Article: Lawsuit Blames Injury On Lowe's Bathroom Door

Oh, Florida.

According to Tampa Bay Online, a man has filed suit against Lowe's for an unfortunate injury sustained in the loo.

Tommy Rassier says he was using a toilet stall at a Lowe's Home center in Pinellas Park on Aug. 18th when something terrible happened.

According to a lawsuit filed in Pinellas Circuit Court, Rassier was about to sit down when a person unknown to him pushed open the stall door knocking Rassier "in the head and neck with the door," pushing him "back into and against the toilet."

Overall, I'd say this is a pretty crappy situation. RIM-SHOT!

Rassier thought the stall door was locked and faults Lowe's for failing to maintain the door's locking mechanism. The suit says Lowe's was negligent in permitting a dangerous condition.

His lawyer, Joshua Chilson, said it's an unusual case but a valid one. "Bizarre things do happen and that doesn't mean the case is without merit," Chilson said [sounding exactly like a man who believes this case is without merit].

Chilson said Rassier suffered dramatic neck pain when the bathroom stall door hit him and suffered "a herniated disc in his spine." No one called 911 to report the incident.

The person who knocked Rassier in the toilet didn't stick around to leave his name and there were no other witnesses to the mishap, Chilson said.

Chilson said he does have photographs of the broken lock that show several holes indicating the mechanism might have been moved around previously in a failed attempt to make it work properly.

Not for nothing, but you'd think a home-improvement store would have the wherewithal to install a functioning lock on a bathroom door. Just sayin'.

A few questions a jury might pose that could significantly impact the plaintiff's credibility:

-Why was no police report filed?
-There are no witnesses?
-Nobody can track down the most-forceful-bathroom-door-opener-in-the-world?
-A 3/4" door was enough to cause "dramatic neck pain" and a "herniatic disc in his spine"?

Something stinks here.

We are curious if any litigators out there have noticed an increase in frivolous civil suits as the economy worsens. Thus far it's probably anecdotal, but we would love to hear from you if you've noticed a pattern.