Lady may sue after falling in Fountain while texting at the Mall

[bsfins]

This pisses me off,as one of my pet peeves,stupid people,doing something stupid...and blame someone else....If she was watching where she was going,she wouldn't have fallen into the fountain....So now,the knee jerk reaction,lawmakers are  gonna to protect us from our selves,the'll make a law that malls have to put rails around fountains.So malls will just remove them,to avoid this happening at their malls....

Video and Story..
http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/fountain-lady-nobody-went-to-my-aid-23909987

the Youtube video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWtDpGM36J8

[Brian Fein]

Sue for what?  The magical moving fountain that jumped in front of her?

billions of people have walked past that fountain without falling in.  Pay attention.

[Dave Gray]

These stories make news, but are ultimately nothing.   Notice the words "may" and "sue", both of which are meaningless.  You can sue anybody for anything.  It doesn't mean that you'll win the case or that it won't get thrown out, but it's your legal right to try.

For her to get paid for this, the mall will have to have been negligent in some way.  Maybe there's more to the story, like that there isn't a reasonable barrier to a hazard in the walking area, for example.

[Jim Gray]

I would think the only issue may be that the security video was posted online.   I don't know if that's really a problem (publishing without her permission), but I think it would be a stretch.

I agree with Lil B on this.  This is a frivolous law suit.

[Frimp]

If a law stating that the loser pays all court costs for all parties in civil suits, these frivolous lawsuits would stop.

[bsfins]

Damn I'm late...She says in the interview she's suing because no one helped her,but in the Long version of the video where it shows her falling in from two different angles...One of the security guards asks in the video"When did this happen?" the male security guard replies..."About 4:30 today" The original person asks "Where did she go?" the male responds I don't know she just walked away"..When I get back I'll look for the longer Clip...Gotta run...

[Frimp]

If someone had helped her and she hit her funny bone while getting out, she would sue the person who helped her. I want this woman's email address. lol

[Lee]

In the longer clip, a janitor does walk over to her, presumably to ask if she was ok.  She won't get over her burden of proof there.

And in terms of releasing the video, you have no right to privacy in a public place... she won't win that either.

[Phishfan]

For her to get paid for this, the mall will have to have been negligent in some way. 

Or the lawyers for the mall determine it might be best just to settle which happens quite a bit.

[MaineDolFan]

We do reside in a nation where someone successfully sued because they ordered a hot coffee, received a hot coffee and then, somehow, didn't understand spilling said hot coffee in their lap might produce a burn on their skin.

I have a friend who was broadsided in a four way intersection by someone who ran a red light.  The person was given a citation for running a red light and their insurance company took liability for the accident.  The red light runner sued my friend for pain and suffering from the accident...and actually WON the first go round.  A second judge had to step in and throw it out. 

Nothing surprises me anymore.  This woman may have stumbled across a winning lottery ticket.  Isn't that what everyone is looking for, their personal winning lottery ticket?

For every instance that happens that someone else could be blamed for there are 10,000 slime ball lawyers ready to toss together a law suit for it. A massive overhaul of our civil litigation system is needed.

[fyo]

We do reside in a nation where someone successfully sued because they ordered a hot coffee, received a hot coffee and then, somehow, didn't understand spilling said hot coffee in their lap might produce a burn on their skin.

I'm assuming this is a reference to the "hot McDonalds coffee" lawsuit. In that case, I would recommend you find a different example. The common media representation of the case is utterly flawed.

The lady in question bought hot coffee and spilled the contents in her lap while trying to remove the lid. That doesn't sound like much of a reason to sue, does it? Or for a jury to award a large sum, right?

The case is A LOT more complicated than that. The coffee in question was INSANELY hot, completely impossible to drink or even sip from. Despite hundreds and hundreds of similar cases, the restaurant refused to change its serving temperate (unlike that of every other major chain). At the temperature it was served, the coffee would cause 3rd degree burns in just a few seconds of contact.

As for the injuries sustained... how about 3rd degree burns to 6% of the body, including inner thighs, groin and genital area. OUCH! The lady also attempted to settle for $20,000 to help pay for the 8-day hospital stay and numerous skin grafts, but was flatly rejected.
 
The restaurant KNEW that the coffee, as it was served, would seriously injure anyone consuming it. Customers regularly complained. Practically no other restaurants served coffee at this temperature. The manager didn't give a rats ass. The argument was that take-out coffee wasn't meant to be consumed immediately, but rather taken home and consumed there.

In this particular case, the problem was that the restaurant knew it was a problem, didn't care, didn't want to change anything, and had no intention of warning anyone in any way. A jury (and several subsequent judges) didn't take too kindly to that level of arrogance.

Plenty of sites around the net have extensive information on the case. Here's one of the more official ones:

http://www.caoc.com/CA/index.cfm?event=showPage&pg=facts

[CF DolFan]

^^^^ That's pretty interesting. That's why it's so hard to interpret what is fed to us. It too easy to leave things out for dramitic effect and thus, change the story completly.

Watching the video of this case I can only assume there was a sign that said "Walking and texting is perfectly safe!!". Outside of that I can't see where the mall is at fault on any level.

[bsfins]

Apparently after a little more digging,the lady who fell into the fountain....is well a criminal,not exactly a goody two shoes..After appearance on GMA,she was in court for identity theft ..... Identity theft, Hit and run,retail Theft...
http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/fountain-lady-fumbles-with-the-law-23922546

At the very end of the video they mention, she's not going to sue,and the security guard has been fired...

[Dave Gray]

Or the lawyers for the mall determine it might be best just to settle which happens quite a bit.

Good point.

[tepop84]

http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/fountain-lady-fumbles-with-the-law-23922546

This link is exhibit A for this thread http://www.thedolphinsmakemecry.com/forums/index.php/topic,17999.0.html