Lawsuit of the Day: Another Reason to Keep Your Daughter Off the Pole
Chris Rock said that the primary job of a father was to keep his daughter off of the stripper pole. The father of ReAnna M. Hedrick must be very sad today. Not only did his daughter stray onto the pole, she managed to injure herself while dancing. The Arizona Republic reports:
An ill-fated stint as an amateur pole dancer left a woman bleeding at an East Mesa sports bar and the owners of a Famous Sam’s facing a lawsuit.While attending a “Ladies Night” on Sept. 3, 2008, ReAnna M. Hedrick of Mesa watched other women take a spin around a dance pole that had been installed for the event and decided to give it a whirl.
The last thing Hedrick, 28, expected was that the pole would collapse, causing her to crash to the floor, according to a lawsuit filed on Oct. 16 in Maricopa County Superior Court.
One would think that Hedrick would be so ashamed that she wouldn’t want to memorialize her erotic failure in a lawsuit. But she hurt her finger, and now she needs money from the club. Boy, I hope she didn’t break a nail.
Details after the jump.
Apparently, Hedrick’s main issue is that the bar didn’t care about her injuries:
As the pole fell, Hedrick attempted to hang on to the jagged top, which sliced off the tip of her ring finger, the suit said. The pole was about 10-feet tall and fell after it broke away from the ceiling.“I don’t think she would have called us” if the bar’s management had called 911 or showed some concern for her condition after the incident, said Lewis Moore III, Hedrick’s attorney.
Okay, fair enough. The bar could have at least pointed her in the direction of medical attention.
But check out the list of injuries Hedrick is claiming. How many of these were caused by the faulty pole, and how many were caused by her own personal embarrassment?
The suit accuses 3rd Base Inc., the sports bar’s owner, of negligence in failing to install the pole properly, creating “an unsafe condition” for bar patrons.Hedrick required reconstructive surgery to her left ring finger. She also suffered neck and shoulder pain, depression and anxiety from the fall, according to the suit.
Depression and anxiety? Yeah. Think about how her father feels.
Woman sues after pole dancing incident at Mesa sports bar [AZCentral]
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Comments
FIRST!
First
First to make meaningful comment.
I think she'll win but not more than ~$10,000
Having the tip of one's finger sliced off sounds like a significant enough injury.
question--how is this a lawsuit of the day column if you don't write it every day?
This would never happen to my rock hard girlfriend
I think you're lowballing it, 3. I'd guess she'll settle for $15-25k.
Wouldn't she get whatever worker's comp gives you for "sliced off finger"?
5 - Ask the WSJ Law Blog. ATL got this feature from them (and the WSJ doesn't do it every day).
strippers are one of the few things that keep me sane through the trials and tribulations of law school. they also help me not be so nervous.
*nervously asks for my change in $1 bills when i buy groceries at meijer while the cashier gives me a disapproving look*
-nervous T-10 2L
There is nothing shameful about an woman earning a living as an entertainer. Why are you so sexist Elie? Why are you trying to keep women down? Why are you trying to shame this woman for claiming compensation for an at work injury that any other kind of employer would clearly be entitled to?
8 - she was working?
It does not sound like she was working 8 so WC would not apply
"I'm a nasty dancer...dancin for money!! I'll do anything you want me to...nasty dancer dancin for money!!!"
"I'm a nasty dancer...dancin for money!! I'll do anything you want me to...nasty dancer dancin for money!!!"
"I'm a nasty dancer...dancin for money!! I'll do anything you want me to...nasty dancer dancin for money!!!"
How large was this woman? I need a picture!!!
Chip n' Dales is my favorite after hours clothing optional establishment.
Let's say names of the strip bars...I'll start with two... Royal Palace and Gold Cup!!
I don't want to be offensive, but I imagine the suit would come down to whether she was really heavy or not.
The bar wasn't set high enough?
http://abnormally-distributed.blogspot.com/
Picture of the day: Another reason to keep your BOSS off the pole.
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/400/45137997.jpg
20,
Possibly but not necessarily. I mean if she was really heavy it would definitely hurt her chances, but it's not really legally determinative.
If the establishment was inviting "amateur" patrons to come use the stripper pole, it had some obligation to ensure it was safe to use, or else provide warnings that it would be unsafe for certain patrons. (Why do you think amusement parks have all those "may be unsuitable for chidren, people with heart conditions, and the elderly" warnings?)
To put it another way, suppose she was really fat, and she went into a restaurant and sat in a chair and it collapsed ad she broke her tailbone. Should that also turn on whether or not the person sitting in the chair was fat?
10- I would be more nervous about your future than asking for singles. Also, singles worked ten years ago. if you are not stuffing Jacksons and Hamiltons into garter belts, than you must be going to law school in Bangkok.
Big Girls Don't Cry.
Famous Sam's bars are primarily sports bars; some have live music on weekends, or at least they did when I lived in Phoenix. They're not stripper bars, unless things have changed considerably.
I am having the pole removed from my Boom Boom Room right now.
How her father feels? Is this 2009 or 1950?
How her father feels? Is this 2009 or 1950?
Mystal, how can anyone stand you in real life? You're condescending towards a 28 year old women (not actually a stripper) who decided to have fun one night by doing something she likely never normally does. She was injured because the bar did not take proper precaustions and you some how think it's clever to apply an overused joke (made up by Chris Rock) that father's want to keep their daughters off of the pole? Your sense of humor is reaching and akin to a retard.
"Depression and anxiety? Yeah. Think about how her father feels."
Let me put this in perspective for you. Your father is certainly depressed considering he is in jail for political corruption. You write for a blog where the readers detest you, make fun of you, and question your intelligence. You're completely fucking arrogant, and when this blog runs its course, you will have no chance of a future anywhere in the legal profession. You are a black mark on this profession Mystal, now keep eating the shit you normally do so the world only has 5 more years of you.
30: "You are a black mark no this profession Mystal"
RACIST.
Suck my ass, Mystal, you obese race bating WALRUS!
Sorry, folks, that's:
30: "You are a black mark on this profession Mystal"
RACIST.
This thread has upset female readers more than I expected. See 11, 28-30.
30, so do you like or dislike Elie?
30, I don't know about jail and other such issues, but the bitch deserved what she got. Only a total idiot would do what she did. Fucking a pole is almost as bad as getting fucked by your pet dog. Either way, you're a total loser.
Elie,
I would think that her father is sad and upset that his daughter had the tip of her finger sliced off. Although I realize that this -- plus the fact that she wasn't a stripper -- doesn't lend itself as well to cribbing an off-point Chris Rock joke to spare you from having to come up with something yourself that's actually germane and either funny or otherwise interesting.
30 - what? Elie's dad's a jailbird?
I can't imagine trying to find a job while having it be a matter of public record that I broke a stripper pole.
30, please take a walk around the block before you have a cardiac event or are forced to write another annoying long comment. This woman undertook a plainly risky activity, with which she presumably had no experience or skill, and was injured in the process. I feel bad for her injury but mockery in a tabloid for foolish behavior compounded by suing for compensation is what one should expect from a legal tabloid. Of course, reasonably smart lawyers like 23, and the jury system, mean people like her often get paid. But that doesn't make the claim less risible. And please don't assail me for making light of heart attacks.
Does her size play into this? Where is positive walrus?
39=1L TTT. Surely a clueless fucking moron. 35 is a tool as well. Any Elie defender is generally a moron.
37 - do you check your e-mail hourly even when you are on an airplane? in a strip club?
I can't believe I just clicked on 22's link. I can't believe I fell for it AGAIN. :(
30,
Black mark, blackhole, black sheep, blackout - all racist.
In fact, the word "black" is racist as well.
Oh, and this post is sexist.
23, the chair example is interesting. If she's outside the class of ordinary users of the chairs (because she weighs 800 pounds), that's one question.
It also matters if her use of the chair fell outside what's to be normally expected, doesn't it? If the chair breaks because she jumps on it or makes some other unreasonable/unforeseeable/unintended use of it, that makes a difference.
For that reason, don't we also need to know what sort of move she was attempting too?
42, any litigator worth his salt knows you have to CHECK YOU EMAILS, even if you have to mash your Blackberry with the bloodied stub that used to be the tip of your finger
Black taco?
Elie = misogynist embarrassment.
You'd put her in a burqa at home under lock and key too, wouldn't ya buddy?
I have never read such a sexist post on ATL. I've never had any truly strong feelings about any of your posts on this website up until now, this one is unacceptable.
Not only do you make presumptuous judgments about this woman (and all women who become strippers), and assume that the social shame you personally think she (and even her father!) should suffer from ever approaching a pole outweighs any real pain she may have endured, but you eagerly gloss over any blame Famous Sam's and social institutions in general may warrant for Hedrick's perception of dancing on a pole as a desirable thing for her to do in the first place, in favor of immediately blaming the victim.
Get a fucking clue. You should be fired.
( . )( . )
50 is the credited response to 49.
Tits cloud a man's judgent... sorry 49
- Elie
if you google it. it is a sports bar, not a strip club. and it says she was a regular there. I doubt she was stripping at all.
You really had to reach for this whole unnecessary "father" angle, huh?
Keep your personal sexism out of this blog, Elie. No one wants to read that shit.
It seems she's due some compensation. I think you're being kind of harsh on her. No, she doesn't deserve a million, but she probably deserves a few thousand in settlement.
49 - "any blame...social institutions in general may warrant for Hedrick's perception of dancing on a pole as a desirable thing for her to do"
Elie's post is dumb, but you are a mouth-breathing idiot with a liberal arts degree.
56 FTW
for all of you commenting on how sexist this allegedly is, i look forward to seeing all of you at your daughter's (or sons) debut on the pole since all of you have such a quip with the whole "father comment". oh, what's that? you WOULDNT go see your own child perform at a strip joint? would you tell your friends that your daughter/son was stripping, even if it was a hobby and not a profession?
you people are kidding yourselves. get real.
- an honest liberal
58 -
(1) The word "quip" does not mean what you think it means.
(2) Your politics and perceived sincerity are of no relevance whatsoever.
(3) Your post is incoherent babble, to which I already regret responding.
Well, I think the daddy angle is funny (and more true than many would like to admit).
58- Since pole dancing is becoming an acceptable form of exercise, perhaps parents can tell their friends about their child's new hobby.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-ca-pole-dancing24-2009may24,0,4099017.story
Also, I feel bad for this poor girl. I hope she gets a decent settlement.
59,
But seriously, do you think that most strippers have a strong father figure?
i didn't think this was sexist at all + the chris rock joke is completely true
17: Imagine a vertical pig on a spit.
62 - Oh, hell no. If my daughter became a stripper, I would punch my ticket.
i think we're talking past each other in these comments a bit:
1) yes your gym may have pole dancing classes and it may be an acceptable form of exercise in that context
2) that is not what chris rock was talking about or any of the commentators here are talking about when we say "stripper." A stripper sucks for money in the VIP room. A stripper is a drug (often crack) addict. A stripper also sometimes performs house calls and works with a pimp. If you do not think it is the role of a parent to direct their children towards a different type of lifestyle you are insane.
I'll bet most people claiming outrage at this story's tone laughed their heads off about the man whose defective underwear injured his penis, written up a few days ago. Where was the talk of "social institutions" then?
Either both stories are funny, or neither is.
67 -
Only a complete jackass would wear a pair of too-small underwear and complain that it's defective. OTOH, many young women - many of whom in turn are not wastes of space - get rowdy in bars. It's a question of reasonable behavior and unreasonable behavior.
68,
The cries of "sexism" here have nothing to do with whether the behavior was reasonable, but with the mocking tone taken toward someone who suffered an injury.
Though it's beside the point, I wish you could tell me where you simply looked up the fact that wearing the wrong underwear is "unreasonable" and pole-dancing in public is "reasonable." Next time I'll save everybody the trouble and just look it up myself.
What's the deal with Elie's dad in the pokey? Please- do tell!!!
It's always a horrible feeling when a woman is riding my pole and the pole collapses.
Famous Sam's the douchey place where the waiters dress in costumes of celebrities?
A. Who would go there?
B. Who would go to a ladies night there?
Regrettably, some of my fellow walruses like Elie tend to defend only walruses who exhibit immutable characteristics similar to their own.
Instead, my little child-eater, you should focus on the larger goal: Elevating identity politics over common sense, logic, or merit.
Equality Secure
58 - Your comment is irrelevant and illogical. Not only does this woman's father have nothing to do with this incident or lawsuit, the post refers to fathers only, not mothers. This is because society is still plagued by patriarchal values and some people believe that fathers must "protect" their daughters from the cruel evils of the world because, as girls or women, they are helpless and naive. You are insulting the intelligence of "honest liberals" everywhere.
Is it wrong to find this funny.... oh well, I don't care, I'm off to Hydrate for $1 shooters.
I don't normally bother to comment, but seriously Elie, WTF???? This is the one of the most misogynistic and f'ed up articles I have ever read.
Did you run this article past your wife? Kash? Any female?
I have lost all respect for you and completely agree that you should be fired. This just crossed the line.
Brilliant. Elie, kudos for finding this.