Thread: more on personal responsibility

thsi is local news around here and it makes me crazy...the first story/accident hit the paers about a week ago. I'm sorry that the boys got hurt but they were trespassing/vandolizing some one else's property. the second article? All about the lawsuit...shame shame shame - you don't keep any eye on your kids but you deserve money for it??? I raised two kids in the very same neighborhood years ago, a stone's throw from those warehouses. The only time my kids were there was if WE went to pay the cable bill. I just can't believe that we have to live in a world that makes us resposible for other people breaking the law/being stupid

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/loc...1,339499.story

2 boys injured after falling through skylight at abandoned Coral Springs building

sun-sentinel.com
Posted March 15 2006, 10:40 AM EST


CORAL SPRINGS -- Two boys were seriously injured when they fell nearly 30 feet through the skylight of an abandoned Coral Springs warehouse Tuesday night, fire-rescue officials said.

The boys, about age 10, were jumping on the skylight at 12300 NW 35th St. when it broke, said Coral Springs Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Moser.



LocalLinks

Two other children who were on the roof playing with them were not injured, Moser said.

"This place is an abandoned structure that used to manufacture park equipment. This building has been unoccupied for some time, and the kids in the neighborhood have gone in here at some point and set up skateboard ramps and things of that nature and been playing inside," said Moser told news partner NBC 6.

"Later investigation found that these children were on the roof of the structure, playing around, were jumping on a skylight that gave way, and those children fell about 25 to 30 feet," Moser said.

The uninjured boys ran to a nearby business and called 911 about 6:15 p.m., he said. Paramedics took one boy to Broward General Medical Center in serious condition. The other was flown to the same hospital in critical condition.

The warehouse is off Sample Road just east of the Sawgrass Expressway. The warehouse was secured by a fence after sustaining damage during Hurricane Wilma, but the boys managed to make it onto the property anyway.


Family sues on behalf of boy hurt in fall at vacant Coral Springs warehouse

By Kevin Smith
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted March 24 2006


The owners of the Coral Springs warehouse where two boys fell through a skylight were negligent in allowing the building to become a makeshift skateboard park, according to a lawsuit filed this week.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Devin Harvey in Miami-Dade court Monday, said property owner Pan American Sites of Coral Gables should have taken steps to secure the 87,000-square-foot warehouse before the March 14 accident. Harvey, 11, of Coral Springs, suffered a broken arm in the fall and was released from Broward General Medical Center last weekend, attorney Alan Goldfarb said.



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A friend, Quincy Little, 10, suffered more critical injuries. He was in fair condition Thursday, according to a Broward General spokeswoman.

Attorney Greg Victor, representing Pan American Sites, said Thursday he had not examined the lawsuit in detail, but he believed there were several false allegations in its 13 pages.

"I believe there's a lot in there that we will take issue with," he said.

The first intent of the suit, Goldfarb said, was to ensure the payment of Harvey's mounting medical expenses.

"The second goal is to cause an awareness that investors in property should not let their property go without security, go without a gate or a fence, without periodically checking the conditions," Goldfarb said.

Harvey, Little and two other boys were playing in the vacant warehouse at 12325 W. Sample Road around 6:15 p.m. March 14. Coral Springs Fire Rescue officials said the boys had gotten onto the roof and were jumping on the skylight when it broke, with both boys falling 25 feet or more to a concrete floor.

Coral Springs police responded, but no charges were filed against either the boys or the property owners.

Goldfarb said he also represented the Little family and was preparing a second lawsuit on its behalf.

Kevin Smith can be reached at [email protected] or 954-572-2009.

I read about a lawsuit once where there parents of a teenager who was killed in a car accident were suing the car dealership. They said the dealership sold them a sports car for their 16 year old without warning them that teens were more likely to speed. Therefore, it was their fault that he went too fast and had a fatal accident.

if the prperty had been left unsecured then yes i would agree with the lawsuit, but it was secured by a gate---and as far as i see it it was breaking and entering. but i have heard of worse, a burgular breaks into a home and sues and wins the house--adding insult to injury, or how about in texas when the ranch holder held illegals at gunpoint, he was arrested for illegal possesion of a firearm then the illegals sued and guess what the guy that owned the ranch went to jail, and the illegals got the ranch. injustice. i think there should be a law, you break and enter and you get injured to freckin bad, you goto jail and suffer the consequences. but now and days people doing illegal stuff sue and win. the world today.......

Originally Posted by JKATHERINE

WTF? They PARENTS are neglligent because they weren't watching their 10 year old children! What the heck kind of parent doesn't know where their 10 year old is and what they're up to?? According to the article, there WAS a fence around the building, but the boys broke in anyway. They were most definitely trespassing and it is their own damn fault they almost killed themselves. What the heck is our world coming to?

It's all so frustrating. I remember when we bought our house our insurance agent recommended we fill in our inground pool with sand and do without it. Uh, yeah, right. He said that even though there is a fence around it and no tresspassing signs, if someone were to climb the fence and drown (or be injured), or someone's pet were to somehow get in and drown or be injured, that we would be liable and they could most definitely sue us. WTF? I remember my mom complaining about what a sue-happy society that we're living in today...back when I was little...now it's just getting worse.

I think the pool thing is complete and utter BS. I think that if you have a fence and signs and do whatever you can to keep people from getting into the pool, you should NOT be liable should some negligent parent not bother to watch their child, or someone else decide a swim is a good idea, although they cannot swim well.

I will not have a pool here in FL simply due to the BS laws. Also my homeowner's insurance will skyrocket.

Originally Posted by JKATHERINE

It seems there was a fence, but regardless, those boys were on property that WAS NOT their own. That is trespassing and they are in the wrong 100%.

That is why I cannot understand the "parents" suing. (I use the term loosely~actually they are negligent, piss poor excuses for human beings) If MY kid decided to trespass, I would be so pissed. I would not sue for my kid doing something stupid.