-that-rhymes-with-glass, tackled him and dragged him out of the restaurant. He also stood at the door preventing the man from coming back inside. The man went to his car, returned with a gun and shot Nigel several times.
Nigel has had to undergo three abdominal surgeries. His medical bills top $300,000 and McDonald's says they won't pay because they say they explicitly tell their employees NOT to be hero's.
Take away the fact that they never give me my requested sauces. Include the fact that they frequently give me sprite instead of my ordered diet coke, and that I can't get a McTasty without cheese to save my life? I am so done with McDonald's.
What kind of world are we living in when we discourage good samaritan acts? What was he supposed to do? Stand there and let another man beat down a woman in the restaurant? Wait for the police while the guy kills her as others try to eat their french fries in peace. Or maybe we should all just turn our heads, allow a man to hit a woman, and maybe even drag her out the door to the car where a gun is waiting, so things can go from bad to worse.
We already live in a society where people are afraid to step up and help other people. Now this. McDonald's, you should be completely ashamed of yourselves and your stupid policies. I can guarantee you that the only nuggets my kids will be eating from now on will be coming from my freezer.
Won't you join me in boycotting the anti-good-samaritan restaurant? I would attempt to raise money for Nigel's medical bills here, but I am convinced that no judge will allow McDonald's to shirk their duties to their employee. Nigel Haskell is a hero who deserves to have his medical bills paid in full.
Was Nigel hurt while working at McDonald's, on their property?
Yes.
Case closed.
McStick your not-helping-people "policy" where the sun doesn't McShine McDonald's.
If you're going to read this, then you might as well go here and read this and then join in on the conversation.
Comments
Copyright
© Copyright 2006-2019 blackbeltmama dot com ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Follow Me
Blog Designed By
My Creations
Things You Could Care Less About
Well, you don’t have to worry about getting me to boycott McDonald’s as I haven’t been to one in many years. As for the incident with Nigel, he handled the situation as he felt was appropriate at that moment. However looking back on it, he probably should have just tried to stop any further violence and tell one of the other workers to call the police, instead of attacking the male (even though I’m sure alot of us would’ve liked to slap some sense into that guy as well). This incident just goes to show that there is always a risk with jumping blindly into a bad situation in an attempt to help others. Even with the risks, should I ever come across someone needing help, I hope that I will be brave enough to step in and help.
Knowing you as I do, I know you would be brave enough.
BBM
While I do believe that McDonald’s should definitely help with this man’s medical expenses, I think that they are right in denying the workman’s comp claim. Yes, he was hurt at work. But it’s not really something that should be paid through insurance companies. I don’t know – I’m not really articulating myself well here. I think he did a very brave and heroic thing and he should be rewarded for it, but I don’t think it should come from a workman’s comp policy.
I guess it’s not really workers’ comp, but they should pay for his bills, and take care of his family because of his lost wages. BUT they’re afraid to, because some somehow similar yet totally different occurrence will come along, and lawyers will get involved, and they will be sued for not paying someone else’s medical bills or approving their workers’ comp, even though this other (hypothetical) person was acting inappropriately, etc. In other words, they’re playing CYA, which is what all companies do.
But still, shame on them, and shame on our litigious society for causing it to get to this point.
Yeah, it shouldn’t fall under worker’s comp. If one of my employees decides to undertake a risky activity that is specifically prohibited and beyond the scope of their employment, they aren’t getting anything.
However, if it was a customer who got shot, they would sue and get money from the property insurance, so that’s what the employee should do.
It all about lawsuit abuse.
If they didn’t discourage heroism, then the guy could conceivably file suit in search of compensation for life.
I applaud what he did; I may have even reacted the same way. And while I believe McDonald’s could have handled this differently – paying the man quietly with stipulation he doesn’t speak about it – they aren’t the bad guys here.
BTW: I’ve never heard of a McTasty… what is it?
Yeah, but by paying workers comp, legally they are then exempt from any type of lawsuit he might come back with. I don’t get why they just don’t pay it. Really, their best bet and way to protect themselves as a company is to pay it as workers comp. Also, I should have mentioned in the article that the owner of the McDonald’s where it happened WANTS McDonald’s to pay him. He believes he’s a hero and is unhappy with how its being handled too.
A McTasty is a burger that comes with lettuce, onion, tomato, etc. Not just your mustard, ketchup, pickle variety.
BBM
Great blog post…..Its really an informative post….Great work keep it up!
I totally agree that McD’s should pay up and help this employee. However I have to agree with a few of the commenters that perhaps it does not fall under worker’s comp. I think the employee should sue McDonalds for not giving employees the means to suitably protect themselves from workplace violence (whether against them initially or against them due to situations like the above). Maybe if he could have locked the door(s) and the restaurant windows were bullet proof it might have helped. This is the age we live in!
K.
McDonald’s stance is reprehensible.
Okay. Here’s the thing. Did the guy call the cops? I can’t watch the video, so I’m asking.. If he didn’t, the kid should have called the police. It’s THEIR job and one for which they are well trained.
If things go completely nuts, if someone’s life is in danger, if the guy HAS a gun, by all means do what you have to do. But by his actions, he obviously put his own life in danger and certainly put every other person in that restuarant’s life in danger as well. Through his actions he escalated the situation and I think they are all lucky that more people weren’t shot.
Grabbing a person who is known to be violent, tackling him, dragging him bodily from the store and standing in the doorway like Rambo is ridiculously stupid. While I can empathize with him and his family, he’s not a victim in this, nor is he a hero. He’s just very, very lucky to be alive.
Just to add, I do think it would be a nice gesture for McD’s to pay for at least a portion of the guy’s medical expenses. That said, I would do it as a collection from employees, perhaps with a company match. The company has a policy for the employees’ safety and for the safety of the customers. His actions, which are in violation of the McDs policy (and also for every other retail/service business I’ve ever seen or heard about), are not McD’s fault.
So an employee is supposed to allow a man to beat a woman up and everyone is supposed to stand around and watch until the police get there? The kid didn’t hit the man, he didn’t punch him in the face or kick him. He was much smaller than the guy so he ran at him and dragged him out of the restaurant. I would hope that while he was doing this, another employee was calling the police which seems to be the case. If I was that woman, or you were the man, being beat up by someone in a public place, I would hope that someone would step in as he did.
I don’t know how anyone can say he’s not a hero.
BBM
do you guys ever talk about escalation and deescalation at your self defense classes?
Yeah, but we’re not talking about a martial artist gone wrong here. We’re talking about a guy who saw a woman get hit in the face and he made a decision to stop it and protect her. I’m doubting he was thinking rationally, and how can any of us critique his actions considering that he had the guts to step in and get the guy away from her? Once again, he didn’t pummel the guy. He removed him from the restaurant and stood guard to keep him from coming back in while the police were called.
This thing and some of the comments here make me think about that rape case in the NYC apartment building where a woman was raped out in front of everyone, yet no one got involved. If a couple people would have come out to help her, they probably would have scared off the attacker. Instead they all sat like cowards while the woman was raped and killed.
What if he hadn’t stepped in? What if the guy had been able to continue to beat on her? The type of man that hits a woman in a public place (who carries a gun in his car) isn’t likely to stop there.
How people can critique this guy and the fact that he stepped in absolutely blows my mind. Chivalry must truly be dying.
BBM
BBM, listen. We disagree on this, but please don’t get personal. You’re implying a lot of things about me that I find offensive. Did you seriously imply that I would be an accessory to a rape by failing to get involved? Really?
No, I’m saying that there’s a societal problem when people are unwilling to get involved to help another person. Now you’re doing exactly what you accuse me of doing to you. I didn’t say, “Steve, you wouldn’t do anything if a woman were being attacked” now did I?
BBM
No, you didn’t. You implied it when you mentioned “some comments”. Since I’m the only one here who thinks this guy is an idiot, I can only presume you had me in mind. If I was mistaken, no harm done.
Okay. Let me back up. I think it’s safe to say that most of us would intervene in some way. HOW we would intervene is the first question. The second is, whether our particular course of action would be likely to make the situation worse or better. If you have no particular training, chances are you would unnecessarily escalate the encounter. Cops are trained, among other things, in how to defuse a situation. To calm people down and to avoid violence.
There is a reason many corporations have a policy against confrontation like this. Well, several reasons, actually including liability. One is that their employees are usually incompetent to intervene intelligently. I think it’s pretty clear (regardless of his laudable intentions) that this guy made the situation worse by intervening, not better. He also, by his actions, had the potential of making this much worse had the scumbag decided to go completely psycho and shoot up the entire place and everyone in it.
Ultimately, BBM, I see your point. I understand where you’re coming from. I disagree. That’s all. I think that this guy took a bad situation and made it much worse. And now he’s trying to suggest that his employer should foot the bill for it.
FYI:
http://www.stevebjj.com/2009/02/non-bjj-mcdonalds-vs-nigel-haskett.html
I refer to your post and to the original article and video.
Wow. That’s all I can say. As a vegetarian, I don’t have any reason to go to McD’s, but I’ve never felt antipathy for McD’s until now.
I haven’t eaten there in years, but this will definitely kill any drive-thrus for soda going forward. We need to encourage and teach people to get involved, not the other way around.