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Tuesday, April 13 2010 |
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A St. Louis museum is so fed up with frivolous lawsuits that it has taken to Facebook to defend itself.
Recently, the City Museum in St. Louis, known for its seven-story tornado slide, warren of tunnels and outdoor gym comprised of material salvaged from destroyed buildings, posted a message on its Facebook fan page addressing the issues of safety and frivolous lawsuits.
Management stated: "We understand that by creating a place where kids and adults can run, jump, and play, that there is a risk for injury. We are constantly doing everything we can to mitigate that risk all the while trying to protect the integrity of the museum. What exhausts us are the people that see the museum as an opportunity to perpetuate insurance fraud."
Despite the numerous safety notices around the building, management went on to note in its Facebook entry that some people threatening lawsuits were in no real danger. "Just to give you a quick glimpse into what we go through at the City Museum, a couple of years ago our rock fell 4 feet. The next day we had over 12 people call and tell us they were injured when the rock fell. To investigate these claims, we reviewed the video of the rock falling and we posted the video clearly showing that there was no one next to the rock when it fell on our website. When this was brought to several of the caller's attention they either hung up or changed their stories," the posting noted.
Several days after the initial posting, which drew nearly 100 comments on Facebook, City Museum posted another note listing three more vexing lawsuits: "Christina Ramage vs City Museum- It's your wedding night. You take the slide. Your husband, a body builder, doesn't wait until you clear the bottom and slams into you. The slide says 'One at a time' and 'Wait until bottom is clear;' Joli Sutter vs City Museum- You run and jump into the baby ball pit. Sign says '6 and under' and 'Do not jump;' and Timothy Walker vs City Museum - Your physical limitations should have told you that going down a slide, especially with knee problems in the past, is a bad idea."
"Bob [Cassilly] just got frustrated," explains spokesman Rick Irwin. "The majority of the lawsuits are frivolous. People look at any opportunity. We actually have an employee here who was sitting in a coffeehouse the other day and this guy came up to him and said, "Do you wanna make a lot of money? See that wet floor? I'm gonna fall on it and you can be a witness.'"
"We have a lot of fans out there," says Irwin. "They always see the allegations, but we've never made a statement. We want them to know what we put up with."
—Source: The Riverfront Times (St. Louis) |
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Wednesday, April 07 2010 |
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A Florida woman had her cell phone returned after an appeal court overturned a lower court's ruling that her cell phone be destroyed and she be held in contempt after it rang in a courtroom.
Michelle McRoy was in an Orange County Circuit courtroom when her cell phone began to ring loudly. McRoy admitted that she failed to check the cell phone's ring status after loaning it to her sister. Angered by her oversight, the judge stopped proceedings, tossed the phone into a garbage can and ordered McRoy held in contempt of court for failing to silence her cell phone.
Upon appeal, the Fifth District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach concluded that, while annoying, McRoy's actions did not meet the necessary legal standards for contempt and overturned the lower court's ruling.
—Source: Pensacola News Journal |
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Wednesday, March 31 2010 |
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Viewers of a recent episode of “The Office” found humor in the scene when character Pam Halpert mistakenly nursed another new mother’s baby in a dark hospital room. In real life, a new mother didn’t find the mistake quite so funny.
Jennifer Spiegel, a Chicago-area mother, is suing Evanston Hospital after a nurse mistakenly brought the wrong day-old baby boy to her room at 4 a.m. Spiegel and her husband are seeking at least $30,000 in damages and think the hospital should be held responsible for the mix-up.
“And we hope this doesn’t happen to anyone else,” said Spiegel, a teacher.
Lawrence Gartner, the former head of pediatrics at the University of Chicago, said it would be unusual if it affected the mother-child bond. “In animals, they’re often very specific — mothers will only accept their own babies, but I don’t know that humans have any such characteristic,” said Gartner, who works with the La Leche League, a worldwide breast-feeding support organization.
Amy Ferguson, spokeswoman for the hospital, said the corporate office had not been notified of the lawsuit and had no comment.
—Source: The New York Times |
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Tuesday, March 23 2010 |
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It's déjà vu. A McDonald's drive-thru customer is suing the fast-food restaurant claiming she suffered burns on her thigh from hot coffee.
Aurora Hill of Portland, Oregon, filed suit in Multnomah County Circuit Court claiming the coffee she was handed at the drive-thru window was too hot and the cup's lid was too loose. According to the lawsuit, "as it was being handed to her by an employee of the defendant, the plaintiff took the cup of coffee and the plastic top fell off and spilled very hot coffee on plaintiff's upper right leg...[the coffee was] extremely hot in the extreme."
Hill claims to have suffered "nervous shock," endured pain and has scarring. She seeks $7,182 for her pain and suffering, plus another $318 for lost wages and medical expenses.
In 1994, a jury awarded $2.86 million to an Albuquerque, New Mexico woman who spilled hot coffee on herself. Upon appeal, the parties settled for an undisclosed amount.
A McDonald's spokeswoman, based in Illinois, could not immediately say how hot restaurants are supposed to keep their coffee.
—Source: The Oregonian |
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Wednesday, March 17 2010 |
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A 74-year-old Pensacola man is off to prison for 15 years after attempting to rob a store that he visited earlier the same day to apply for a job.
Roy Carlton Keith inquired about a job and left his name and phone number at the Flowers Baking Company. A few hours later, Keith returned and demanded all the money in the register, lifted up his shirt and pointed at something sticking out of his belt. The clerk fled to the backroom where other employees were working. An employee called 911 and Keith left the store, taking nothing with him.
Keith was identified by the store employee and arrested at a nearby motel, which Keith listed as his home address. Keith was found guilty of robbery and two charges of aggravated assault. The "weapon" it turned out, probably was a cell phone, not a gun.
—Source: Pensacola News Journal |
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