Texting woman falls in fountain, files lawsuit [Archive]

FrankRep

01-20-2011, 05:50 PM

Texting woman falls in fountain, files lawsuit (http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/bizarre&id=7906487)

ABC News
January 19, 2011

Earlier this week ABC30 showed you video of a woman who mistakenly fell into the fountain at a Pennsylvania mall, because she was distracted by text messaging. Well now that woman is suing the mall for not helping her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWtDpGM36J8

oyarde

01-20-2011, 05:53 PM

MelissaWV

01-20-2011, 05:53 PM

Eh. A case could be made that some kind of barricade needs to be put up around fountains to keep the blind or distracted from falling in. No doubt this will play a part in the argument. Of course, that only compounds matters, as you are now denying enjoyment of sitting around the fountain... and still creating a hazard (now the barricades). I wonder if the lady that fell will try to claim that the floor was slippery, maybe that the cleaning person seen in the foreground had just mopped and that caused her to slip instead of gracefully having a seat next to the fountain.

People make me really, really sad. :(

sailingaway

01-20-2011, 05:53 PM

LOL!!

Barricade my ass.

Watch where you are going, people!

MelissaWV

01-20-2011, 05:54 PM

Stupid , she gets nowhere with that , I saw that video , she is at fault and got right out , no problem , she needed no help .

You can get out and still have "damages." No doubt she has a phone with a high retail value, and her clothing suffered, and she has mental anguish! Plus you really can injure yourself and be so embarrassed you don't feel it right away. Not saying she has a case, but that you don't need to be flat-out on the floor dying to have one, either.

Icymudpuppy

01-20-2011, 05:57 PM

We will never regain our freedom when people such as this walk the earth.

squarepusher

01-20-2011, 05:58 PM

even a blind person i believe would have avoided that

oyarde

01-20-2011, 05:59 PM

You can get out and still have "damages." No doubt she has a phone with a high retail value, and her clothing suffered, and she has mental anguish! Plus you really can injure yourself and be so embarrassed you don't feel it right away. Not saying she has a case, but that you don't need to be flat-out on the floor dying to have one, either.

I see what you are saying , but where I live , you would get nowhere with that . She must be hoping to extort a settlement from the mall ins co .

MelissaWV

01-20-2011, 06:00 PM

even a blind person i believe would have avoided that

They actually would have. There's the noise of the fountain, the smell of the water, and the *thwap* of the cane hitting the edge of the thing.

* * *

And I hope people realize I'm not advocating putting up barriers. I just think that'll be part of this idiot's demands/case. It won't solve anything, but that hardly stops people from proposing stupid ideas.

tangent4ronpaul

01-20-2011, 06:23 PM

Well, texting while driving is now illegal. Get ready for texting while walking!

This really reminds me of that idiot that burned herself on McDonalds hot coffee and won a lawsuit. That's why they have signs at every McDonalds saying "Warning - coffee is hot" - DUH!

-t

puppetmaster

01-20-2011, 06:32 PM

sue the person who invented the alphabet.....with out that there would be no texting.

Stary Hickory

01-20-2011, 06:38 PM

How about from now on we simply start removing those who are incompatible with a free society out of it? I mean if they cannot be responsible for even the most basic of functions like walking or not putting their kids in microwaves or toaster ovens or what have you then we simply restrict the right of that person...rather than have such sub human people cause the whole of us to be treated as animals.

I mean stupidity is one thing but to have the gall to put their own stupid actions on the whole of society is of course absurd. I am getting really tired of stupid people blaming others for their own choices in life. If they need to be treated like animals and directed in the most simplest of actions...fine, but when they want their freedoms and then want to still subject everyone to "new" rules so that they feel less inadequate in their stupidity makes me angry.

If I do something stupid, I admit it, and try not to do it again....I don't dare ask others to be punished for my own actions.

Icymudpuppy

01-20-2011, 06:41 PM

sue the person who invented the alphabet.....with out that there would be no texting.

Umm, I think that person has been dead for millennia now. We use a slightly modified version of the Roman Alphabet which has been in use for well over 2000 years.

On the plus side, good luck even identifying the inventor, much less collecting from them.

If Rudyard Kipling is to be believed, the inventors of the Alphabet were Tegumai Bopsulai (which means, 'Man-who-does-not-put-his-foot-forward-in-a-hurry') who was a Neolithic man and his daughter Taffimai Metallumai (which means 'Small-person-without-any-manners-who-ought-to-be-spanked') "aka Taffy".

georgiaboy

01-20-2011, 06:41 PM

did she have a license to carry that cell phone with texting capability?

Humanae Libertas

01-20-2011, 06:48 PM

I can see it now!

BREAKING: Pennsylvania state legislature introduces "walking while texting" ban bill!

Live_Free_Or_Die

01-20-2011, 08:15 PM

i got $1.00 on guard rails will be installed at that mall around the fountain... any takers?

oyarde

01-20-2011, 08:57 PM

i got $1.00 on guard rails will be installed at that mall around the fountain... any takers?

Yeah and throw a couple ducks in there too to make some noise .

Koz

01-20-2011, 09:38 PM

i got $1.00 on guard rails will be installed at that mall around the fountain... any takers?

No, they are going to put a warning on the fountain that says: "Beware of fountain, do not text in this area, it may cause texters to fall into fountain."

The Dude

01-20-2011, 09:54 PM

Apparently she was an employee at one of the stores there. This happened at my local mall. What an idiot.

Bruno

01-20-2011, 10:01 PM

Apparently she was an employee at one of the stores there. This happened at my local mall. What an idiot.

So...she knew that fountain was there because she works there every day and she still fell into it? All faith in our judicial system I had left is lost if she gets a penny out of this.

WilliamShrugged

01-20-2011, 10:39 PM

Wonder if she sent her message off before the fall?

Philhelm

01-20-2011, 10:57 PM

Stories like this just make me want to say, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!"

I hate it when people try to sue for negligence, when it's their own damned fault!!! Get off the cellphone bitch!

Pauls' Revere

01-20-2011, 11:48 PM

We will never regain our freedom when people such as this walk the earth.

^^this^^

bkreigh

01-21-2011, 12:02 AM

If she wins im going to the mall the next day and fall in before they put up any safety precautions.

Seriously though, i would bet this wasnt her first rodeo at that mall. Surely the defense could easily prove that she knew of the gigantic "hazards" in the middle of the walkways.

Marenco

01-21-2011, 12:03 AM

We will never regain our freedom when people such as this walk the earth.
"No people will tamely surrender their Liberties, nor can

any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffused and Virtue is

preserved. On the Contrary, when People are universally ignorant,

and debauched in their Manners, they will sink under their own

weight without the Aid of foreign Invaders." - Samuel Adams

Pericles

01-21-2011, 12:05 AM

even a blind person i believe would have avoided that
Because blind people watch where they are going ........... if you get my meaning.

Kregisen

01-21-2011, 12:44 AM

I saw this video a little while ago.....I can't believe she's suing now.

If that old lady can win millions after spilling coffee on herself, I don't see why someone falling into a fountain can't also get millions....

I just have no faith in our justice system. Hopefully she gets made fun of for the rest of her life...what a bitch.

Kregisen

01-21-2011, 12:59 AM

http://abcnews.go.com/US/fountain-falling-texter-cathy-cruz-marrero-dont-text/story?id=12685189

The problems continue to pile up for the Pennsylvania woman who became the unwitting star of a viral video after she fell into a mall fountain while text messaging.

In the hours that followed Cathy Cruz Marrero's appearance on "Good Morning America" today to talk about the fall and its aftermath, she was in court for a status hearing on charges of five felony counts, including theft by deception and receiving stolen property.

Marrero, 49, was charged in October 2009 for allegedly using a coworker's credit cards to make more than $5,000 in purchases at a Target and a Zales jewelry store -- $1,055 of those purchases were dismissed from the case in previous hearings.

She is expected to face sentencing at her next court date, on April 21, according to the Reading Eagle. Marrero is likely facing about six months of house arrest and electronic monitoring.

Her probation ended in October.

No wonder she's suing for falling....why think it's morally wrong to steal from a mall when you don't think it's morally wrong to steal from a co-worker?

ammorris

01-21-2011, 01:02 AM

Based on the interview on ABC, it seems like she's suing more over the mall's response to her falling in the fountain (which is dumb, because she was clearly unhurt), as well as the leaking of the security footage to YouTube (which is probably a legitimate breach of mall policy.)

qh4dotcom

01-21-2011, 01:05 AM

idirtify

01-21-2011, 01:21 AM

Even though it almost looked intentional (esp now that there’s a lawsuit), from now on may the name “Cathy Cruz Marrero” evoke hilarity wherever it is spoken.

But according to this
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/01/20/mall-worker-fell-fountain-threatens-sue-criminal-record/
the lawsuit is actually because the mall security video was made public.

But nonetheless, does anyone have a picture of this pathetic excuse for a person? Let’s post it. If she was on "Good Morning America", her pic should be circulating out there somewhere.

But if her case doesn’t get thrown out and goes to jury and she gets a monetary judgment, it’s proof that persons MORE pathetic than Cathy Cruz Marrero actually do exist. How can I say that, you ask? Because those persons would consist of the JURY that awarded the judgment. If that happens, let’s make sure to get their names too.

idirtify

01-21-2011, 01:23 AM

What laws were violated? Mall policy is not law.

Right. And she sure can not claim an expectation of privacy.

ammorris

01-21-2011, 08:33 AM

Right. And she sure can not claim an expectation of privacy.

Right. She really doesn't have much to go on. I suspect her lawyer knows that, and might be humoring her while charging her by the hour. The mall will apologize and promise to review their security policies, and that will be about it. Unless a retarded jury awards her something for her "mental anguish"...

jtstellar

01-21-2011, 10:34 AM

You can get out and still have "damages." No doubt she has a phone with a high retail value, and her clothing suffered, and she has mental anguish! Plus you really can injure yourself and be so embarrassed you don't feel it right away. Not saying she has a case, but that you don't need to be flat-out on the floor dying to have one, either.

you're not saying the law needs to compensate for her hyper-sensitivity?

RonPaulFanInGA

01-21-2011, 10:38 AM

Well, why not? In a country where 'coffee is too hot' lady can win: no lawsuit is too frivolous.

It's time for "loser pays" or some kind of tort reform.

RCA

01-21-2011, 10:46 AM

more evidence of devolution

TonySutton

01-21-2011, 10:53 AM

They should put up looped video of her in strategic spots around the fountain with a sign that says "Don't let this happen to you, do not text while walking!"

idirtify

01-21-2011, 11:57 AM

They should put up looped video of her in strategic spots around the fountain with a sign that says "Don't let this happen to you, do not text while walking!"

great idea.

jmdrake

01-21-2011, 12:27 PM

Before clicking on the thread I really thought she was going to sue the cell phone company for making a dangerous product. ;) Seriously though, I don't see any way for her to win this case. A lawyer would have to be desperate for work to take it (and some are). The video shows her texting to be the more proximate cause of the injury. And I doubt she'll be able to claim any "hidden" injuries. That doesn't look like the kind of accident that would cause whiplash. Mental anguish? Very hard to win on that. And while a mall might choose to settle some cases and let the insurance pay for it, they would be stupid to do that in this case. There are just too many ways a stupid person could fall and hurt themselves by walking around not paying attention to what they were doing. And if she won there would be many people tempted to go "accidentally" fall in a mall fountain or over the side of a mall balcony or (fill in the blank). Besides, these cases have to go to the jury. If you were her lawyer would you really want a jury to see this video?

dannno

01-21-2011, 12:35 PM

If you were her lawyer would you really want a jury to see this video?

Only if I could get their reaction on video.

pcosmar

01-21-2011, 12:36 PM

In a sane and logical world, the Judge would throw this out of court upon presentation. And reprimand the attorney presenting it.

In this Bizzaro world she and her lawyer will likely make a few bucks.

:(

psi2941

01-21-2011, 01:33 PM

does anyone think she staged this whole thing? i mean i txted before even though i'm not paying attention i can still clearly see where i'm going. the cell phone is really small and i can clearly see a huge fountain coming up like that. second the perfect angle of the camera. i think she clearly choose that spot because she knew a camera was there.

speciallyblend

01-21-2011, 01:37 PM

the video will crush her case and hopefully make her out for the moneyho she is! She should sue herself!

speciallyblend

01-21-2011, 01:43 PM

even a blind person i believe would have avoided that

my dad is blind and if he was alone he would of just stepped over the small wall and got his feet wet! I highly doubt even my dad would of stepped into it since he would of figured it wasn't a curb and must be a bench or something and walked around it!

the mall should put signs everywhere saying please don't text and walk at the sametime and if that is not possible stop breathing!!joking of course

coastie

01-21-2011, 02:07 PM

What an idiot.

Funny, just the other day I was in the mall(first time in at least 12 years, don't hate), and I didn't see this kid(early 20's) walking around the corner...

Long story short-he was texting ,came around the corner and walked right into 215lbs of gelatinous coastie goodness.:collins:

He ended up flat on his back-phone broken. The kid jumped up wanting to fight, and then even had the audacity to demand that I pay for his phone. :confused:

I told him he should be more worried about paying the doctor bills he's fixing to receive if he didn't do an about face. He stormed off, cursing and screaming, then mall security stopped him. I dunno what happened to him after that, I left.

Yeah, this "it's everyone's fault but my own" shit has got to stop.:mad:

Nate-ForLiberty

01-21-2011, 02:12 PM

my dad is blind and if he was alone he would of just stepped over the small wall and got his feet wet! I highly doubt even my dad would of stepped into it since he would of figured it wasn't a curb and must be a bench or something and walked around it!

the mall should put signs everywhere saying please don't text and walk at the sametime and if that is not possible stop breathing!!joking of course

or the smell or sound of water would tip him off. A blind person, simply by the nature of being blind, is far more aware of his surroundings than this woman.

heavenlyboy34

01-21-2011, 02:12 PM

/facepalm @ stupid woman suing for her own dumbass mistake. (funny vid, tho :) )

MelissaWV

01-21-2011, 06:02 PM

Just a tidbit to add to the discussion...

Many of you are citing the lawsuit about the coffee being too hot. It's interesting how people add to the story after the fact. Was it stupid to hold a hot coffee cup between her knees and try to pry the lid off? Absolutely. However, average coffee does not cause third degree burns on (I think it was?) 5% of your body... including your "groin" and necessitate years of medical treatment. It does when you buy it at fast food places, because they make their coffee ridiculously hot on the assumption you aren't going to drink it for 10-30 minutes (when you reach your destination).

I also recall that she originally just wanted her medical bills, but McDonald's offered her less than $1,000.

Lastly, people say she got "millions" from the case but fail to realize that she didn't. She got far more than sane people would give her, but she didn't get millions. She also wasn't the only one with a problem:

Other documents obtained from McDonald's showed that from 1982 to 1992 the company had received more than 700 reports of people burned by McDonald's coffee to varying degrees of severity, and had settled claims arising from scalding injuries for more than $500,000.

She's also dead; the Government wound up taking a bite out of what money she had, I'm sure, as they tend to do.