Teen falls into open manhole while texting

[SpookTheHamster]

It's always so cool to jump at people like this, everyone here is talking like they've never been hurt because they haven't fully been paying attention.

This is different to walking into a lampost or car. Those are things you should actually expect to come across when walking along the street. A massive hole in the pavement is not.

The city has no excuse for not putting cones/barriers around the hole, people can die from falling down manholes. Had barriers been there, she would have seen a flash of orange out of the corner of her eye and it would have attracted her attention.

If a blind person had been walking along and fallen down that hole the reaction here would have been very different.

 

[thecritix]

absolutely agree with the above post.

Thankfully it wasn't a blind person who would have found the situation all the more traumatic. The city's fault, but it should serve as a lesson to those who don't look where they are going.

 

[djellison]

Thankfully it wasn't a blind person who would have found the situation all the more traumatic..

A guide dog would have walked a blind man around it, or if the man had a cane, he would have spotted it that way.

This person, with all their senses allegedly intact...did not.

 

[arkitect]

It's always so cool to jump at people like this, everyone here is talking like they've never been hurt because they haven't fully been paying attention.

Of course people are joking about this.
Stick on some canned laughter, a few sound effects, a loud mouth presenter and you've got what passes for comedy on TV…

"Teenagers do the darndest things…"

Hopefully she's learnt a valuable lesson.

 

[SpookTheHamster]

A guide dog would have walked a blind man around it, or if the man had a cane, he would have spotted it that way.

This person, with all their senses allegedly intact...did not.

Not all blind people have dogs, and if you watch a blind person the cane is not always touching the ground.

 

[ian.maffett]

With or without a phone some people fall into holes - others walk into signs. It's just what we are. It's easier to blame the phone.

 

[iShater]

City fault.

But doesn't holding the phone in front of you not really cover the view of an open hole in the ground?

 

[0098386]

Stupid girl. This whole thing could have been a lot more serious, all for the sake of texting.

But don't you look down at the phone whilst texting? How could you not see something infront of you like that?

 

[Abstract]

The city may have been negligent, but the case really should be thrown out (if there is one). The fact of the matter is that, in this case, it took 2 idiots to make it happen.

 

[rhett7660]

The city may have been negligent, but the case really should be thrown out (if there is one). The fact of the matter is that, in this case, it took 2 idiots to make it happen.

Isn't that the truth... good lord. If you cannot watch where the hell you are walking... really, should even be allowed in public??

 

[pelicanflip]

while yes, the open manhole is a minor issue, not looking where you're walking is a bigger problem.

it's the girl's fault for not looking where she was walking. she deserved it to the fullest.

 

[benthewraith]

The city may have been negligent, but the case really should be thrown out (if there is one). The fact of the matter is that, in this case, it took 2 idiots to make it happen.

Fortunately, it doesn't work that way. The negligence of the worker was greater than the girl's negligence because the worker had an obligation to be careful, whereas the girl didn't. The worker also created the situation that allowed her to fall down the manhole.

 

[SpookTheHamster]

while yes, the open manhole is a minor issue, not looking where you're walking is a bigger problem.

it's the girl's fault for not looking where she was walking. she deserved it to the fullest.

It really, really isn't. Any number of people could have fallen down that hole, and it just so happened to be someone texting.

It's completely reasonable for a pedestrian not to expect a massive gaping hole in the ground, and to carry on texting. Is everyone here seriously saying that they don't walk and text at the same time?

If she'd fallen into a manhole that was MARKED it would be very different, but there were no warnings and no barriers around that hole, so to someone focusing on a phone (or someone carrying something large, or blind person, or any other person with reduced vision) it would have been very difficult to see.

 

[Mousse]

Not all blind people have dogs, and if you watch a blind person the cane is not always touching the ground.

Yeah, but even a blind person would have been able to SMELL the sewage. It's an open manhole. I could be walking down the street oogling a bikini cladded woman and the fulsome effluvium would be enough wrench my attention away. I'm pretty sure we've all smelled raw sewage. That's some powerful sh...er... stuff.

The fall sterilized the girl right? Right? One can only hope.

 

[ucfgrad93]

Sounds like a future Darwin candidate.

Agreed, the girl is a complete idiot.

 

[bruinsrme]

Agreed, the girl is a complete idiot.

Glad to see I am not the only one thinking this way.

The funniest thing I saw was a group of girls walking into the mall. Three of them were texting, probabaly to each other. suddenly they started to go into the face plant position with phones flying.
The curb won that round.

 

[PlaceofDis]

while yes, the open manhole is a minor issue, not looking where you're walking is a bigger problem.

it's the girl's fault for not looking where she was walking. she deserved it to the fullest.

it is most certainly the city's fault. sorry, but in a city environment with lots of people, cars, traffic and everything else going on its not possible to know every detail of your surroundings but it should be expected that you won't fall into the ground. she could have been texting and looking up too to make sure she didn't walk into anyone/thing and still miss it due to cones/barriers not being in place. when there is a lot of foot traffic and so much going on you should be protected and not have to worry about such a stupid thing. news likes to make the titles sensational, and probably isn't giving the full details.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

I think it's more the city's fault than the girl's - leaving an open hole in the street is an accident waiting to happen.

Agreed. While the girl was being stupid the city screwed up big time.

Stand practice I have seen around cities when they have open manholes is to put some cones out and put danger/ Caution tape around it. With out that it is just an accident waiting to happen. Manhold could of easily been missed even if she was not texting but lets say talking to a friend next to her or jogging down the street. We all have done stupid stuff in our lives like walk into a closed door because something catches our eye for a sec.

Also knowing what I do know about OSHA the city has OSHA violation written all over it. They city will be eating a heavy fine from OSHA over this as well. Per OSHA law accedents are assumed to be the employers (this case the cities) fault even if it was cause by the employee (girl). If the city had danger tape around the hole it would be safe. They city also should of hand an employee around the hole as well

 

[bruinsrme]

Breaking news.
President Obama just signed a bill to line every mile of road way with guard rails to prevent texters from accidentally walking into roadways and from cars plowing into people while the drivers are texting.
While cell phone companies completely support the move, J-walking groups insist their civil rights/freedoms are being violated by forcing them to use designated crosswalks.

 

[Antares]

If a blind person had been walking along and fallen down that hole the reaction here would have been very different.

Blind people have sticks. They feel for holes in the ground when in the street. Now, if a blind person was doing brail while walking....

Both the girl and the city are at fault. I'm thinking that the judge would take both into consideration when making a decision.

 

[djellison]

cones

Again - if she didn't see the great big manhole - what makes you think she was paying enough attention to see a cone.

People need to stop trying to blame every.damn.thing. on someone ELSE.

She wasn't looking where she was going and had an accident.

End of discussion.

 

[Vogue Harper]

It's always so cool to jump at people like this, everyone here is talking like they've never been hurt because they haven't fully been paying attention.

This is different to walking into a lampost or car. Those are things you should actually expect to come across when walking along the street. A massive hole in the pavement is not.

The city has no excuse for not putting cones/barriers around the hole, people can die from falling down manholes. Had barriers been there, she would have seen a flash of orange out of the corner of her eye and it would have attracted her attention.

If a blind person had been walking along and fallen down that hole the reaction here would have been very different.

Completely agree with this post and disagree that the girl only has herself to blame. As a lawyer myself the posts regarding negligence on the part of the city are correct, the city owes a duty of care to everyone using the pavement. I remember a case in the UK when I was studying torts law where someone fell into open hole that the gasworks had dug up to repair the pipes, even though there were barriers around it there was still negligence found on the part of the gas workers for not making sure that the barriers were properly erected (IIRC they were perched precariously along the edge of the hole).

For all the perfect people here saying she should have been looking where she was going - next time you are out walking consider how much you do actually look where you are going. Are you all saying that you look at the few meters immediately in front of you where you are actually about to place your foot at all times? Have you never walked along a pavement and turned your head to look at a shop window display, look for the numbers of buildings to find the address of where you are going to, check out a hot girl/boy who is walking past etc, looked up the street to see if there's a taxi or whatever it is you are looking for?

 

[Vogue Harper]

Again - if she didn't see the great big manhole - what makes you think she was paying enough attention to see a cone.

People need to stop trying to blame every.damn.thing. on someone ELSE.

She wasn't looking where she was going and had an accident.

End of discussion.

This is to rather miss the point of why most legal systems have laws of torts and negligence. If people are to stop blaming "every.damn.thing. on someone ELSE" where is the incentive on people who should not be leaving manholes open etc not to do so again in the future? Why do you think that an unmarked open manhole is such a rare sight these days?

If you go to the supermarket tonight and someone had spilled something on the floor and you slip and fall on that and injure yourself, you would happily put it down to an accident because you weren't looking where you were going? Then cheerfully endure months of rehab for your injured back during which time, you could not work and so had no income, all the time self-flagellating because you were not looking where you were going.

And you would at no point think to blame the supermarket for not cleaning up the spillage even though they knew all about it but didn't bother doing anything about it because if someone slips and injures themselves on it then it's just an accident and the supermarket themselves would not be liable?

 

[Vogue Harper]

Blind people have sticks. They feel for holes in the ground when in the street.

They don't actually use it in that way, blind people are also allowed to assume that there are no big open manholes without barriers in the street that they are walking down. One of my former colleagues is blind and uses a stick, most of the time he sweeps it in a left and right motion in front of him to avoid banging into other people or walking into sign posts/buildings. They certainly don't keep it on the ground at all times in a manner where they could have noticed any holes.

 

[rhett7660]

They don't actually use it in that way, blind people are also allowed to assume that there are no big open manholes without barriers in the street that they are walking down. One of my former colleagues is blind and uses a stick, most of the time he sweeps it in a left and right motion in front of him to avoid banging into other people or walking into sign posts/buildings. They certainly don't keep it on the ground at all times in a manner where they could have noticed any holes.

No but they also bounce it off the ground to. This tells them if there is a step off etc.... not saying this would have helped or not with the problem... but...

Ok.. the girl is a freaking idiot......