The two women who drank dishwashing liquid last July are still in the news. They're just now receiving their awards (about $1,500 in damages each) after being served a dangerous chemical in place of mulled wine in an Old Man Rock Cafe (presumably the gentler kiwi version of the Hard Rock?) in New Zealand. But how, after being served and imbibing a genuinely harmful chemical in a restaurant, are these women collecting damages that cover only their medical bills and time out of work? Had this happened in the U.S., wouldn't they be living off this lawsuit for the rest of their lives?
New Zealand does things differently. The government handles all accidents through a Crown entity called the Accident Compensation program. To prevent time-wasting, big-ticket lawsuits, all accidents that take place within New Zealand's borders are insured under this program, and victims automatically recover any resulting bills or lost wages. The keyword here is "accidents" — not "negligence," which is what took McDonald's for a $2.86 million-dollar ride back in ’94. Negligence implies that the responsible party performed a criminal act by overlooking, and not preventing, the thing that turned out to be dangerous. But heating up a customer's hot coffee is certainly nowhere near as hazardous a mistake as filling a mulled wine container with sodium hydroxide, which is what the staff at Old Man Rock did last year.
Does that mean you should only move to New Zealand if you plan to be a liability, and make sure you're somewhere else if you happen to be wronged? Not necessarily. Accident Compensation covers just about everything, including road accidents, streamlining the resolution process by eliminating petty litigation, so that's good for everybody. But if you're a slip-and-fall lawyer or an insurance company, yeah, you're probably going to want to stay stateside where the money's good.
Whatever peace of mind the people of New Zealand are afforded by it, ACC has seen harsh criticism, and is subject to a few major pitfalls. The program is paid for by a flat tax to the residents and businesses of the nation, a levy which favors the clumsy. And, unfortunately, while visiting New Zealand, you are logically a lot more likely to be served lye by a careless waitstaff — the restaurant knows it can't be sued, and has essentially paid in advance for any negligence it may eventually commit. So if you plan to drop by, you can relax if you rear-end somebody in your rental car. But look out for greased sidewalks and nails sticking out of the furniture. It's nobody's fault.
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