Let's start our Monday off with an oddball lawsuit. This morning, our "weirdest lawsuit of the week" comes from Philadelphia, where a man is suing a strip club for an injury he sustained at his bachelor party, The Associated Press reports.
The man, Patrick Gallagher, injured himself at the Penthouse Club when a stripper landed on him while sliding down a pole. He had been invited to lie on the stage during the act and, according to the AP, the stripper slid down the pole with such force that she slammed into him, rupturing his bladder.
Gallagher needed surgery after rupturing his bladder. He's now seeking medical costs from the strip club, as well as damages for pain, humiliation and mental anguish. In his lawsuit, Gallagher alleges negligence.
Let's step back and take a look at the concept of negligence for a second.
The textbook definition of negligence is "conduct that falls below a standard of behavior established by law for the protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm."
The rule of thumb is to look at whether a reasonable person in the same situation would have acted in the same manner.
That's a tough question to ask, in light of the situation. Would a reasonable stripper have landed with such force coming down a pole? Was she acting in an unreasonable manner, or did the law of gravity kick in?
If we consider the law of gravity, then we move into another aspect of the law of negligence: potential defenses.
The assumption of risk is one defense that the strip club could possibly raise. This defense could relieve the club of liability, if they show that Gallagher voluntarily entered into the situation knowing that there was a risk created by the overall situation.
Still, a few other questions will need to be addressed as the lawsuit proceeds. For example, was it foreseeable that a stripper could fall with such gusto on a patron, causing his bladder to rupture?
Was the stripper acting out of line, or was the incident a mere result of the law of gravity, predictable and foreseeable by any reasonable person?
And last, but not least, how on earth did Patrick Gallagher explain this one to his fiancée?
Related Resources:
- Search Philadelphia Personal Injury Lawyers (FindLaw)
- Stripper's Pole Dance Ruptured Man's Bladder at Bachelor Party (FindLaw's Legally Weird)
- Save Your Receipts! Racial Slur on Hooters Receipt Leads to Lawsuit (FindLaw's Philadelphia Personal Injury Law Blog)
- Negligence (FindLaw)
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