Family sues over shattered diving mask

[TexasFencer]

Kids get so excited about the pool that they behave like kids. They don't look out for one another (in terms of collision avoidance). I think this was likely just a terrible accident due to poor parental supervision. I am sorry for the gal that was hurt, thank whatever-deity-you-choose that she wasn't blinded.

Sounds like another lawsuit by parents wanting to feel less guilty about their own carelessness.

 

[TexasFencer]

Sorry for the girl,but blaming the manufacturer

I'm thinking the manufacturer can't be at fault here unless the lense is shown to be made not according to their specs. I think a fairly hard impact with a foot would be outside of any standard testing and there was likely a caution on the packaging about avoiding such impacts (diving into the water etc.).

Nope, blame (if there is any to be had) is on the parents for not providing a safe play environment. The whole situation could have been avoided if someone had prevented the girl on the slide from descending until the girl at the bottom had been moved clear. I spent two hours doing just that on Saturday.

 

[alcina]

While I'm usually the first to say "if the parents had only..." I remember being a kid.

And I remember how fast things happen and no amount of parental supervision is going to make kids safe from everything. Accidents happen. And they happen a lot when kids are excited and just doing kid stuff.

Kids stand at the bottom of slides every day and I'll be they do it with masks, sunglasses and a variety of sharp objects pointed at their eyes. Most of the time, nothing terrible happens.

I'd say let's not be too hard on the parents here - it could happen to anyone.

The "let's sue somebody" thing is a pathetic response by the parents and they should be held accountable for it. A nice little charge for a nuisance suit would be good

 

[mike_s]

I'm thinking the manufacturer can't be at fault here unless the lense is shown to be made not according to their specs. I think a fairly hard impact with a foot would be outside of any standard testing and there was likely a caution on the packaging about avoiding such impacts (diving into the water etc.).

Nope, blame (if there is any to be had) is on the parents for not providing a safe play environment. The whole situation could have been avoided if someone had prevented the girl on the slide from descending until the girl at the bottom had been moved clear. I spent two hours doing just that on Saturday.

well the media reports already named the manufacturer incorrectly, and the material (glass vs. plastic) of the lens incorrectly.

I'm betting that this isn't even a diving mask. what manufacturer, even the cheap walmart brands, make masks that aren't tempered now days.


I'm betting this was a set of plastic lens swim goggles that were the "fuller size"

like these.

 

[DandyDon]

Sorry the girl was hurt, glad she was fixed up okay instead of the lies in the original story, and glad that one of my favorite manufactures was innocent.

In case anyone missed the points...

• ...the mask was not the one of Oceanic’s scuba diving line masks, as was shown in the story, but was a mask from a youth snorkeling kit purchased while on a Hawaiian family vacation.
• Addtionally, the accident took place when the injured girl was standing at the bottom of a pool slide. Another girl slide down the slide in such a way that her foot ran into the facemask and broke the glass.
• The girl’s injuries were also less severe than indicated by the story and her nose was fully restored at the hospital.

 

[telemonster]

Oceanic should sue for defamation.

 

[seaducer]

Oceanic should sue for defamation.

Hear freaking hear to that!

Is there any country where lawyers refuse idiotic suits, or the parties get thrown in jail for bringing up such a suit? I would like to move there.

I am sorry the girl got hurt BUT it is hardly the fault of the manufacturer. Getting rammed by a flying child is hardly what dive masks (even cheap ones) are designed to protect against. Next thing you know they will be sold looking like hockey masks.

For )(&% sake, can't accidents just be accidents anymore?

 

[ianw2]

What's wrong with you guy's in the USofA,is there nobody left over there with any common sence? Or is it the way you make a living these day's?

Yes. It is a way of making a living – for some.

It costs a lot of money for a large corporation to defend against a lawsuit. It can cost $50K to well over $100K. Large corporations would rather settle for $50K than spend $100K to mount a successful defense.

Certain attorneys (and I use the term loosely) take advantage of this. By splitting the award with the litigant, the attorney can walk away with as much as half of the settlement. Not bad for a few hours work and pitching a story to the media. There are a number of well known attorneys who got to be well known attorneys because of this practice.

In this case, the defendants named were likely the owners of the pool, the parents of the girl on the slide, the manufacturers of the slide, the pool construction company and its subcontractors as well as the manufacturer of the mask. The hope is that if each entity puts in money to settle their portion of the lawsuit, the pot grows into something quite respectable. Imagine each of the five parties I listed (or their insurance companies) kicked in $25K to $50K. The pot grows to $125K to $250K. The attorney’s take would be 30-50%. In my opinion, it’s parasitic, of course, but it’s still a lot of money.

Is there any country where lawyers refuse idiotic suits, or the parties get thrown in jail for bringing up such a suit?

Unfortunately, the idiocy at hand in this case is what allows for the ability to prosecute valid claims. It is a sad fact of life that there will always be those bottom feeders who choose to spend their energy subverting legitimate rights and privileges to their own ends. This is an example of this sort of behavior.

 

[seaducer]

In this case, the defendants named were likely the owners of the pool, the parents of the girl on the slide, the manufacturers of the slide, the pool construction company and its subcontractors as well as the manufacturer of the mask. The hope is that if each entity puts in money to settle their portion of the lawsuit, the pot grows into something quite respectable. Imagine each of the five parties I listed (or their insurance companies) kicked in $25K to $50K. The pot grows to $125K to $250K. The attorney’s take would be 30-50%. In my opinion, it’s parasitic, of course, but it’s still a lot of money.

I am sorry but this just sounds like legalized extorsion(sp) to me. Personally I wish the civil lawsuit thing would just go away. If it isn't criminal, you aren't liable...

 

[DandyDon]

Unfortunately, the idiocy at hand in this case is what allows for the ability to prosecute valid claims. It is a sad fact of life that there will always be those bottom feeders who choose to spend their energy subverting legitimate rights and privileges to their own ends. This is an example of this sort of behavior.

Yeah, I think we do have the best judicial system in the world, albeit far from perfect. Everyone is due their day in court (unless the judge throws out a suit as being frivolous, and they don't do that lightly) with a jury of his/her peers (unless the defendant opts for judge only).

• I have had incidents where I used such to defend myself on misdemeanors opting to not use a lawyer myself (the judges hate that, dealing with amateurs, but you can), and had fun winning. True, I played on the emotions of the 6 person jury after rejecting some in the pool (like my old drinking bud from high school; he'd hung me out to dry) and poked fun at professional law officers who had been doing their best at their jobs - but it's still the fairest system. I deserved the opportunity because our constitution says so.
• Other times I have bluffed big corps who thot I owed them money when I didn't think so: "Okay fine, sue me - and I'll meet you in court, and we'll see what the jury thinks about the big bad money grabbing corp picking on a poor farm boy - and even if you win, do you think you'll ever collect...?"

Our weakness is the people who can't come up with a good reason to be excused from jury duty, as you can fool all the people some of the time, but it's still the fairest system.

I am sorry but this just sounds like legalized extorsion(sp) to me. Personally I wish the civil lawsuit thing would just go away. If it isn't criminal, you aren't liable...

OOoops, what if someone or some company honestly & fairly did owe you a large sum. No recourse other than to break the guy's nose. Wouldn't work well with a negligent, drunk lady who'd rammed your car would it, or with the company who supplied you with junk...??

And support for the lawyers: Every attorney has a professional obligation to do his/her best work for the client - not blindside the client by playing judge. That they work on commission was our idea when we told them "we couldn't afford their righteous fees, but if they did a good enough job and won what was owed us, they could have part of the winnings - and why don't we sue for extra to cover your part so I can still have mine."