Only marginally less hilarious than the man who ran into a tree while Twittering comes this story of a Staten Island teen who fell into a manhole while texting. Her story isn’t quite as funny because she’s suing the Department of Environmental Protection for leaving the manhole uncovered and unattended.
While it may seem overly litigious to sue for something that could have easily been avoided by, you know, paying attention, doctors at Staten Island University Hospital did express some concern that the teen, Alexa Longueira, may have damaged her spine during the five-foot fall. Also, she lost one of her shoes.
Thankfully, the sewer was empty at the time Longueira fell in although she said “it was putrid” and let’s not forget that she lost her shoe, which now carries little to no resale value.
Staten Island girl falls down uncovered manhole [silive.com via Neatorama]
“While it may seem overly litigious to sue for something that could have easily been avoided by, you know, paying attention…”
I think you’re being just a little bit cynical, Doug.
An open manhole is a dangerous trap whether you’re texting, just walking and enjoying your stroll, or just walking and chatting with a friend – like this girl was doing.
According to the linked article, texting had very little to do with this accident.
Agreed.
Agreed.
Brilliant. I’m surprised she wasn’t using the GPS and compass features on her iPhone 3GS when she fell down the hole.
The GPS feature can pick up on manholes… and whether or not they are open?
Shheeeyeah. Doesn’t your phone do that?
He’s probably got one of those first gen GPS’s that are SOOOooo 20′th century.
Wait till she starts driving and texting….OVER the cliff she will go.
Should the man hole cover been left open…NO… But she should watch where she is going!
Like I said.. driving into someone or over a cliff ix next.
true..haha2
She’s going to lose the lawsuit. First she has to prove the city left the manhole uncovered as opposed to some Vandals that did it. Then there’s her contributing negligence of not looking where she’s going.
Well the EPA acknowledges they took the lid off. They were 10 feet away getting cones when the girl and her friend walked by and the girl fell in. But the girl’s constant hospital trips and tests are just a lawyer padding up the lawsuit “My client was in and out of the hospital for months she deserves compensation for this pain and suffering”. Most juries will laugh this kid out of court. Then the family should sue the lawyer for making the kid go to the hospital so many times.
This highlights a hazard that those of us with poor eyesight face all the time.
I understand the argument ‘you should have been looking where you are going’, but for those of us with poor sight thats not as easily to do. I get it all the time that its my own fault that I have bad eyesight, you shouldn’t have been evil in a previous life, but I don’t buy that one. Its just lazy people not clearing up the mess they make after themselves.
A friend of mine who uses a cane nearly fell over a drain cover that was left lying on the pavement (sidewalk) by a careless workman who had gone for a break. Luckily she just caught herself in time.
Don’t pick on this girl because she was texting, she has done us a favour. No doubt the media will blame her, but its the fault of the people who left the cover open.
If you’re eyesight is so bad that you can’t see a manhole opening right in front of you then maybe you need a guide dog….
But then the dog will fall down the hole. Do you hate dogs? Dog hater!
Why are people always so quick to act like someone is automatically stupid/in the wrong because they were texting? The bottom line is that she WASN’T driving a car or something, she was merely walking down the street while looking at her phone, which is something we should all be able to do without fear of there being a random gaping hole waiting to swallow us. We also don’t know how long she was looking at her phone- it only takes a second’s break in attention for an accident to happen- why automatically assume she was walking around all day like some completely spaced out zombie, doing nothing but texting and not possibly paying attention to anything else? Also: all of a sudden peripheral vision is a concept that doesn’t really exist? I’d be willing to bet that the majority of people who laugh and act all snarky about things like this- totally multitask all of the time themselves. How many times have you relied on peripheral vision? Just because you haven’t fallen down a manhole or rammed your car into something yet doesn’t mean you won’t. I’d watch what I said about others- karma is a bitch.
“Why are people always so quick to act like someone is automatically stupid/in the wrong because they were texting? ”
Because texting while trying to do anything that requires awareness of your surroundings is stupid.
“she was merely walking down the street while looking at her phone, which is something we should all be able to do without fear of there being a random gaping hole waiting to swallow us. ”
Not on this planet. City streets are full of other things, like people, debris, etc. That’s why we have… eyes! So we can look for obstacles!
No, the manhole should not have been open. But she certainly contributed to events by voluntarily choosing to ignore her surroundings.
Having seen people absorbed by their gadgets step into traffic (a women was killed doing this in Toronto not long ago, hit by a truck), crash into me in the grocery store, etc., I have little sympathy for this girl, or anyone who wanders around staring at a phone. It’s dumb, it puts you and those around you at risk, and if you do it, please don’t breed.
I totally agree. People have gone completely nuts
with electronic toys. When you are talking on a
phone, texting or playing games you are not aware of your surroundings. So you walk out in
traffic, smash your face on light poles (as some
guy recently did) or fall into open holes. Sure,
it shouldn’t have been open but if she had been
watching where she was going instead of looking
at a phone it wouldn’t have happened. People that dumb shouldn’t be allowed to reproduce. Now her family wants to sue, give me a break.
When you do dumb s*&t you run the risk of being hurt. She needs to learn that.
I disagree with “Uh”. It is unreasonable to expect me to protect you while you are walking down the street looking at your phone instead of where you are going. Have fun, if that is what you like to do, but don’t claim that I should expect you to be walking forwards while looking else, or expect me to protect you while you are doing something dumb.
I had a grandfather that used to read books while walking to work in the city – I would not (and do not) have had the courage to claim other people should have been protecting him from himself when he did that.
What a clown. That would have been hilarious to see.
This chick is going to be wonderful when she gets old enough to drive. Can’t wait to read how many people die when she plows into their cars while texting behind the wheel (and let’s be honest folks, we KNOW she’s going to turn into one of THOSE people). Omigawd!
I feel sorry for the girl, but she should have been more aware of her surroundings. Just as she claims the accident would not have happened had they put cones around the hole, the workers can likewise claim the accident would not have happened had she been paying attention. Should the city sue her for cost incurred to the city to help her because of her culpability?
All they see is free money. Sue happy greediness in this nation.
IANAL, but did take a contract law class in Maryland which is a no fault state. There is no partial payment out of partial negligence.
I believe New York is also a no fault state. Meaning if you trip on someone’s broken sidewalk and break your arm, the property owner is responsible. However, if the owner can prove you were distracted looking at a babe rollerblading in her swimsuit the jury will rule it in favor of the property owner.
But to add another twist, if the owner had put signs around the broken sidewalk, they could have avoided the issue completely.
So their lawyer will have to basically show that
the level of her negligence was far outweighed by the EPA by leaving a hazard unattended and lack of yellow cones.
I’m sure it could be avoided if she was on Facebook
The victim and culprit both are responsible for this incidence . As while you walk on the road you walk in the straight direction but when you get busy with something like texting . Then your concentration is only at texting and you may walk in a twisted path ,
So that open manhoole was only available to fall into if you were walking a twisted path, not a straight line? ROFL you’re hilarious bub.
U are so mean :D!!!!! I think all she wants it’s a new pair of shoes!
My god you people are litigious! No wonder your insurance industry runs the country ;-)
In my country, she’d go to hospital, get fixed up, then go home. If the council was found to be at fault they’d be fined and made to comply through followup safety checks etc.
No lawyers, no expensive litigation insurance. So much easier.
1. Maybe someone can make an App for that
2. Sometimes you fall down a manhole and your shoes fall off. F’ shoes
If she had her iPhone app that alerts her of manholes while texting, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.
Do you sue God when you are not paying attenion and fall in a river he created. The girl lacked the responsibility to watch where she was going, and the parents lack the responsibility to teach their own daughter how to watch out for herrself. Everyone is looking for someone else to blame instead of taking responsibility for themselves.
who opened it????
Ok so here’s a quick question – Let’s say she had not been texting, let’s say someone honked and she turned to look and fell into the hole. Would she still be the moron so many are making her out to be. Would the EPA be any less at fault so leaving such a hazard accessible? Seriously, texting while walking may be a distraction but the world is full of distractions. And yet hazards should not be left unchecked…
This really is not stupid at all — an open manhole would be very difficult to see in your peripheral vision — all you see is a dark circle on the ground. For that reason, utility workers are REQUIRED to cordon off manholes BEFORE they open them, especially if they are in the middle of a walkway. This is not even a case. The util workers are blatantly wrong. I hope she wins and teaches them that this what they did is unacceptable — if an 80 year old woman walked in there instead of a young healthy 15 year old with malleable bones they could have had a fatality on their hands. Leaving a manhole open in a walkway with no markings is criminal negligence, end of story.
this girl is a pinhead and moron. too bad she survived, she will probably breed and dilute the gene pool even more. whatever happened to the legal concept of the “reasonable man” who takes responsibly for their actions.
We agree with cruddycat wholeheartedly. Enough said.
No, not enough said. The frivolity of her lawsuit as a clear defence mechanism against the embarrassment of admitting her own stupidity is a symptom of a disturbing mental trend. She should not be allowed to mix with the general public pending intensive psychiatric assessment.
This is just like Saturday morning cartoons. I
haven’t been able to stop laughing since I read
about her. Let me say up front that I am an old
person. I am one of the few people who
do not own a cell phone or any other electronic
toy that you talk or text on. What is wrong with
talking to people who are with you? I see people
sitting together and talking or texting, no one
is talking to the people with them. That would
tic me off so bad I’d want to smash the toy. It
is so rude. Put the toys away and talk to the
person with you. You will not miss any life
changing event and you just might avoid falling
into an open hole or getting ran over by a car.
Too bad she didn’t lose her cell phone instead of (or in addition to) her shoe. Maybe (and that’s a big emphasis on the word “maybe”) if she didn’t have one she wouldn’t have taken a harrowing kerplunk into the sewer in the first place. Stupid people like this shouldn’t be propagated or allowed to perpetuate their neverending contagion of stupidity upon the world. I hope her family loses their lawsuit against the Department of Environmental Protection.
so ur driving and texting and u hit someone. u gonna sue the pedestrian for damaging ur car??
LOL the most commented article of the day! At the end of the day I don’t think their would be too many of us that wouldn’t think about suing. I know I would – having said that i would like to think I am capable of seeing a big whole in front of me when I walk.
I wonder what that last text read? Maybe something like… “help, I’ve fallen but I can’t press send” or “BRB… after I fall into the sewer..”
what was she doing walking in the road in the first place? I’d say it’s her own fault for 1, not paying attention; and 2, not walking on the sidewalk where there are no manholes to fall into.
@kaonashi, If you look at the pic up top, you’ll notice that the manhole IS on the sidewalk. Manholes are frequently located on sidewalks in lots of places.
Everyone’s at fault here: The EPA admits they were 10 feet away getting cones at the time so one of them should have noticed the girl and yelled to warn her. If this is true, then the manhole was JUST opened and had the girl been looking at her surroundings AT ALL would have seen them removing the manhole cover.
I haven’t had such a good laugh reading through a thread in a long time – thank you everyone for bringing a smile and laugh to me this morning.
I have to agree that the girl texting was an accident waiting to happen – she should have been more aware of her surroundings. However, the EPA should have been more safety aware and cordoned off the area before opening the manhole.
But wait, there’s more. I’m willing to bet that even if the area were cordoned off, she still would have plummeted into the vast abyss of sewage because she wouldn’t have seen the cones. People like this are too stupid to live. She should go to the bank (where she will deposit all that money that she will ultimately be awarded), withdraw all of it and go buy herself a clue! That is, if Darwinism doesn’t weed her out first!
Well she looks like another Darwin Award candidate to me. Some people are no good at multi-tasking, which this a prime example of. If you read the “My Fox New York” story the last line is the Mother saying it doesn’t matter that her daughter was texting, the manhole was left open unattended and that they plan on filing a lawsuit. She neglects to realize that if her daughter was paying attention, she might of been able to avoid the danger by stepping around it. I hope they get their asses handed to them and laughed out of court. I’m not saying the DEP was completely innocent of any liability but the girl was 50% responsible for the accident and the DEP taking up the other 50%.
The fact that her mom is going to file a lawsuit instead of scolding her daughter for her stupidity is what makes this whole story laughable.
Here’s the link to the Fox story:
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_news/nyc/090710_Texting_Teen_Falls_Down_Open_Manhole
if she was too stupid to see the open manhole what makes you think she would have seen the cones
A couple of thoughts to ponder.
1. If they had just taken off the manhole cover, does anyone know how much noise a 200# pice of cast iron makes when it hits the ground.
2. She was walking with a friend (her own words), well what ahppened to the friend, she couldn’t see either and warned her.