So who is going to take the rap for this one?

[Snuffy]

The city or the teen?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,531684,00.html?test=latestnews

[Tako_Kichi]

Why sue the city because you have a dippy teen who can't look where she's walking! :isadizzy:

Anyone who walks/drives while texting gets what they deserve IMHO.

Now there may be regulations in place that say that cones should be erected before a manhole cover is removed but a texting teen would walk right past them and down the hole anyway.

[Lionheart]

I say the city. Anything can distract you from walking. I dont know how many times I have run into a post, tripped over an uneven sidewalk panel/plate, walked into something on the ground like a kids toy, because I was watching a car go past, a cute girl walking the other way, a jet flying overhead, etc. Half the people in NYC are on cell phones, so you really cant rule that as being the cause.

I side with the girl. Leaving that manhole cover, they 'say' they left it for a few seconds. How do you know it wasnt several min's, and was in such a location as to seem half hidden by shadows from cars, etc. Imagine walking right around a truck, coming around and your next step is in a hole. Bing, down you go... Lucky she's alive.

Thats my humble opinion of course. I do have issues with running into things, lol.. :d

[lifejogger]

I would have to say the city is at fault. You should never leave an open manhole unattended. A court would probably rule that a person should be able to walk down a sidewalk without worring about falling in a manhole.

[cheezyflier]

definitely the city is responsible.

[TARPSBird]

Why sue the city because you have a dippy teen who can't look where she's walking!
Because your dippy teen has just given you a chance to make a couple hundred thousand bucks in a settlement.

[cheezyflier]

the thing is, it could have very easily been your grandma who doesn't see that well anymore. or someone's 3 yr old who is at that stage where they yank their hand out of yours and run when they get excited. a blind guy who missed the hole with his cane. a person running from a stray dog or a bully.

[Tako_Kichi]

Because your dippy teen has just given you a chance to make a couple hundred thousand bucks in a settlement.
And therein lies one of the biggest problems of the modern world!

Everyone is out to make a fast buck and ready to sue all and sundry for acts of stupidity by the alleged 'victims'. Cell phones and text messaging have caused numerous so called 'accidents' when in reality they were never 'accidents' at all but people paying more attention to their stupid cell phones and text messages instead of paying attention to where they were driving or walking. It's really quite simple, if you are walking and want to send a text message then STOP WALKING....send your text and start walking again....you will NEVER fall down a hole if you do that!

It's time people realized that if they go around doing stupid things then eventually Mother Nature, Fate or Lady Luck is going to step in and smack them upside the head with a clue by four in the hopes that they will eventually get a clue and stop their stupid behaviour, either that or they will be removed from the gene pool as a result of their own actions!

[n4gix]

I filed suit against the local paper over six years ago. I've been waiting patiently for the case to come up for arbitration...

Turns out, the local paper's parent company, Sun-Times Media Group, Inc., just filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection last week...

Guess who's suit just went into the crapper... :pop4:

Why can't I find a manhole into which I might accidentally fall... :)

[Snuffy]

Whose to say the dippy text happy teen would have seen the cones either?

[denisch]

The story was pretty sketchy at my end, but why was the manhole open? If city workers left the manhole open then its the city's fault. City workers are suppose to put a barracade around the open hole. And if for some reason the manhole cover went missing, and the city knew about it and did nothing to replace it, its still the city's fault.


Still this is becoming an old story. Here in the Seattle area last year a girl was killed texting while she was walking down a train track. She was so involved in her text she didn't hear the train coming. And in California they had to pass a law prohibiting texting while driving, as if people didn't know it was unsafe!

[N2056]

Well, I tend to look at this one based on what I do for a living, which involves playing with nuclear reactors on Naval Ships. One of the things I am occasionally tasked with is controlling access to the area where the reactor lives. It is an absolute responsibility. There is no grey zone in terms of 'stepping away' for a moment. The bottom line is that if I fail in my duty in that position it could be bad.

As I see it the city eats this one. If you create a hazard and fail to take whatever actions are needed to protect the public you lose.

No further questions, your honor....:d

[stansdds]

Yep, the city is ultimately responsible on this one. Open manholes should at least be marked, roped off would be even better. Had the work crew at least put cones around the open manhole the city would likely be held harmless... although with many juries...

[wombat666]

And therein lies one of the biggest problems of the modern world!

Everyone is out to make a fast buck and ready to sue all and sundry for acts of stupidity by the alleged 'victims'. Cell phones and text messaging have caused numerous so called 'accidents' when in reality they were never 'accidents' at all but people paying more attention to their stupid cell phones and text messages instead of paying attention to where they were driving or walking. It's really quite simple, if you are walking and want to send a text message then STOP WALKING....send your text and start walking again....you will NEVER fall down a hole if you do that!

It's time people realized that if they go around doing stupid things then eventually Mother Nature, Fate or Lady Luck is going to step in and smack them upside the head with a clue by four in the hopes that they will eventually get a clue and stop their stupid behaviour, either that or they will be removed from the gene pool as a result of their own actions!

Too bloody true!
Be a major reversal of fortune if people just took responsibility for their own actions.
:173go1:

[Kiwikat]

The city is responsible, but the girl is stupid... :mixedsmi:

[gwar]

I figure a person should pay attention to where they are going, correct? Imagine she was driving a mini van full of orphans into a blast furnace or somethin?
see where Im goin with this?

[Brian_Gladden]

That's a pretty blatant OSHA violation on the city's part. I work around phone crews and they not only have all the safety gear ready before they pull the cover, one guy has to stand there until it is all set up. And cones don't cut it if I recall right. they need to have a full rail set up around the manhole like this one...

http://www.paradigm-supply.com/traffic/images/manhole_guard2_small.jpg

Texting or not, the work crew screwed up big time.


Brian

[Panther_99FS]

Nice 'stamp of authority' comment Brian with your post.........:mixedsmi:

[Roger]

If the girl had been blind or partially sighted, it wouldn't have mattered one iota whether she was distracted or not. The city is at fault.

[Trans_23]

And therein lies one of the biggest problems of the modern world!

Everyone is out to make a fast buck and ready to sue all and sundry for acts of stupidity by the alleged 'victims'. Cell phones and text messaging have caused numerous so called 'accidents' when in reality they were never 'accidents' at all but people paying more attention to their stupid cell phones and text messages instead of paying attention to where they were driving or walking. It's really quite simple, if you are walking and want to send a text message then STOP WALKING....send your text and start walking again....you will NEVER fall down a hole if you do that!

It's time people realized that if they go around doing stupid things then eventually Mother Nature, Fate or Lady Luck is going to step in and smack them upside the head with a clue by four in the hopes that they will eventually get a clue and stop their stupid behaviour, either that or they will be removed from the gene pool as a result of their own actions!

So I guess if she was to sue anyone it should be the maker and service provider of the cell phone for making it possible for her to be texting in the first place. Or I guess she could just tack them on with the city in the lawsuit for bigger bucks. I hope that this girl has more sense than that to realize that she was partially at fault here but I am sure the lawyers at Wesrewem and Howe have already contacted her.
Don't hatethe player, hatethe game.

[Tako_Kichi]

I agree that the City is at fault for not safely cordoning off the manhole or at least leaving one employee there to ensure that no one could fall down it.

However, the fact remains that the girl is not totally blame free and the innocent party in this case. If the girl had NOT been texting while walking then she would probably have never fallen down the hole in the first place as she would have seen it. She wasn't alone either and was walking with a friend so why didn't the friend warn her of the hole instead of saying nothing.....was she texting too?

It's a sad state of affairs but most teens these days can barely walk and chew gum at the same time so trying to walk and perform a complex task requiring dedicated hand/eye co-ordination is just asking for bad things to happen to you.

[Brian_Gladden]

Nice 'stamp of authority' comment Brian with your post.........:mixedsmi:

Comes from having a retired safety inspector as a friend and working in the public safety field for more than 20 years..... :guinness::icon29:


Brian

[Snuffy]

Fox News got an interview ...

Judging from the 15 year old reactions to the questions, I get the feeling the interview was more Mommy's idea ...

http://www.foxnews.com/video/index.html?playerId=011008&streamingFormat=FLASH&referralObject=6876914&referralPlaylistId=playlist

I will say this much, I think Fox got this wrong in the amount of information they released on this story.