PSA: do not do a belly flop into 1ft of water *UPDATED*

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: kyparrish
Oh my gosh. $25 mil? As much as that guy was a dumbass, I actually think I might side with him if I was on the jury.

EDIT FOR CLARIFICATION: I don't think he should get $25 mil. I think a fair amount would be medical bills + $2 or $3 million for the rest of his life. Fraternity dues are so high because they have funds for crap like this. Hazing is pretty much universally discouraged, but they know it happens, and cover their butts. I'm not saying this was hazing, but they know their members are dumbasses.

theres a line between stupid and totally fvcking stupid and he crossed it. sorry, if they had pushed him id agree, but not only did he flop into 1 foot of water, he did it from a picnic table...he deserves a darwin award and made out with his life, i dont think he deserves anything else.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: BigJ

Originally posted by: acemcmac
if they told him to do it, fraternity brainwashing considered, I'd side with him. I get the idea from the article that it was his idea though 😕

I say he gets zero

Have you been a pledge or brother in a fraternity?

If not, how can you comment on "fraternity brainwashing?"

Agreed. Part of the brainwashing is that you can never tell anyone about it. 😛
I don't think he deserves a dime. As far as wading pools go, it was probably safer than most municipal wading pools that are lined with concrete. Sounds like his idea to splash the crowd; doesn't deserve a dime. I feel sorry for him though.

 

[TheLonelyPhoenix]

His "big brother" gave him two beers and told him to "chug" them, Holloway said. He said he didn't want to drink the beers but he felt he had no choice. A girl who was dating the fraternity's president gave him a third beer that he also felt obliged to drink, he said.

"I would have caught some pressure for it if I didn't," he said.

After a few minutes, he decided to do a belly-flop into the pool to splash the people standing on the side, he said.

He said he knew there was about a foot of water in the pool, which was built with a sheet of plastic and hay bales.

"I didn't dive because I understood the dangers of diving," Holloway said. He asked his big brother if he should do the belly-flop, and his big brother told him to go ahead, Holloway said. So he stood on top of the picnic table and jumped.

What an idiot.

 

[TheAdvocate]

Originally posted by: edro13
He will probably win, because property owners are responsible for personal injury.

This isn't an attractive nuisance case. Sounds like an negligence -licensee case. Completely different legal standard. The general rule is that the property owner only owes the the licensee the duty of refraining from wanton or willful injury.

Defendant wins.

Edit - I forgot that a lot of jurisidctions are more sympathetic to licensees. Ordinary negligence applies. Guess he has a chance.

 

[arcas]

It's sad that our society is so litigous that one must post a "No Diving" sign at a 12" deep wading pool lest one be sued for negligence when some drunk idiot decides to act out a stunt he/she saw on a Loony Toons cartoon. I suppose persons with anvils in their garages need to have signs that say "Caution, not a parachute". Personal responsibility no longer exists in this country 🙁

 

[Baked]

Sigh... if only all the fraternity turds jump to their death after binge drinking.

 

[Hammer]

Mistrial!

Mistrial declared in lawsuit against UT fraternity
Jury split on who was to blame for diving incident that left man paralyzed.
By Joshunda Sanders

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

A mistrial was declared Monday in a lawsuit against a University of Texas fraternity filed by Wes Holloway, a former member who was paralyzed after he belly-flopped from a picnic table into a shallow pool in 2003.

The jury in the case against the Austin chapter of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity deadlocked after deliberating for three days, said 200th District Court Judge Gisela Triana. The jury could not decide which side was more liable. Holloway, 21, was seeking $25 million from the fraternity.

Now "the lawyers can set a trial for a later date, or they can figure out how to settle the case outside of court," Triana said Monday.

The trial lasted 11 days. Holloway testified that he had drunk four or five beers before walking to the fraternity house for a party. One of its rooms had been filled with foam, and the group had built the pool in the backyard for partygoers to wash off the foam. Holloway said he did a belly-flop to splash some bystanders, even though he knew there was only about a foot of water in the pool, which was built with a sheet of plastic over hay bales.

"I do feel like I have some responsibility for what happened," Holloway said. "I could have not jumped in that pool."

Holloway's lawyers argued during the trial that the fraternity also bore some responsibility.

Jim Ewbank, a lawyer for the fraternity, said: "We're disappointed in the verdict. We anticipate that in a retrial of the case that we will in fact prevail."

Holloway's lawyers could not be reached Monday night.

joshundasanders@statesman.com; 445-3630

 

[BlueWeasel]

Originally posted by: Hammer
Mistrial!

Mistrial declared in lawsuit against UT fraternity
Jury split on who was to blame for diving incident that left man paralyzed.
By Joshunda Sanders

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

A mistrial was declared Monday in a lawsuit against a University of Texas fraternity filed by Wes Holloway, a former member who was paralyzed after he belly-flopped from a picnic table into a shallow pool in 2003.

The jury in the case against the Austin chapter of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity deadlocked after deliberating for three days, said 200th District Court Judge Gisela Triana. The jury could not decide which side was more liable. Holloway, 21, was seeking $25 million from the fraternity.

Now "the lawyers can set a trial for a later date, or they can figure out how to settle the case outside of court," Triana said Monday.

The trial lasted 11 days. Holloway testified that he had drunk four or five beers before walking to the fraternity house for a party. One of its rooms had been filled with foam, and the group had built the pool in the backyard for partygoers to wash off the foam. Holloway said he did a belly-flop to splash some bystanders, even though he knew there was only about a foot of water in the pool, which was built with a sheet of plastic over hay bales.

"I do feel like I have some responsibility for what happened," Holloway said. "I could have not jumped in that pool."

Holloway's lawyers argued during the trial that the fraternity also bore some responsibility.

Jim Ewbank, a lawyer for the fraternity, said: "We're disappointed in the verdict. We anticipate that in a retrial of the case that we will in fact prevail."

Holloway's lawyers could not be reached Monday night.

joshundasanders@statesman.com; 445-3630

God, what a joke.

 

[Armitage]

Well, it's to bad they didn't just throw it out, but at least somebody on the jury had two brain cells to run together.

 

[Nitemare]

It was his decision to try it, his brother said go for it...

paralyzed guy = SOL

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: Hammer
Mistrial!

Mistrial declared in lawsuit against UT fraternity
Jury split on who was to blame for diving incident that left man paralyzed.
By Joshunda Sanders

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

A mistrial was declared Monday in a lawsuit against a University of Texas fraternity filed by Wes Holloway, a former member who was paralyzed after he belly-flopped from a picnic table into a shallow pool in 2003.

The jury in the case against the Austin chapter of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity deadlocked after deliberating for three days, said 200th District Court Judge Gisela Triana. The jury could not decide which side was more liable. Holloway, 21, was seeking $25 million from the fraternity.

Now "the lawyers can set a trial for a later date, or they can figure out how to settle the case outside of court," Triana said Monday.

The trial lasted 11 days. Holloway testified that he had drunk four or five beers before walking to the fraternity house for a party. One of its rooms had been filled with foam, and the group had built the pool in the backyard for partygoers to wash off the foam. Holloway said he did a belly-flop to splash some bystanders, even though he knew there was only about a foot of water in the pool, which was built with a sheet of plastic over hay bales.

"I do feel like I have some responsibility for what happened," Holloway said. "I could have not jumped in that pool."

Holloway's lawyers argued during the trial that the fraternity also bore some responsibility.

Jim Ewbank, a lawyer for the fraternity, said: "We're disappointed in the verdict. We anticipate that in a retrial of the case that we will in fact prevail."

Holloway's lawyers could not be reached Monday night.

joshundasanders@statesman.com; 445-3630

It's sad that that we have jurors that are too stupid to dismiss all charges. I would have insisted that the retard pay the frats legal defense as well.