Texting Teen Takes Tremendous Tumble

The Narrative Fallacy writes "We've all heard about the dangers of texting while driving, but 15-year-old Alexa Longueira from Staten Island recently learned a painful lesson about the hazards of texting while walking when, preparing to send a text, she stepped into an open manhole, scraping her arms and back as she slid into the sewer, which had some muck at the bottom. The manhole had been left open briefly by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) just as workers were grabbing some cones to cordon off the area. 'It was four or five feet, it was very painful. I kind of crawled out and the DEP guys came running and helped me,' Longueria said. 'They were just, like, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"' DEP spokeswoman Mercedes Padilla said in a statement that crews were flushing a high-pressure sewer line at the time. 'We regret that this happened and wish the young woman a speedy recovery.' After being released from Staten Island University Hospital, Longueria's parents say they are planning to file a lawsuit and displayed their daughter's injuries to a photographer from the Staten Island Advance. Longueria's mother said doctors were concerned about possible spine damage suffered in the fall and want a follow-up MRI. Her mother added that she was particularly upset about the sewage. 'Oh my God, it was putrid. One of her sneakers is still down there.'"

Can I sue the parents?

[Anonymous Coward]

IF the manhole really was left uncovered for only a moment, then this lawsuit is absurd. No reasonable person expects to be able to walk down a street or sidewalk with their head in a book or device and not be at risk. I expect another McDonald's coffee verdict - a ridiculously high initial reward, followed by a reduction to something "reasonable" where "reasonable" takes no account of the millions spent on legal fees, court resources tied up, lives disrupted, etc. all for a simple mistake that the girl in question walked away from.

Re:Can I sue the parents?

[Volante3192]

Honestly. To quote her mother from the link, "Something like that should never have happened. There should have been cones in place, there should have been a man in place."

Ok, first, CONES do not stop someone. They're just to provide a more obvious warning sign (as if the maintenance trucks aren't enough). And they want someone to stand guard over the manhole at all times? Hey, how about we place people by every light pole in case a texter walks into one? Or crossing guards at every street? Oh, but you don't want to pay for them I bet.

Your daughter ignored her surroundings and got a very distinct reminder to not do it again. If this happened in a savannah, she'd be tiger food by now.

Cordoned off

[Nefarious Wheel]

Actually, proper civil engineering procedure where I come from requires you to physically cordon off the area before opening any hole in the street. Any system that depends on proper behaviour of passers-by is an unsafe one.

Moron

[teknosapien]

yes there is a basic protocol for open man hole covers fenced off or a person making sure that no one falls in, this was not the case. reasonable safety precautions to protect the public were not taken into consideration in this case. A light pole is something all together to different it doesn't change configuration as a man hole does when left uncovered. Lastly she doesnt live in the savannah so