Complaint Review: General Mills Cereals - Frosted Cheerios - The Cavanaugh Law Firm - Minneapolis Minnesota

First off, I'm Mike, not Jim. You're Jim. I'm not a lawyer nor do I have anything to do with General Mills or any other food company.

First I want to apologize because when I wrote my response, Marvin's update had not posted yet. Again, last night only Marvin's first report had appeared on the web site, and that is what I based my response on. The final order they appear in suggests that I had also considered the PTSD situation and dismissed it, which would have been truly "heartless" and "unpartriotic" on my part. But that is NOT what happened. So please, Jim, re-read ONLY Marvin's first post and consider my first response in that light, because that was ALL I had to work from.

Based on the initial report, it appeared to me that Marvin would be wasting his time in court because he had not presented a theory that would justify a $2500 claim, or really a claim for any money at all. Even though General Mills may be doing something that could hurt someone in the future, that does not give someone the right to demand that the company put $2500 in *their* pocket for pointing it out, unless they have been hurt themselves.

I know what PTSD is, and I know it's terrible. This certainly justifies Marvin's claim that the tainted Cheerios hurt him. It does introduce a level of complexity that wouldn't be there if the damage were "obvious," for example a tooth had broken and he could present the bill from a dentist. It would be best if he had his own lawyer who is familiar with these kinds of cases to help him fully develop the legal theories and present them to the court. Trying to go this kind of case alone in court can be quite difficult and traumatic. The corporate lawyers will do their best to tear him apart.

For Jim in Radford, VA:

I would like to know if you have looked down the business end of an AK? Do you know what an RPG sounds like going off? How about what HUMAN flesh smells like when it is burning? Have you tasted your own blood trickle down the back of your own throat? Do you even know what PTSD is or what happens to you to get it?

Unless you can empathize with Marvin you have no right to comment. In fact, I challenge your reasons for even commenting. You sound like you are a corporate attorney or a risk mitigator for a company. How close am I to the truth?

Let me ask you this, Jim. What if this piece of metal had been aspirated by a child instead of a veteran, perhaps your own child (if you have children) and the child died? Would you respond so callously?

How can you excuse a company for making the mistake and not holding them responsible. I will bet you are the first ones to become irrate and castigate the actions of the MPs who screwed up at Al Ghraib prison, right? $10 a box for Cheerios? Have you ever set foot outside the good ol' USA? The profits General Mills makes off the starving people around the world makes that sound like a drop in the bucket. How about corporate responsibility and responsiveness to the community they claim to be a part of?

Pogues like you make me sick and it sickens me to know that those like you make up corporate "Amerika," and have seats in Congress making decisions for the rest of us to take action on - just like the chicken$hit Congressmen during the Vietnam era.

Marvin is my Brother in arms and it was really for people like him that I fought, not ungrateful, unpatriotic, heartless people like you. (I want you to know that I am really having a hard time not resorting to vulgarity.) Shame on you, Jim, for being as heartless as General Mills. Why don't you want to see the evidence.

First, I know how much courage it took for Marvin to stand up for himself and face this demon.I for one am looking forward to seeing your evidence. This is a big step toward recovery. I hope he has a supportive group at a Vet Center. If not, Marvin, get to one and keep working, Brother!
Semper Fi!

I have spoken to my clinician and have been advised to be more open about my situation. I am also a Vietnam Vet with combat experience in country. Like so many others, that experience has taken it's toll on us. I have managed the problems well enough for about 30 years, I thought, but I have been in treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and have not been real comfortable with telling myself that there is something wrong with me. My clinician has advised me that I need to explain my injuries more clearly.

In the middle of trying to deal with the effects of the PTSD, I ended up with the piece of metal of in my mouth. I immediately had a flashback experience to Vietnam. I was made to eat glass and I could taste the powder in the air. In many ways, General Mills is forcing me even greater trauma by not just putting this to rest.

I have more to add to this report and will provide photos and evidence as time progresses. I really need the support of people as this sacrifice is for others, just as was pointed out that my losses in Vietnam were for others.

In order to win in any court, you have to show that you suffered some loss or damage because of what the Defendant did or didn't do. If all you have is your tooth "almost broke" or "some child could get hurt," that isn't going to cut it.

I'm sure General Mills is doing as much as practical to keep bits of metal out of their cereal. You should have been happy with some free product. Occasionaly, products ARE defective, but the company doesn't deserve to get sued every time. If they show up at all, lawyers or not, there's no way you're getting anything in court.

They're only "heartless" to the same extent that all business is heartless. Its just a fact of life that there will be rare instances where a piece of metal gets into the product. It would be prohibitively expensive to ensure that it NEVER happens. Would you pay $10.00 for a box of Cheerios that has been individually X-rayed to make sure there are no metal parts in it?

Of course not, you'd buy a competing brand and accept the small chance that it has a foreign object in the box. If someone does actually get hurt because of it, it is less expensive for the company to compensate them.

In order to win in any court, you have to show that you suffered some loss or damage because of what the Defendant did or didn't do. If all you have is your tooth "almost broke" or "some child could get hurt," that isn't going to cut it.

I'm sure General Mills is doing as much as practical to keep bits of metal out of their cereal. You should have been happy with some free product. Occasionaly, products ARE defective, but the company doesn't deserve to get sued every time. If they show up at all, lawyers or not, there's no way you're getting anything in court.

They're only "heartless" to the same extent that all business is heartless. Its just a fact of life that there will be rare instances where a piece of metal gets into the product. It would be prohibitively expensive to ensure that it NEVER happens. Would you pay $10.00 for a box of Cheerios that has been individually X-rayed to make sure there are no metal parts in it?

Of course not, you'd buy a competing brand and accept the small chance that it has a foreign object in the box. If someone does actually get hurt because of it, it is less expensive for the company to compensate them.

In order to win in any court, you have to show that you suffered some loss or damage because of what the Defendant did or didn't do. If all you have is your tooth "almost broke" or "some child could get hurt," that isn't going to cut it.

I'm sure General Mills is doing as much as practical to keep bits of metal out of their cereal. You should have been happy with some free product. Occasionaly, products ARE defective, but the company doesn't deserve to get sued every time. If they show up at all, lawyers or not, there's no way you're getting anything in court.

They're only "heartless" to the same extent that all business is heartless. Its just a fact of life that there will be rare instances where a piece of metal gets into the product. It would be prohibitively expensive to ensure that it NEVER happens. Would you pay $10.00 for a box of Cheerios that has been individually X-rayed to make sure there are no metal parts in it?

Of course not, you'd buy a competing brand and accept the small chance that it has a foreign object in the box. If someone does actually get hurt because of it, it is less expensive for the company to compensate them.

In order to win in any court, you have to show that you suffered some loss or damage because of what the Defendant did or didn't do. If all you have is your tooth "almost broke" or "some child could get hurt," that isn't going to cut it.

I'm sure General Mills is doing as much as practical to keep bits of metal out of their cereal. You should have been happy with some free product. Occasionaly, products ARE defective, but the company doesn't deserve to get sued every time. If they show up at all, lawyers or not, there's no way you're getting anything in court.

They're only "heartless" to the same extent that all business is heartless. Its just a fact of life that there will be rare instances where a piece of metal gets into the product. It would be prohibitively expensive to ensure that it NEVER happens. Would you pay $10.00 for a box of Cheerios that has been individually X-rayed to make sure there are no metal parts in it?

Of course not, you'd buy a competing brand and accept the small chance that it has a foreign object in the box. If someone does actually get hurt because of it, it is less expensive for the company to compensate them.