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Comment by mikece | Hacker News Reader

The only thing that surprises me about this story is how small the verdict was. How did this not go for seven figures?

He was awarded money for loss of wages and emotional distress. I don't think he lost seven figures of wages, and how much emotional distress did he suffer? At least personally, it would hard for me to say he suffered millions of dollars worth of emotional distress (which is something millions of people experience every day for free).

Half a million seems like a lot for this ordeal. He shouldn't have been fired but I'm not sure that payout is proportional. You think it's too small but I think it's too big.

You think no other potential future employers will hear about him and this case? The actions of the previous employer impugn his reputation as a future employee. While not exactly legal, I'm sure companies would find a way to say they don't think he's a good fit for their company out of fear of the consequences of what could happen should he have a panic attack.

You aren’t wrong, but future wages are mostly hypothetical and indemnification is usually for incurred pain and suffering. For example, say he typically spends 5 years on average at every job he has ever had and he was on year 4 at this job. History says he was going to move on soon. Or maybe he is 63 and they compute retirement at 65.

Another aspect, I typically see injury lawsuits for things like cervical injuries with fusions settle for like $150k so in that regard, $450k seems like he made out pretty well. Fatalities depend on age, but even then we are only talking about a few million for a young person.

the vast majority of outcomes are small. it's just that the 7-9 figure cases get all the media attention. A 9-figure case s more click-worthy than $100k.

Wrongful dismissal is key point. With some distress. That really isn't worth millions just enough to replaces the lost wages and then some on top.

It's incredibly difficult to get people without anxiety to fully appreciate just how debilitating and "costly" it can be for a person and I suspect the damages awarded reflect the public/jury's lack of understanding and empathy.

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