Article: http://espn.go.com/dallas/nfl/story/_/id/8276263/dallas-cowboys-hot-water-burned-fan-files-lawsuit-team
Summary: While in attendance for a Dallas Cowboys team scrimmage in August 2010, one female fan suffered third-degree burns on her butt from sitting on a bench outside the stadium. It was over 100 degrees that day and the particular bench she sat on was black marble. Her lawyer claims that this incident has caused "mental anguish, physical pain and disfigurement as a result of her wounds." The Dallas Cowboys organization declined to comment.
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| Jason Witten's like.. really? |
Opinion: As odd as this story is, the WTHM award for this one goes to the Cowboys; at least, whoever decided to put black marble benches outside of the stadium in the Dallas sun and not provide a warning. We live in a culture where people can win lawsuits if you don't properly put things like "peel before eating" on your food. You gotta have enough foresight to put warning signs for your benches because regardless of what color they are, they could get hot. The fact that this lady suffered burns and couldn't tell until she received medical attention is a bit of a stretch for me, but stranger things have happened.
Lemme clear my throat because it's been awhile but for this story, I say... What the heck, man?
Jon - What the Heck Man?
ReplyDeleteAre you seriously suggesting that the Cowboys should have posted warnings that a black bench sitting in the sun would be hot? Everyone learns that at age 4. Black=Hot Do we need to put warnings along roads that getting hit by a car could be deadly? Glass bottles covered with warnings that broken glass is sharp? Reminders to breathe???
Lawsuits like this will only contribute to additional absurd and ridiculous warnings (which actually make society MORE dangerous because we don't take warnings seriously anymore).
I've not responded to a comment before, but I do feel I should clarify. As a result of our society (and things like the "peel before eating" warnings), I think it was legally risky to not place a warning nearby. I would certainly prefer that we didn't have lawsuits like this, but they're out there, and large, corporate organizations should understand that they need to follow suit.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely against anything that makes society dumber, and this is one of those things, but because of the world we live in, I feel the Cowboys should have taken more care. Also, since we all learn around age 4, you'd think the hundreds of folks who worked on Cowboy Stadium would know not to put a black marble bench outside in Dallas.
So, are you saying that you'd rather have the sign there, or that the Cowboys were reckless, as a business for not posting one? I commend the Cowboys for forgoing the sign. The Cowboys are a classy organization, and nothing says classy like black marble (apparently the elevators have a special type of blue marble, probably mined by 5 year old Chinese orphans - again ,very classy). Nothing ruins classiness like a CYA warning to idiots.
ReplyDeleteHaha. I don't know what the solution would be. Maybe a small yet visible sign on the side of the bench? Doesn't have to be an eyesore to be legally sound. If this particular case somehow costs them a decent amount of change, you can bet they'll do something.
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