Man Glued to Toilet: $3M Lawsuit Filed

  • Thread starter Thread starter Evo
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a lawsuit filed by a man who claims to have been glued to a toilet seat, seeking $3 million in damages. Participants express their opinions on the lawsuit's legitimacy, the nature of the prank, and the implications of such legal actions. The conversation touches on themes of personal responsibility, the nature of pranks, and the societal impact of frivolous lawsuits.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express frustration with what they perceive as frivolous lawsuits, suggesting that they contribute to rising costs for everyone.
  • Others propose that the man should receive only a minimal compensation, such as an apology and a gift card, arguing that Home Depot is not responsible for the prank.
  • A few participants share personal fears or experiences related to super glue, indicating a broader concern about its potential dangers.
  • There are claims that the man should have been more cautious after a previous incident of being glued to a toilet, questioning his judgment.
  • Some participants speculate on the mechanics of how the glue could have been applied, discussing the speed at which super glue sets and the plausibility of the incident.
  • One participant humorously suggests a method for secretly applying glue to a toilet seat, prompting further discussion about the nature of pranks.
  • Disagreement exists regarding the speed of super glue setting, with some asserting it sets almost instantly while others argue it allows for some reaction time.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally disagree on the legitimacy of the lawsuit and the appropriate response to the incident. There are competing views on the responsibility of Home Depot and the nature of the prank, with no consensus reached.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying assumptions about the nature of super glue and its application, with some questioning the plausibility of the incident based on their experiences. The discussion reflects a mix of personal anecdotes and speculative reasoning.

Evo
Staff Emeritus
Messages
24,114
Reaction score
3,277
I am so sick of frivolous lawsuits. This is the kind of thing that makes costs go up for the rest of us.

What do you think about people that file these types of suits?

"Dougherty's lawsuit, filed Oct. 28, claims that officials at the Home Depot in Louisville called for an ambulance after he had been stuck for about 15 minutes. Paramedics unbolted the toilet seat, which separated from his skin, leaving abrasions, according to the suit.

The lawsuit claims he suffered pain, humiliation and financial losses and seeks $3 million in damages."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1302539
 
Physics news on Phys.org
I would say... an appology and a home depot gift card.

Anything else is crap. Even that is a stretch since home depot had nothing to do with the prank (unless it was an employee who did it!).
 
I have so terrified of super glue, having had a few traumitizing experiences with it. My nightmare is that someone puts some on the escalator and I get dragged around and into the room where they store the stairs after they get to the bottom. I land there and the stairs just keep piling on top of me
 
Pengwuino said:
I would say... an appology and a home depot gift card.

Anything else is crap. Even that is a stretch since home depot had nothing to do with the prank (unless it was an employee who did it!).
stretch? lol no pun intended
 
Evo said:
I am so sick of frivolous lawsuits. This is the kind of thing that makes costs go up for the rest of us.
What do you think about people that file these types of suits?
"Dougherty's lawsuit, filed Oct. 28, claims that officials at the Home Depot in Louisville called for an ambulance after he had been stuck for about 15 minutes. Paramedics unbolted the toilet seat, which separated from his skin, leaving abrasions, according to the suit.
The lawsuit claims he suffered pain, humiliation and financial losses and seeks $3 million in damages."
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1302539
I wouldn't use the same restrooms he uses - bad luck follows him around. Home Depot was the second time he'd been glued to a public toilet.
 
Pengwuino said:
I would say... an appology and a home depot gift card.

Anything else is crap. Even that is a stretch since home depot had nothing to do with the prank (unless it was an employee who did it!).
I agree. If the end result was nothing more than a few abrasions, at best, they should pay his ER bill (though, geez, they probably could have just gotten some acetone and removed it right in the store without the abrasions), assuming it was an employee. If it wasn't an employee, then whoever the prankster was is responsible for paying the bill. But that's it. Geez, what an overly melodramatic person to be crying over pain and suffering for a stupid prank. Next time he should put paper on the seat first.
 
BobG said:
I wouldn't use the same restrooms he uses - bad luck follows him around. Home Depot was the second time he'd been glued to a public toilet.
what a coinkidink
I will say this though. that superglue is sneaky stuff. it gets in places it has no right being.
 
BobG said:
I wouldn't use the same restrooms he uses - bad luck follows him around. Home Depot was the second time he'd been glued to a public toilet.
Really? So this guy is faking it to sue? Afterall, if you get glued once to a toilet seat, I'd bet that any sane person would check every public seat for glue before using it from then on...or else would hover. I didn't know anyone actually sat on public toilet seats anyway.
 
I think the guy should stop supergluing his @$$ and trying to get money off of lawsuits
 
  • #10
tribdog said:
what a coinkidink
I will say this though. that superglue is sneaky stuff. it gets in places it has no right being.
Especially when your girlfriend superglues your genitalia to your abdomen and leg! That's another story out that someone is suing over...she claims it was consensual, he claims he slept through it and she did it to get even for breaking up or something like that...now, I'm a sound sleeper, but I find it very hard to believe that something like that wouldn't wake someone up if it wasn't consensual, as strange as it sounds.
 
  • #11
Did he not see the glue or not look? Was this somekind of really fast acting super glue? Would not the glue have dried up?
 
  • #12
Man Glued to Toilet

I was going to say, been there done that, but this is different.
 
  • #13
it doesn't dry right up, until you sit on it then instant
 
  • #14
Ivan Seeking said:
I was going to say, been there done that, but this is different.
lol, need some pepto?
 
  • #15
tribdog said:
it doesn't dry right up, until you sit on it then instant
Sounds like you're speaking from experience. :biggrin:
 
  • #16
Look at his first post ;)
 
  • #17
I've told the story before I"m sure. I didn't get glued to the toilet, but I did go to the bathroom and ended up with my hand glued to my best friend
 
  • #18
mattmns said:
Did he not see the glue or not look? Was this somekind of really fast acting super glue? Would not the glue have dried up?
That's what had me really suspicous when I first heard this. Superglue dries really quickly, so unless the prankster had just left, it should have been dried up before he sat on it. The only other types of glue I can think of that would cure that quickly but not be dry that quickly require two parts, so he'd have had to paint the other part onto his butt before sitting down. Anything else ought to have been fairly slow drying, so not stuck before he could stand back up (unless he is nasty enough to have sat down on a seat that was "damp" and didn't immediately get up and clean off...in which case, just how long was he occupying the restroom anyway?) It all sounds very fishy. I hope they took lots of pictures of his butt to show to the jurors and televise if he's going to sue...it would serve him right!
 
  • #19
tribdog said:
I've told the story before I"m sure. I didn't get glued to the toilet, but I did go to the bathroom and ended up with my hand glued to my best friend
Well, I guess that just leaves one thing to do, and who could blame you for it when stuck in that predicament? :biggrin: :smile:
 
  • #20
how about, and I'm just guessing here, a person could place a tube of superglue under the toilet lid and put a pin prick in the tube. when someone sits down it squirts and you get stuck
 
  • #21
tribdog said:
I've told the story before I"m sure. I didn't get glued to the toilet, but I did go to the bathroom and ended up with my hand glued to my best friend

Didn't that happen to Jim in one of the American Pie movies?
 
  • #22
yep, I was first though. I even told about it here, before the movie.
 
  • #23
tribdog said:
yep, I was first though. I even told about it here, before the movie.
They stole the idea from you! You can sue them!
 
  • #24
tribdog said:
how about, and I'm just guessing here, a person could place a tube of superglue under the toilet lid and put a pin prick in the tube. when someone sits down it squirts and you get stuck
If you sat on a toilet seat and felt something squirt as you sat down, would you continue sitting? Normal people would jump up before any glue would have a chance to work.
 
  • #25
you don't understand how fast this stuff sets. we are talking less than .5 seconds. if you have it on your thumb you can't touch your thumb and finger together faster than it sets. it's instant
 
  • #26
tribdog said:
you don't understand how fast this stuff sets. we are talking less than .5 seconds. if you have it on your thumb you can't touch your thumb and finger together faster than it sets. it's instant

Yup, I've done several projects in the past few weeks for school involving crazy glue and super glue...
 
  • #27
tribdog said:
you don't understand how fast this stuff sets. we are talking less than .5 seconds. if you have it on your thumb you can't touch your thumb and finger together faster than it sets. it's instant
It's not that fast. I've used superglue, and it gets tacky quickly, but I've never been unable to pull my fingers back apart if I get a drop on them (or remove my fingers from whatever I've been gluing together...I just keep switching fingers to hold whatever I'm holding and it doesn't stick).
 
  • #28
then you are using too much superglue. the less the better, and are you using dollar store superglue? that stuff sucks.
you should never see a tacky superglue. it is liquid then set
 
  • #29
tribdog said:
then you are using too much superglue.
I could say the same for you if you had enough on whatever you were gluing to get it on your hands and then glue your hands to your favorite body part. :biggrin:
 
  • #30
I know what you are thinking, but it doesn't take much glue. I'm rather small. hard to believe, but I've had parrots laugh at me and point.