Teen falls into open manhole while texting

[Antares]

They don't actually use it in that way.

By the curb, they do. I knew someone blind and watched him tap the curb and street..but then do the sweeping motion you describe. I guess it would only matter if the manhole was right at the curb. Then again, I also saw him misjudge the depth of a hole and not step down far enough.

In general, blind people tend to step more carefully and notice when they come up to a hole. Therefore, it is still reasonable to assume that a blind person would be less likely to fall into a manhole than a distracted teenager. Though, it doesn't change the fact that open manholes are dangerous.

I still think the teenager deserved falling in the hole for being stupid. Though she could have been hurt, it would still have been extremely funny to see.

 

[GeekGirl*]

Humankind is on a slippery slope to extinction if people fall down holes and blame others for it. She should look where she's walking.

People can't expect to be wrapped in cotton wool all their lives.

she is stupid, her fault all the way.

 

[lag1090]

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

Very true. Regardless of possible scenario, the bottom line is that the city is at fault.

 

[djellison]

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?

In your story, the blame is mine for slipping up and not looking where I was going. The blame would also be mine for not having insurance to cover loss of earnings.

I would see the spillage, and notify a member of staff. Indeed, my other half did just that this weekend. Frankly - if anyone is to blame in your scenario - it's the moron who caused the spillage for not standing next to it saying "Watch the spillage" until a member of staff could attend.

I'm sick of the liability culture. People are so idiotic that they can't see what it means. You sue the supermarket today, they put another penny on everything tomorrow. You sue the council for a tree root making a pavement a little bit lumpy today that you fall over... your council tax goes up another penny tomorrow. You sue for whip-lash you didn't really get today - your car insurance goes up tomorrow...etc etc etc

This is simply a case of difference of opinion. I believe that I am responsible for my own actions. This moron with her cell phone clearly doesn't think that.

 

[xUKHCx]

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.

I think you are being a bit disingenuous here, coming from the UK like you I have seen open manholes that have cones but the difference is and the part that you are quite conveniently missing out is that these cones support a physical barrier that you would have to walk through before falling down the hole. Therefore she would clearly notice the cones as she would've walked into it.

Frankly - if anyone is to blame in your scenario - it's the moron who caused the spillage for not standing next to it saying "Watch the spillage" until a member of staff could attend.

Just like the moron who didn't put up a warning sign / cones around a hole they created in the pavement

 

[drewsof07]

I still think the teenager deserved falling in the hole for being stupid. Though she could have been hurt, it would still have been extremely funny to see.

The humor would end when her family sues for "emotional distress" or some "mystery pain" caused by the incident and gets millions of dollars
Hello college fund!

She could've just as easily been hit by a vehicle; as is becoming more popular among distracted texters. I'm glad this was not the case and she survived with minor injuries.

If only cell phone companies adopted some sort of safety device that would convert your voice to text messages... OR you could just make a damn phone call.

 

[Vogue Harper]

In your story, the blame is mine for slipping up and not looking where I was going. The blame would also be mine for not having insurance to cover loss of earnings.

You sue for whip-lash you didn't really get today - your car insurance goes up tomorrow...etc etc etc

If you're responsible for your own actions, why would you have taken out insurance for loss of earnings and have an insurer pay out for your carelessness or otherwise thereby making that insurer increase their premiums? Doesn't this just perpetuate the 'liability culture' you seem to find so abhorrent?

In any event, if you took out insurance to cover loss of earnings, before paying out the insurer would likely require you to subrogate them to any rights you might have against the supermarket so they could pursue the negligence claim themselves to make good on their payout to you. In the absence of any liability on the part of the supermarket and it was just purely down to an individual's carelessness, I doubt very much an insurer would either offer such a policy at all or a policy which covers this circumstance for loss of earnings in the first instance.

 

[maestro55]

The sad thing is I could see myself falling into a manhole, even if I wasn't texting.

 

[Sauron's Master]

It's really too bad she didn't qualify herself for a Darwin Award. She doesn't seem at all bright and she looks almost like a troll.

 

[Mousse]

This is simply a case of difference of opinion. I believe that I am responsible for my own actions. This moron with her cell phone clearly doesn't think that.

Here, here. I agree completely. Most people think everyday is a Ground Hogs Day, where their actions have no consequences. It's nice to see that there are still people who will accept resposiblities for their actions.

Just like the moron who didn't put up a warning sign / cones around a hole they created in the pavement

IMO, the only difference in this case would be the City would not be liable. By the time she'd notice the flashes of orange, she'd already have one foot in the manhole. I've seen distracted people who have walked into street signs, sign posts, park benches and trees with 3 foot in diameter trunks. If the smell of raw sewage didn't get her attention, the flash of orange would come too late.

 

[whooleytoo]

The sad thing is I could see myself falling into a manhole, even if I wasn't texting.

If you could see yourself doing it, why didn't you stop? (boom boom..)

 

[whooleytoo]

New to App Store: iManHole. Using the GPS, notifies user when they're about to walk into an open man hole.

Also available, iManHole Lite. Issues warning when 1ft away. Upgrade to full version for 3ft warning!

Reviews: (*****) This app ROX! It like, totally saved my ass from falling down a manhole today. No other app has ever saved my life like that. Now I'll never need to look up again!

 

[dejo]

New to App Store: iManHole. Using the GPS, notifies user when they're about to walk into an open man hole.

Also available, iManHole Lite. Issues warning when 1ft away. Upgrade to full version for 3ft warning!

Reviews: (*****) This app ROX! It like, totally saved my ass from falling down a manhole today. No other app has ever saved my life like that. Now I'll never need to look up again!

Post of the Day!

 

[branjosef]

Wouldn't her negligence cancel out the entire lawsuit?

She cant possibly be responsible. She is a minor.

 

[spaceboots06]

I don't think this would ever happen to me, even if I was drunk, high, texting and sleepy at the same time!

 

[Don't panic]

i don't think she got hurt, so there should be no court follow up. the company should just offer to repay her shoes and maybe clothes.
if she got hurt, though, the company should definitively be held fully responsible.

many here are very quick to throw insult at people, your lack of common sense, not to mention a minimum of empathy is amazing.
how many here have never been distracted when walking on a walkway (especially one that you 'know')? talking on the phone, reading, looking out for a place or a person, looking at a map, checking out a pretty girl (boy), spying a cool ride, looking out for your kids, looking at the sky for the weather, checking the time. there are millions of valid reason to not stare at each single step you are taking, i think it is perfectly reasonable to expect that a street or a walkway won't have a hole without any indication of it or barrier around it.

and speaking of responsibility, why isn't the company responsible to do their job in a safe manner ?
her only responsibility is to be honest now, and not try to milk the situation.

as for the 'genius' above that think's its "too bad" she didn't die. really? what if it was your 5 years old daughter, or your grandma? would you still be happy she died?

 

[whooleytoo]

She cant possibly be responsible. She is a minor.

Aren't minors meant to go down holes in the ground?

Oh, wait...

 

[Sauron's Master]

as for the 'genius' above that think's its "too bad" she didn't die. really? what if it was your 5 years old daughter, or your grandma? would you still be happy she died?

Pretty sure that anyone with the inferior genetics required to be stupid enough to fall into a manhole would not be related to me.

It's acceptable for people to assume that they can walk down a street without looking but it's not acceptable for companies to assume that people shouldn't be idiots and look where they're going. Personal responsibility at its best.

 

[barkmonster]

Even the reporter thinks it's funny.

Just look at that smug expression.

 

[branjosef]

Manhole.... Good thing she didn't fall into other Man type things!!!

 

[johnhw]

So there kids, Don't Text and Walk!

 

[carlgo]

I saw the manhole on TV. It was in the middle of a sidewalk. Very dangerous. Two Darwin awards are required, one for the texting girl and the other for whoever was in charge of the sewer job.

Normally, even the smallest utility jobs are accompanied by cones and tape, even when that is silly overkill. Why? Because there are probably hundreds of lawsuits every week over people tripping on 1/2" cracks on sidewalks, bumping their heads on trees that have been there 230 years and so on.

 

[bamaworks]

...anyone with an IQ above a bell pepper that manhole covers might be open from time to time.

I actually laughed audibly. Excellent comment.

 

[armoguy94]

The girl should not have been texting and walking like an idiot, but the freaking city shouldn't have left that pothole open, how incredibly stupid is that? The girl shouldn't have said she was texting...

 

[iBookG4user]

The girl should not have been texting and walking like an idiot, but the freaking city shouldn't have left that pothole open, how incredibly stupid is that? The girl shouldn't have said she was texting...

What was she supposed to say then? "Oh, I was walking along and I completely did not see or smell that manhole, and I accidentally fell in it, even though I was paying complete attention to walking. But I'm going to sue you now for not putting any warnings."