Woman falls into fountain at a mall

[Bonny]

I sure wouldn't want to meet her on the road. If she can't walk & talk on her cell she sure can't drive either. Had to laugh too.

[Asiel]

I really had to laugh at that one. I can't believe she would sue the mall for that. I thought one was responsible for watching where they walk, lucky it wasn't a deep dark hole she fell into. The path was clear, nothing in the way for her to trip on so I don't think she can win this one...glad texting while driving is against the law here...I can just imagine...

[Freedom]

The basis of her suit is not the fall, it is the release of the security tape to the public.

And the fact that you can hear (at least 2) people laughing, she claims that is the security folks, who SHOULD have been moving to see if she was ok; they arrived 20 minutes later (oh yeah, we are working here, maybe we better check for the report we have to write). Except often, the security guards aren't sitting in front of the screen, they are on patrol and it is only later someone reviews the tape, when something has been reported.

But I think both can be easily dealt with. The vid, you can't identify WHO that is, if she had kept quiet no one would know it was her. And the security tape was run and taped onto a cell phone, and from there, after who knows how many steps, posted on Youtube. Those voices could have been added at a later step. Not sure she could ever prove that either.

AND . . . her other crimes, she took a co worker's credit card and rang up over $500 of purchases???

[pomtzu]

It was said in GMA this a.m., that the security person responsible for putting the tape up on YouTube, has been fired.

I'm not so sure that it wasn't staged for the purpose of a lawsuit, too. If it was, it sure backfired on her. Hey - she deserves it..........

[Cat Daddy]

It looked like a scene from "Dawn of the Dead" where the zombie falls into the fountain at the mall. Glad she wasn't a "twitcher"

[cool4catz2]

It looked like a scene from "Dawn of the Dead" where the zombie falls into the fountain at the mall. Glad she wasn't a "twitcher"

LOL! Dont know whats funnier the moron falling into the fountain or the Zombie "twitcher" reference!.

[lizbud]

The basis of her suit is not the fall, it is the release of the security tape to the public.

And the fact that you can hear (at least 2) people laughing, she claims that is the security folks, who SHOULD have been moving to see if she was ok; they arrived 20 minutes later (oh yeah, we are working here, maybe we better check for the report we have to write). Except often, the security guards aren't sitting in front of the screen, they are on patrol and it is only later someone reviews the tape, when something has been reported.

But I think both can be easily dealt with. The vid, you can't identify WHO that is, if she had kept quiet no one would know it was her. And the security tape was run and taped onto a cell phone, and from there, after who knows how many steps, posted on Youtube. Those voices could have been added at a later step. Not sure she could ever prove that either.

Right. Wonder what she was texting that was sooooo important it
couldn't wait?

[Freedom]

Right. Wonder what she was texting that was sooooo important it couldn't wait?

Someone from her church, needed birth dates for her and her husband.

[momoffuzzyfaces]

The mall should sue her for contaminating their fountain.

[Cataholic]

I think it is silly to sue the mall. And, it doesn't seem that she was suing the mall for the fall, but from the conduct after the fall.

But, I am amazed at the number of people that have no issue with a stranger videoing this, and posting it on the internet. What if I video'd your child at a mall, or your teenage daughter making out with her boyfriend, and posted it on the internet?

What if you got into an auto accident, and had a bloody nose, was crying, whatever, and the police did nothing but take a video and upload it.

What if someone came into the hair salon while you were getting your hair highlighted, and you looked as silly as you did, and someone uploaded it?

The woman's conduct- texting while walking- isn't really the issue. She had no legal duty to not do it. She exercised poor judgment- no doubt about it, but, that's about where it stops- from a legal perspective. I suppose one could argue that her own poor judgment led to the result...but, again, that wouldn't be accurate, from a legal perspective.

I heard someone mention the situation with another person texting on a public street, and this person fell right into an open manhole. People sought to blame the person that was texting. From a legal perspective, that is a tough one. The city has a bigger duty to make sure there aren't dangerous conditions- like open manholes, and that duty would trump the duty of a person to watch where they are walking. I am sure there will be arguments made that there is comparative risk...as there should be, but, really the City would have a bigger burden than the texter.

Back to the mall texter. The conduct afterwards....that is open to interpretation. Was there a duty owed by the mall? Was the conduct of the mall "reasonable" when it posted the video (mall employee=mall). Should the wall of the fountain have been made higher? Think of a situation where it is a crowd of people walking, and someone accidently jostles someone else, and that person trips backwards over the fountain, strikes his/her head and drowns. This could very well happen at Christmas time, or, if the mall sponsors some big event. Would a higher wall have prevented that?

It is easy to discount the events, either because there was no real trajedy, or the texter is a very easy mark. But, from a legal perspective, it is a little bit more involved than it seems.



Again, I don't think it is a suit, but, really...it seemed kind of mean to do it. I was also surprised to see how easy it was for her to fall int to that fountain. We have fountains at our malls, and I have to life J up to throw coins in them, the walls are so high.

[momoffuzzyfaces]

Well, no one would ever have know who she was if she hadn't broadcast it all over!!! If you are acting or doing something funny in public these days, you are fair game since half of the population have camera phones. Just need to watch what you do in public.

[lvpets2002]

I will aggree.. I did have to laugh & at the same time shake my head of that is just too sad..

I sure wouldn't want to meet her on the road. If she can't walk & talk on her cell she sure can't drive either. Had to laugh too.

[dab_20]

I've been in that position before. hahaha One time in high school I was walking to my mom's car while texting and there was a vertical pole sticking out in the air (I forget what, 'course I didn't see it either, ) and I ran right into it. Had a fat lip for days! I don't text while doing something that requires my attention anymore. lol