Man Sues Home Depot After Using Glue-Covered Toilet

[matcom]

<snip>

BOULDER, Colorado --A hardware retailer Home Depot has found itself in a sticky situation, defending a lawsuit filed by a man who claims the chain's Louisville store ignored his cries for help after he fell victim to a prank and was glued to a toilet seat.

Bob Dougherty, 57, of Nederland, said he became stuck to a bathroom toilet seat on which somebody had smeared glue on Oct. 30, 2003, and felt "tremendous panic" when he realized he was stuck.

"They left me there, going through all that stress," Dougherty told The (Boulder) Daily Camera. "They just let me rot."

His lawsuit, filed Friday said Dougherty was recovering from heart bypass surgery at the time and thought he was having a heart attack. A store employee who heard him calling for help informed the head clerk via radio, but the head clerk "believed it to be a hoax," the lawsuit said.

Home Depot spokeswoman Kathryn Gallagher said she could not comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit said after about 15 minutes, store officials called for an ambulance. Paramedics unbolted the toilet seat, and while wheeling a "frightened and humiliated" Dougherty out of the store, he passed out.

The lawsuit said the toilet seat separated from his skin, leaving abrasions.

"This is not Home Depot's fault," he said. "But I am blaming them for letting me hang in there and just ignoring me."

http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2005/11/02/man_sues_after_using_glue_covered_toilet?mode=PF

[ScreamingMeemie]

1. Oh My. Thanks matcom. That laugh was needed.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[afdip]

2. a classic; thank you

[Deja Q]

3. Home Depot's store, home depot's glue... they have some blame.

home depot needs to take responsibility for what the people do in the store.

That's why they have cameras and keep eyes open for suspicious people.

Of cfourse, the miscreants probably looked like republicans so nobody noticed or cared. :evilgrin:

[Zuni]

12. cameras and observers in the bathroom?

I would prefer to take my chance with the potential heart attack

[jmowreader]

22. Sorry, no cameras in the restrooms

[PROMETHEUS UNBOUND]

4. Sue the bastards! Ignoring someones cries for help is very bad.

[underpants]

5. Man that's Lowe

:yoiks:

[matcom]

6. SNARF!!

damn you underpants! damn you!

:rofl:

[Coventina]

7. Er....not that I want to "blame the victim" but....didn't he put down some

"protection" before sitting?

Personally, when I find I have to use a public restroom, I first inspect the seat. I usually wipe it off with a wad of TP, and then put down one of those "Protecto" thingys. I never just plop my butt down on an uninspected surface.

Well, I think I just told all of you a little too much about my bathroom habits....

:yoiks:

[yellowcanine]

10. Well I don't put down the paper but I do LOOK first. But to be fair,

maybe it was an emergency and he was in a hurry.

[Pithlet]

13. I thought about that.

I mean, who sits on public toilet seats? :scared: But, the poor guy does have a case, and I hope he wins.

[Coventina]

16. Agreed. If he was calling for help, someone should have investigated.

My poor grandpa died on the toilet at work and wasn't found for 2 hours!

Granted, I don't think he called for help. Massive coronary killed him instantly.

[Midlodemocrat]

8. Dear God. That is awful.

[philosophie_en_rose]

9. ouch.

what is it with glue and people's butts? :eyes:

I think that Home Depot has an obligation to maintain its facilities in a reasonable condition. On the other hand, it doesn't take much to run some toilet paper on the seat.

:shrug:

I wish they could catch the loser that put the glue in there.

[DainBramaged]

21. wopbobalooodawopbangboom

[grace0418]

11. I don't see why he's surprised. Hell, the employees there don't pay

attention to you even when you're trying to give them money. The worst customer experiences I've had have been at Home Depot and Best Buy. No offense if anyone here works at HD. I'm sure there are good employees, just not at the HD by my house. And I've worked many years in retail so I am a very patient and undemanding customer.

[DainBramaged]

14. "They just let me rot." 15 minutes is letting someone rot?

I've waited longer than that in the drive in line at Taco Bell. I guess he couldn't just unbuckle his pants and stand up?? And abrasions? Boy have I gotten some abrasions in my life, and those were fun too.

Sorry, if someone that helpless and dumb is running around Home Sleezpo, he was richly rewarded.

[Beetwasher]

15. Hmm, Did He Get A Chance To Wipe Before They Removed Him?

Just wondering.

[DS1]

17. Well, at least he can tell his momma that his undies were clean

when he went to the ER

[ucmike]

18. maybe trying to get paid????

there's a lot of funny stuff here.
-he didn't even look first before he sat? enough glue to bond an ass to a toilet seat would probably be visible
-there wouldn't be security cams in the toilet so no one could see what was going on
-glue that would stick that quickly would probably have an obvious smell.
-if it was enough glue to stick his ass to the seat wouldn't he have felt it before it bonded
-he passed out on the way out of the store, but not while struggling to free himself in a panic

sounds like "a finger in the chili" type of stunt to get a big corp to pay out.

[AnarchoFreeThinker]

19. has anybody seen my glue?

[DainBramaged]

20. This thread shall be glued to the top

[Ivan Sputnik]

23. Always look before you sit

My mom taught me that.

[Luna_Chick]

24. Think I was locked in a restroom stall that long once

at Dunkin Donuts...missed my opportunity to sue when no one came running toward my cries for help. Of course I'd just helped close down a nearby bar, was stumbling home and couldn't seem to work that defective latch, but still. I could tell by the looks on the late night donut munchin crowd's faces that they'd heard me in there.