Woman struck by train sues railroad

[karyn]

from pittsburgh live

By Matthew Junker
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, November 5, 2004

A Jeannette woman who was slightly injured after being struck by a train while walking along railroad tracks sued Norfolk Southern Corp. Thursday for failing to warn pedestrians that trains travel on tracks.
Patricia M. Frankhouser, of 910 Scott Ave., is seeking an unspecified amount in excess of $30,000 from the Norfolk, Va., rail transport company for the Jan. 6 incident that left her with a broken finger, cuts on her hand and pain, according to the suit.

Greensburg attorney Harry F. Smail Jr., who represents Frankhouser, didn't return a call seeking comment.

Within the filing, he argues that the railroad was negligent for failing to post signs warning "of the dangers of walking near train tracks and that the tracks were actively in use."

According to the suit, Frankhouser was walking along the tracks near Seventh and Eighth streets in Jeannette.

"Defendant's failure to warn plaintiff of the potential dangers negligently provided plaintiff with the belief she was safe in walking near the train tracks," the suit states.

The filing does not state why Frankhouser failed to hear the oncoming train and get out of the way.

It also does not state if she was crossing the rail bed or walking in between, or along, the tracks.

The case has been assigned to Westmoreland County Judge William J. Ober. No hearing has been set.

[hewhoisagod]

I hope she gets laughed out of court......... This is almost like that dumbass that sued McDonalds because there wasn't a warning on her cup that said her coffee was hot.

[morbid_lady]

argh....

[Nightingale]

She should be laughed out of court, but probably won't be. The woman who sued McDonalds won, remember? even if the her award was later reduced, and cups do now have HOT or similar on them (even in Germany). She'll probably win in the first instance.

[BrightStar]

Reminds Me of the guy who sued himself for attempted murder and assault for hitting himself in the head with a boomerang. He won over 20 or 50 Million $.

[Nightingale]

There are so many stories. Man sues the prisons department when he slipped and fell on a wet floor he had washed himself. Woman sues another burger chain because her lower lip was burnt by the burger dressing; her man sues them for loss of sexual pleasures as a result of the burn. Man sues Wanabago for not telling him that the autopilot (cruise control) in his new mobile home does not allow him to leave the drivers seat and brew coffee ...

[Cafe_Post_Mortem]

Sometimes suits that seem painfully stupid actually have some validity to them. The McDonald's coffee thing is a good example. As absurd as the suit sound, there is more to the story. First the coffee was hot enough to cause 3rd degree burns that required skin graphs to repair. The woman (allegedly) originally only asked that the medical bills be covered, but McD's told her no. Finally, there had been numerous complaints and even lawsuits of injuries from the coffee. If we spill coffee on ourselves we expect to get burned, but we generally do not expect severe burns in such a short amount of time.

It is possible there is a legit reson to sue on the train tracks but it does seem unlikely. If thier have been an inordinant number of accidents and the train company had shown indiference or ignored the problem. However, while it is reasonable to expect coffee not to be a severe threat to your safety, it will be pretty hard to convince most juries that train tracks look like a safe place to stand.

I do want to comend the paper on the responsible reporting of the woman's full name and address though. Always a good idea in lawsuits people may think are stupid.

[One Eyed Cat]

I would laugh at this story as well .... if I did not live a few miles from where the incident happened. Pittsburgh and the surrounding area have a lot of "dead tracks" that have not been used since the closing of the steel mills. It is possible she assumed this was one. I still think she should be laughed out of court, but the story is not quite as ridiculous as it seems.

OEC

[Nightingale]

Sometimes suits that seem painfully stupid actually have some validity to them. The McDonald's coffee thing is a good example. As absurd as the suit sound, there is more to the story. First the coffee was hot enough to cause 3rd degree burns that required skin graphs to repair. The woman (allegedly) originally only asked that the medical bills be covered, but McD's told her no. Finally, there had been numerous complaints and even lawsuits of injuries from the coffee. If we spill coffee on ourselves we expect to get burned, but we generally do not expect severe burns in such a short amount of time.

Quite true. But the coffee was bought at the drive-in window, the woman drove away, opened the coffee and tried to add the creamer whilst driving. Had she been sitting at a table or parked I'd understand it, but even the most stupid must realise that a moving vehicle, coffee clamped between the legs and a total lack of concentration do not make a good breakfast.

[Cafe_Post_Mortem]

Actually she wasn't driving. She was the passenger in the car. They claimed the car was not moving when the spill occured, but there is no way to prove or disprove that.

[Nightingale]

Actually she wasn't driving. She was the passenger in the car. They claimed the car was not moving when the spill occured, but there is no way to prove or disprove that.

Fine, which makes her even more stupid and even more of a case that should have been thrown out by the court. I'd heard she was driving and adding the creamer at the same time, read it in an online newsreport hodges of time ago that I'll never be able to find again to reference.

[Nightingale]

The McDonalds coffee case doesn't go away, it merely changes nationality:

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Almost 15 years after McDonald's brought a taste of America to impoverished Russians, a 37-year-old Muscovite has hit the firm with a U.S.-style lawsuit over a spilled cup of coffee, Russian media has reported.

Olga Kuznetsova is claiming 400 roubles (7.50 pounds) in healthcare costs and 100,000 roubles (1,900 pounds) of moral damage after suffering first and second degree burns, media reported on Friday.

"I opened a door with one hand while carrying the tray with the other. But the door slammed and spilled the cup of coffee all over me," she told Vedomosti daily. "I asked for help from the staff but they said they'd run out of ointment and only brought some ice and a towel."

The paper quoted a McDonald's spokeswoman as saying the firm had received a claim but was unaware of any lawsuit, which she said would be the first of its kind for McDonald's in Russia.

In one U.S. case in 1994, a woman was awarded punitive damages of $2.7 million (1.5 million pounds), later reduced to $480,000, for burns received when a cup of McDonald's coffee spilled on her lap.

McDonald's is widely popular in Russia, with restaurants in most major towns. The first outlet opened in 1990 when Moscow was still capital of the Soviet Union, and was greeted by queues around the block despite high prices by local standards.

[-=Asmodeus=-]

Stupid people should be tied to a chair and have their hands bashed with hammers....Then someone should come in the room and take a shit ontheir lap...Yup that would do it...