The manhole cover has probably been there six times longer than this woman has been alive, but it is a "clear and present danger". --- NEW YORK - A woman who was branded with letters from the Consolidated Edison logo when she fell off a skateboard onto a searing hot manhole cover in Manhattan last year filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking unspecified damages from the utility. Elizabeth C. Wallenberg, 27, was burned just above her buttocks and on her left arm when she fell off her skateboard onto a cover over a steam pipe at Second Avenue and 13th Street in the East Village shortly after midnight on Aug. 11, 2004, said her lawyer Ronald Berman. "It literally looked like a brand that had been applied by someone," Berman said about the burn marks left on Wallenberg's body. He said she was treated for the injury in the Beth Israel Hospital emergency room and was released. Wallenberg, then a Brooklyn resident who worked for Paper magazine, reportedly said she heard her skin sizzle and saw an "o" and an "n" from the hot cover impressed upon her body. Wallenberg has been told the scarring is permanent, Berman said. The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan's state Supreme Court, accused Con Ed of "negligence, carelessness, recklessness and culpable conduct" related to Wallenberg's injuries. Court papers said Wallenberg, now a factory worker who lives in Portland, Ore., is entitled to compensatory and punitive damages because of Con Ed's "reprehensible and egregious failure and refusal ... to protect the public from this manifestly clear and present danger." Con Ed spokesman Chris Olert said he had no comment on the lawsuit. From http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8666753/
Are all manhole covers hot enough to "brand" someone? Why was this one so hot. what if it was a 3 year old girl who tripped and fell on it. I think you see "skateboarder" and get all uppity.
Ken, it was not a 3 year old would was injured. That would tick me off if it had been, but it wasn't. This is a woman looking for $$$. And she will get it if she has a good enough lawyer....what a shame. :rant:
While I disagree with the lawsuit to an extent. Something really should be done about manhole covers that are that hot.
ya maybe they should cool them down or somethin' :grin: jk, seriously though it is a potentental risk to all those that skateboard in new york sorry, SERIOUSLY the new york transit system should do something to protect people, maybe like insulated covers or something, its a shame for someone to get defaced or shall i say Decheeked by one of these horrific objects
Maybe the cover shouldn't have been that hot, but the skateboarder shouldn't have been on the street either (assuming, of course, it was in the street and not sidewalk). Offsetting penalties. Odd, though. Most skaters I know are rather proud of their souvenirs. Why not sue for scraping a knee because the ground was too hard?
if i went up to a manhole cover and touched it i would get burned, and scarred? manhole covers are that hot? if all manhole covers do this: thats fine, (stupid, but fine) she should have avoided the potential risk. if manhole covers are not searing hot at 11 pm and this one was ... scraping a knee is different, it is common knowlege that ground is hard. Is it common knowlege that manhole covers get that hot? I had no idea they did.
http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_68/manholeaccidentturns.html interesting article, some manhole covers are treated with a heat resistant material. the same company has also had problems with electrocution of dogs and a person, due to faulty or poorly maintained equiptment.
Doesn't *o* and *n* spell NO ?? o No: isn't there a law against skateboarding on a public thoroughfare or walkway/access? 3 days ago, it was hot as hell here, I took my infrared heat gun and my blacktop parking lot surface was 152*, my storm drain manhole cover in the same lot was 150*. Ambient temp was 95*. I guess I should sue the sun for being so hot that day. JH
Now, this story is getting a little interesting with the new info you gave us Ken. What is a steam delivery system? That cover had to be way hotter than 150 degrees to do that burn so quick...unless she laid there for a while, which I highly doubt. Interesting....
i think some of you are missing the point here. It doesnt matter whether or not she should have been skating, the point is the manhole was hot enough to BURN her. It sits on top of a steam outlet so i would imagine the temperature is probably around 200 degrees no matter what time of day. Should she sue? If you read that report Ken posted they already know that they have a problem with them AND they have an epoxy that forms a heat protective coating on the manholes in " high traffic areas" So, if it makes them coat all the manholes to save someone else from getting hurt , i say sue! Corporations need to realalise they cant cut corners to save money when safety is concerned. Remember Ford and the deal with the PIntos? Just my two cents.........
Ken good digging there. Read the link guys. http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_68/manholeaccidentturns.html First off I am no fan of stupid ambulance chasing law suits. I am no fan of lawyers. But of late Con Edison in NYC has had a bunch of problems with electrocutions and shocks from manhole covers, with dogs and then a woman getting killed, along with people getting shocked. They have had a slip shot history. If this manhole cover was that hot and that time of the evening that would have meant something was wrong down under like a steam leak which could have built up pressure to blow off the cover causing even a worse injury or death to a pedestrian. And yes this has happened on occasions. As far as skate boarding on the street in NYC I believe that is legal, most if not, all manhole covers in Manhattan are in the street. And I would say knowing that location this would be the case. (I work frequently in Manhattan) I would venture to say that it doesn't matter if it were a skate boarder, a person walking bearfoot (there are people in the city that do), a dog on a leash, or a child. The bottom line is there was something seriously wrong under the manhole cover and Con Edison is responsible for maintaining things in a timely order. Apparently this was proven in the court hearing. It was only recently that Con Edision is installing special equipment to notify a main office on electrical shorts. They started this after they have lost a bunch of suits of shocks and then a death of a woman. Like always they wait until someone is killed or seriously injured before fixing a problem. If that woman did get that burned by just falling onto the cover, then more power to her for collecting damages. God forbid any injury, but like it was said what "if" it were a child. Now just keep in mind she had just filed the suit. Apparently she had proven in a hearing that there is suficiant evidence proven to the judge that a law suit can go further. She still has to go to court on the matter. All facts have to be in order. The biggest is the injury. Is it long lasting, permanent, or temporary redness that will go away in a few weeks. Hospital records will be examined. Techs can ascertain the exact temp of the cover by examining the extent of the burn. Is that a reasonable heat at 11:30 pm? What are the previous complaints or similar injuries in the area? Are there any? What was the estimated temp of the cover in questionand compared to other manhole covers in the area at that time of night. My opinion? That time at night and a tatoo style burn that servere? I would say there was definitely something wrong. Something worth further investigation to see if it was negligence or just an "oh sh%t" accident. That will be the biggest $$$ factor in the case. I can see an episode on this on the "Myth Buster" show :Brow:
sorry but this is no frivolous lawsuit. that girl wasn't breaking the law and even if it was a no skateboarding zone she certainly doe's not deserve that kind of penalty. i love the way people jump to conclusions when they hear words like lawsuit, young, skateboarder. SKATEBOARDING IS NOT A CRIME.
Is only cause its a skateboarder? Tad racist in a way. What if a little old lady fell down and had her face branded. There should be no searing hot metal on any public through fair with out signs or warnings. If they must put up a sign for a bump in the road. Searing hot metal should apply too.
I was skating through Galveston about 8yrs ago and accidentally dropped off of a curb. I lost the board, well, more like the board lost me and I tumbled right into the front of a parked Ford Probe. My upper leg caught the front end of it, and I had an oval shaped bruise on my leg from the ford emblem. After a couple hours, the bruising became more spread out, but man did it hurt. No cars were hurt during this.
