He's not asking for that though. What he basically wants is a public apology and for McDonald's to FIX his glasses. This is laughable.
Notice how all aspects of this story point to how awesome his glasses are: "they help with a medical condition", "having them fixed is more important than money", "they saved photos of a crime, even after they were broken"...
> have the company pay for any damages to my property.
You wrote:
> I agree
You also wrote:
> he basically wants [...] McDonald's to FIX his glasses. This is laughable.
You have contradicted yourself, unless you can explain how "paying for damages" to the glasses does not entail "fixing the glasses".
1) pay for damages: provide monetary compensation for materials, labor, etc to have the experimental device replaced or restored to working order
2) fix his glasses: McDonalds takes the glasses, performs all operations in house at a corporate location, and return the device in working order.
The rest of me rejects the pedant, saying the effects of both are the same, therefore they are effectively the same statement, which I am pretty sure is reasonable and the intended meaning of those "discrepancies". :)
For the record, I totally love his research. When Google Glass debuted I said aloud "Wow! It's Steve Mann's EyeTap!".
He said he already tried getting law enforcement involved.
Maybe he plans to use lawyers as a last ditch effort, if his internet plea doesn't work? I would think it's a bit extreme to involve them first before trying to just settle things with McDonalds directly.
The infamous hot coffee MacDonalds case involved a woman who had first asked MacDonalds (or that franchise, not sure) to pay her medical bills (around 20 grand iirc for extensive second and third degree burns) and they refused. It was only after that when she sued, got a list of other complaints about the temperature and won a large judgement (reduced on appeal).
He says:
I'm not seeking to be awarded money. I just want my Glass fixed, and it would also be nice if McDonald's would see fit to support vision research.
Which means in any sane interpretation to be that he wants McDonalds to pay for whatever it costs to repair or replace his property, but he is not seeking punitive damages for the assault, he just wants his glasses fixed. And he thinks it would be nice if McDonalds made a gesture of donating something to vision research, to show they are actually sorry.