Bribery

Yesterday I posted about the guy whose cell phone caught on fire, igniting his clothing and the hotel room in which he was sleeping. The fire investigator on the scene made clear it was the malfunctioning cell phone (a Nokia, as it turns out) which was the source of the fire.

Witness what a little corporate bribery can accomplish. Suddenly, the investigator's story changes to "he could have been smoking a cigarette, the cigarette fell into his pocket, and it started on fire."

Really? While he was lying in bed, passed out drunk? And where is the residual of the cigarette, which you apparently failed to find?

I'm no fan of tort lawyers, especially the personal injury variety. With very rare exception, they are slimy-beaked legal vultures of the worst stripe. But the liability--or lack thereof--devolving upon the phone manufacturer is an issue which should be settled in court. It should not be stricken from consideration based upon the dubious crawfishing of a fire investigator, especially one who also happens to be the department's public relations shill.