You are so right but bad parenting is all to common, their is an excuse for every occasion why your children can do no wrong..............

You know what I can't believe is that her family is planning on suing!?

It was her own negligence, her own stupidity and her fault.! Then those guys actually ran to her and said"I'm sorry"!, it was'nt their fault.

If I was her parent, I would permanently take away her phone and I would not dare to sue for something that was her own fault.

Totally her fault if she wasn't paying attention to the world around her.  People become oblivious to everything when they are texting.  If she decided to walk into traffic because she did not read the do not walk sign, she would have no one to blame but herself.  Let the the city buy her a new pair of shoes and be done with it. 

Texting and other distracting and demanding communication forms keep them from communicating or at least being aware who they are actually in the presence of . This allows teenagers to relate only to their peer group. Thus keeping them closed to new information and stunted in their social skills and awareness of others. This also applies to adults.

The parents must be desperate for money to pay the bills for her texting.

to cheryl 12090102: i totally agree. let us hope she doesn't drive.

Keep her off the streets in any manner...walking or driving. Mom should be punished for her stupidity!

I hope she is alright and makes a couple million of city taxpayer money this episode just proves the multi-tasking teens are guaranteed Darwin winners of susceptibility was she chewing gum too ?

I know, why does it even say made in India?

Well, better than Made in China.

Let's sue the parents for breeding stupidity.

This Bimboette cant chew gum and walk, let alone text and do anything.! If she walked into a light pole or street sign who's fault would that be??? The cities, of course- there were no flashing warning signs or audible warnings! Give me a friggin break! And the bimbets mommy and daddy are going to sue??? The dad needs his pansy azz kicked for letting momma even speak of suing. And momma needs to be forced to actually spend some time following her dumathandirt kid around. Maybe thern she MIGHT realize what the problem is. Or momma could just look in the mirror to get a clue as to what her big problem is.

what would they sue for? My child is to stupid to pay attention to where she is walking, so you have to be responsible for not watching her? Come on, this is her own negligence of simply not being alert to what is going on around her. Would her parents sue if she is grabbed by a rapist because she didn't keep an eye on what was right there in front of her? Can we say STUPID!!!

The article said that the workers turned away from the open manhole briefly to get cones. They screwed up, first you mark the area, then you open the manhole. I'd agree that walking while texting is majorly stupid, but the city boys screwed up. One could hope that the only thing the family collects is enough to pay for the visit to the hospital, but I very much doubt that.

Oh yeah, manhole covers have been made in India for decades. That's not a new thing.

That's hilarious.

We all know that walking and texting is a tough combination -- but a Staten Island teen learned the hard way when she fell into an uncovered sewer manhole while trying to send a message.

Now, the family of Alexa Longueira, 15, intends to sue.

Great lesson to teach your kids about taking responsibility for your own carelessness.

I've texted while I walked, but I have the sense to look up every five seconds to see if there's any holes I could fall into or objects I could trip over.

My parents are kind of old school in their thinking. If I'd done something like texting while walking in a work area and falling in a hole, they probably would have grounded me for life for being stupid.

Thank You J-539615. When will we stop rewarding people's stupidity with ridiculous court decisions?

Cheryl: Not even a pair of shoes. Not even a lollipop. The city is 100% non-culpable in this girl's self-inflicted, non-injury incident. Counter sue the parents for giving the easily-distracted girl a cellphone...at least teach her the rules of safety.

There's fault to be assigned to both parties here. The workers should have had the cones up before they pulled the manhole cover. At the very least, keeping an eye out for pedestrians while they got the cones would have been a good idea. Even if it was for just a few seconds or a minute, the manhole shouldn't have gone unwatched. What really hurts their case though is that they went into reflex mode with "I'm sorry." That's something the lawyers will jump on like a starving hyena. The girl though is far more at fault, in my opinion. There will be obstacles on the street, not just open sewers but people, and basic laws that need to be obeyed, like don't cross against the light. Nuts, she was lucky she didn't walk into the path of a speeding bus.

Personally, I'd have to say, 25% of the blame goes to the company, 75% to the girl.

While I certainly agree with all of you, the city will try to settle out of court. The workers should have had the barriers in place. I know. I know. They turned briefly to place the barriers around the hole but she fell into it before they could. She should have been paying attention. She should not walk and text. People should not drive and talk on their cellphones but do it anyway.

This is negligence on their (city workers) part. Too bad our laws don't have stupidity clauses.

People become oblivious to everything when they are texting.

Maybe you do but I don't. Over the years I've gotten very good at multi-tasking.

Jon nailed it.

It is sad that we live in a world where saying "I'm sorry" is translated into fodder for a lawyer's slop trough to be used against you for accepting responsibility.

Accepting responsibility for our actions (the sincerity of which shown by changing the offending behavior) is the only way to stop the blame game that pulls effort and resources away from solving the real problems we face.

It would be nice to hear that the parents could find no self-respecting lawyer to take the case...seems to me to take the case would be to fall into a sewer hole while focusing on $$$.

dumbass

They better not get one red cent and infact be forced to pay attorney fees and be publicly revealed for complete ridicule and all these great comments

Debbie, it is sad. I'm thankful to my parents for making me take responsibility for my own actions and not to blame others for MY stupid mistakes. What is even more sad is that there probably is a lawyer already on the case, and most likely it will be settled out of court. Then guess who the costs trickle down to...the taxpayers!

I see kids and adults both walking around everyday with their faces buried in their phones. I always think to myself what if they walked in fron of a car or what if the fell due to a obstruction i their path they dont see. Point being is people spend way to much time not paying attention to their surroundings and spend to much time texting etc...

As for the parents that want to sue....... maybe the city should counter sue for your bad parenting!

Dopey kid was lucky. It could have been a BUS!

I for one hope the parents try to sue the city.

Let them spend a fortune on lawyers, legal fees, expert witnesses, etc.

At the end of the long and expensive trial, have the jury find against their claim of stupidity.

I agree. If she cannot look where she is going in broad day light and steps into a 24" diameter hole; then she should be put back in the hole for at least 1 hour, then her parents can each take their turn, too. Oh yes, leave her cell phone in the manhole.

Why not wear a blindfold when walking around N.Y.???

Exactly! I mean, come ON! She's fine. Do they really need to sue? Ridiculous!

self-respecting lawyer

Debbie, that's one of the funniest jokes I've read on Newsvine.

Auteur, you might think you're supernatural and can pay attention and text, but you can't. Your comment about looking up every five seconds really means 15 or 20 seconds, and even in 5 seconds a LOT of stuff can happen.

How about - get a life and watch where you are walking and STOP blaming everyone else for you foolishness !!! What is wrong with this world ?? No One takes responsibility anymore for their own actions and most are drooling at the possibility of getting free money when they find an opportunity to blame someone else. Try caring about others a little too... what about the poor sucker who may lose his job because your daughter was stupid ! And... how about we put a camera on YOU so your next error, we can sue YOU ! Join the world of everyone sues everyone because no one cares about the other guy !!!! Your daughter was careless !!

This is why common sense is becoming rare in the younger generations. Parents won't hold their children responsible for their actions. This causes these future adults not to be able to understand why they don't get everything handed to them. They deserve it in their minds so they should get it. Work hard for something they want? Never. Not teaching responsibility is why we have so many business problems, customer service levels failing, etc. They think a person's production or failures is not their fault, it is everyone that they come in contact with.

These parents need to teach their child responsibility. First by starting to have the child understand that you don't walk into an area where someone is working. You walk on sidewalks. How could you miss a group of workers and their truck in the street? Second, what would have happened if it was a wall or she tripped? The pavement's fault? I completely agree with the person questioning when she begins driving. What happens when she is texting and hits someone? Are the parents going to sue the pedestrian that was in the crosswalk?

Stop clogging the court systems and take responsibility. The courts would have more time for serious cases (and probably have less cases) if the parents would raise responsible citizens.

it's her own stupid fault, dumbass. suing for what??? stupidity????? give me a break, take some responsibility

Serve her right for falling in! I hope the judge throw out the lawsuit if pursued. Can't stand STUPIDITY!

She might have done so, but she's a kid an nobody expects her to know better. Those guys' shouldn't have turned around to get the cones AFTER they uncovered the hole. They were just asking to get sued there. It's like the hiker that got shot buy the kid that thought she was a bear. The kid's mistake didn't hurt anyone else, but theirs could have killed someone. That's the difference. Stupid kid, but kids are stupid. They don't even know to take chemo.

Family is as dumb as she is - sue crazy like everyone else today. Just makes the taxes higher to pay the insurance costs of cities.

She could have just as easily stepped in front of a bus or car.....How do you spell STUPID.

They should be glad she was not hurt and told her to watch where she was going. Texting while walking can be just about as dangerous as driving while texting.

I bet she was clinging on to the her precious cell phone while crawling out of sewer.

I,m going to talk to our city council and see if we can maybe leave some manhole covers off and swallow up some texting morons in our town too! This story is too good to be true!

This nation has gone sue happy.  People sue for practically everything.  It is ridiculous that the parents intend to sue.  The kid wasn't paying attention and fell.  What's next you trip on your own feet walking on the side walk and because there is the 'separation' line in between each concrete slab you sue the city for not 'removing' any slight cracks, seams etc.  So if the kid is walking and texting and runs into another person making them drop their belongings, making them late for an important meeting that person should sue your child and of course you since your child was neglegent?  Instead of ooops I'm sorry for bumping into you everything is a ridiculous court case.  The parents should be charged with filing a frivolous lawsuit and wasting taxpayers money.  On top of that they should be checked out because they obviously have not taught their child any level of personal responsiblity.  It is obvious they are just looking for a quick buck.  Great parenting job, way to go teaching your child that no matter what they do it is somehow someone else's fault and responsibility.  If she had been paying attention to where she was going she would not have fallen.  Just remember (this is to the parents directly who intend to sue) if you do sue and win and your child does in the future bump into another person you personally have opened the door for a lawsuit on yourselves and practically handed the other side the case.  Beware as you open pandoras box you may not like what you let out.  It will become known who you are and there are sadly people that will try to find a way to have your child 'run' into them just so they can sue the pants off of you.  If this happens you will fully deserve everything you get and lose.  Society as a whole needs to grow up and quit suing for every little thing......'I burned myself on hot coffee because I didn't know it would be hot'....gee duh the idea of hot coffee is that it's HOT......quit being STUPID.  If you are walking and don't pay attention to where you are going likely as not you will bump into someone or something.......what next are these people going to sue the city when she slams her face into a lamp post for not 'blocking it off'.  Even if there had been cones she would have tripped on one of them and possibly fallen face first......get a grip and grow up.  These parents should have their kids removed because they are obviously idiots looking to find a way for someone to pay for their life.

why are they sueing anyway because a shoe it in the sewer lol i'm sorry BE GLAD YOUR CHILD IS OK. wow what some people will do for a buck. I dont have a problem texting and walking and I can control two children also sometimes three you just have to be brave and look up from your phone lol

oh fricken boo hoo arent people responsible for their own actions what if she walked in front of a bus ??

LOL. I read this a couple of hours ago and I couldn't stop laughing. If this were my kid (and she's 16) I would have taken her phone, told her to take a shower, and get a life; and I would have still been laughing. OMG, seriously. Had this been my daughter I would have looked her staight in the eyes and told her she should have been paying more attention to where she was going instead of what she was reading. Damn.

People can say what they want about the teen, but the bottom line is that the workers are fully, 100%, responsible. They may even be fired over this -- rightly so. No worker should ever leave a manhole uncovered without any safety barriers for any reason, and at any time! Luckily the girl was not seriously injured. She was a little bruised and I am sure that her ego was a little bruised, but she will recover. I don't really think she should get any money with the exception of having her hospital bills covered, a new pair of shoes, and maybe a new outfit. But the bottom line is that the workers are 100% liable. I am sure if it was someone's pet that fell down the tone of this string would be a lot different.

Teach your ignorant daughter the meaning of 'responsibility' - not 'sue', and perhaps the next time she steps outside she will put her damn phone down and pay attention to her surroundings. We stop babying our children when they are babies - not teens! And they wonder why OJ got away with murder! Grow up parents, along with your dumb daughter!

Go figure, because of of a kids ignorance the parents are going to try to make a free, quick buck, and the tax payers get to pay for the lawers to fight the case. No wonder this country is going down the drain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have seen kids walking and texting, trip on curbs and one young man walked right into a light pole. Of course I laughed very loudly especially when they dropped their phones. Yesterday i saw a young woman texting with two hands on her mobile device while driving. The vehicle was in forward motion no hands on the steering wheel. Texting is stupid and so are the imbeciles who spend all of their time doing it.

Good grief! "Cinderella" needs to get a grip, grow up and not blame "the world" for her own carelessness and stupidity. Thankfully she was not hurt. Mom and she need to back up, GROW up, withdraw the law suit and get a REAL life. BAD time for a possible free ride on a lawsuit gravy train we all pay for indirectly. MOM needs to stop stressing over the missing stinky shoe, buy a new pair (or do without) and get on with it. MIGHT want to consider snapping the device away from the kind until she is MATURE enough to have it.

Hey idiot mom: your name's in this story. You may be getting some phone calls. Your friends and neighbors might not be too happy that their taxes will have to go up to pay for your brain-dead little princesses lack of common sense and short attention span.

Some people can be so ignorant. I agree that maybe the workers should have taken better precautions but that does not mean that the teenage girl is not at fault for not paying any attention. Her parents should be thankful she fell in the manhole and wasnt hurt because she probably would have just kept on walking straight into oncoming traffic and been runover.

So this girl is such a self-obsessed, ignoramous that she didn't look up or around herself long enough to notice the truck or the guys that were probably wearing orange vests and/or bright yellow hard-hats.....duh!

Cool, just making sure no one was on here acting like it was anyone else's fault but the dumb kid who doesn't look where they're walking. 

Don't ever assume that your next step is assured or you will fall a lot.  Stop moving when texting.  Looking in front of you is as much a part of walking as moving your feet.  lol

What are they going to sue for? My daughter is a total IDIOT?

It's never the parents fault or the IDIOT girl who doesn't look where she is walking at ALL! A girl was just hit and killed by a school bus here in RI because she was texting and stumbled off the sidewalk. That bus driver will be scarred for life, even though she was just taking part in Natural Selection that this world still needs BADLY!

City should sue her for clogging up the sewer system.

Isn't it SAD when parents condone such irresponsibilities in their children? MOst kids nowadays have no cortesy and common sense, and teens should notbe allowed to text and drive!!!!!!

Stupid is as stupid does. Need I say more???

you have to remember folks, this is America, were stupidity is rewarded.

Well ain't that the @!$%#s!

Come on, I do not care if the hole was marked or not, it is the girls fault. "Stupid is as stupid does." Would her parents try suing a state park if she fell down a hill if it did not say steep or if she twisted her ankle by stepping into a gopher hole?

The guys were getting the cones to close off the area. Its obvious the idiot wasnt watching where she was walking. A few scrapes...big deal....couple more steps a car could've run the stupid ##### over. Instead of sueing the city why not the manufacturing company who made the cell phone with texting capability. Look at all the idiots that sue gun companys because of their own stupidity when they accidentally shoot themselves or someone else

This is why America is failing. No one takes responsibility for their own actions. It is always someone else's fault. This is a perfect example. Look where you are going !!

Look at a ladder some time and see all the warning labels. They aren't there because the manufacturer cares, they are there because some stupid person did something and sued so the manufacturer, to protect itself, put the warning label on.

Now the parents see dollar signs, and greed takes over. Instead of saying that their child is stupid and shouldn't reproduce they are suing. We need to take responsibility for our lives

I whole heartly agree. Had she been paying attention while walking, even with out cones around, she would have been able to see there was missing cover and been able to avoid it. A case once more of someone not taking responsibility for their own dumb actions.

That is one of the problems anymore.... everyone sees an easy buck... we have made it too easy to sue.... Clearly, the city was not the only one at fault.  Every time someone sues it sets a new precedent.... at some point it needs to be put to an end.  I say put an end to lawsuits... at least frivolous ones...

She's full of @!$%# if she thinks we should pay for this!!

If the area was not marked off then there is fault on the sewer workers. However this mother of hers should be dropped in the sewer as well.... she sounds pretty lame!!!

Maverick;

Yes, they would sue for that too!

Stupid is as stupid does. Watch where you're walking. I wonder what would have happened if she walked into traffic while texting?

Her parents would probably be wanting to sue if she'd walked into a pole and smacked her head, too.....the girl is way too caught up in her own social life to open her eyes and take a look around...there's no way her parents should sue anyone for anything

If my child were walking and texting at the same time and walked into an open manhole it would be on him, not the city. He would also have been grounded and lose his phone. Those parents want a quick buck at taxpayers expense.

Let us not forget it is most always the legal council they receive from whatever lawyer that ends up pushing and pressing forward... and in most cases (such as this one) the ultimate goal is spawn from greed. I'm willing to bet that the medical bills that are "stacking up", MRI included, are the result of the lawyers direct instuctions. Its super easy to make use of sympathy and concern for the girls well being when formulating a case to profit from. I'm more than alittle disgusted with the corruption that has long been firmly rooted in the legal system. When I was a kid, I wouldn't have ever done anything like this, but if I got hurt, I took responsiblity for it as did my parents. People are just too self-absorbed and all running around with a grand sense of entitlement, thinking and living by the "screw you first" way of living. Somethings got to give!

This girl needs to be made the poster child for the techno-stupidity that has invaded our society. Shame on it all!

for once a group agreeing WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rather reminiscent of the McDonald's hot coffee incident where the dummy spilled hot coffee and sued. People need to pay attention. If you're around a construction site or work crew, watch where you're going. It really isn't that difficult. Or maybe it is for some...

I don't live in a city, so correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't those holes usually in the street? If so, why was she in the street and not on the sidewalk with the other pedestrians? Is it legal to walk in the street in a city, not counting crossing the street at a crosswalk of course.

Can someone fill me in?

There are a lot of manholes in the sidewalk in a poorly designed city (most of em).

Jazz, people always compare things to the McDonald's incident, but the truth is that most people don't know the actual story. The particular McDonald's related to the coffee incident was cited numerous times for the temperature of their coffee. Others had burned themselves because the machine that made the coffee was not functioning properly. McDonalds chose to ignore the warnings and citations. The lady was not driving with the coffee between her legs, like so many people think. She was receiving the coffee through the pick-up window when it fell. The coffee was so hot, it caused 3rd degree burns requiring hospitalization and numerous skin grafts. There is a lot more to this story, however, we are discussing the teen.

Bottom line -- the workers did not secure the area like they are suppose to. If the area was secured the girl probably would not have fallen. She is lucky she is not seriously injured. Workers should be fired or at least reprimanded. Company should pay bills and replace clothing. Teen should have her phone taken away from her.

I just want to reply to a few of these comments. Sometimes, suing people is not a bad thing, if there is actually injuries and negligence. In this case, there was a lot of negligence on the city for not putting up proper barriers and warning signs of the open manhole. What if this girl would have died? There are a lot of people that don't pay as close of attention when they are walking, especially on sidewalks. Anyone could have fallen into this hole because they didn't realize that it was open. When people sue because of incidents like this it helps prevent further things like this happening. After this case settles I'm sure the city employees will be better trained so that this does not happen again.

As for the McDonalds lawsuit maybe you should read the case before you comment on it. I have read the case and the woman who spilt coffee on herself suffered 2nd degree burns. McDonalds kept their coffee at an unsafe temperature (yes, the law tells you what temperature is appropriate to keep beverages at). The woman did not sue because she spilt coffee on herself, she sued because she suffered serious injuries due to the temperature of the coffee. I'm sure that she wouldn't sue if the coffee didn't give her 2nd degree burns, some of which will cause permanent scarring. Do you really think that it's ok that McDonalds decided to ignore the law and keep their coffee at an unsafe temperature for their customers?

If there were cones she probably won't have noticed anyway. I would have been in trouble for being so stupid.

finally and nmmccain,

so who is more at fault, the people who didn't make the barrier or the girl that wasn't watching where she was going? Since they were all stupid and careless, who should pay, Now I want you to remember that the people of New York will be picking up the tab on this, not the workers but the taxpayer. The parents see big bucks and that is why they are suing, not because their daughter is hurt. If she had died I would be all for it. She has a stinky foot and a lost shoe. I would give her 200 Dollars to buy new shoes and tell her to take a bath. Unfortunately she will probably get a million dollars for her "pain and suffering", I really hope she doesn't reproduce so there will be less stupid people in the world.

No barriers = plausible law suite.. probably private contractors so donno about the city picking up a tab... the mother is dumb for sure. Truth is if I could fall down a sewer and make a million bucks id have my goggles and swim gear on as well and be the first one in line to catch some sewer trout... LOL! Sorry to say but there are safety procedure requirements on construction sites for a reason.. if workers are negligent with the current judicial system and the laws in place there is a liability here and whether anyone likes it or not sueing for something like this (though unethical in a lot of ways) could be plausible... the thing I would be more worried about than falling in that whole would be contracting hepatitus or something... there is some seriously nasty stuff in the sewers...

Not a bad idea

If the parents were truely concerned about their child they should take her phone away until she can demonstrate some sensibility.

My high school yearbook had just come out and I was reading it while walking home from school. I walked right into a car. Thankfully, the car was parked.

Because of MY stupidity (walking into a parked car), I wouldn't let my kids cross the street until they were WAY older then the other kids on the street. My oldest is one of those "absent minded professor" types and I had to be SURE that he was going to pay attention when street crossing.

I think this girl's parents should take her phone for a while and make the kid pay for new sneakers. Perhaps, since it was a sewer line, she'll pay better attention in the future. I would be too embarrassed to sue for something that was my own damn fault.

I like to think of stupid people doing stupid things as Gods' way of thinning the herd.

Her parents are suing because "they shouldn't have left the manhole open". The city should sue the kid for"viciously and with malice aforethought, not being bright enough to se a HOLE THE SIZE OF Rhode Island IN THE STREET !!!! It is very appropriate that the dumb-ass fell into a sewer. This whole law suit thing is CRAP !

I wouldn't give her a red cent. She fell in an open manhole because she wasn't paying attention! It doesn't take cones or signs to see an open manhole, just vision. Paying her anything validates their claim that someone other than she was at fault for her stupidity. Next taxpayers will be paying off lawsuits left and right for evey little fall;the sidewalk was uneven, the crosswalk didn't have a sign, etc. Could you imagine the financial burden of marking every possible trip, fall or stumble? Besides, she was so busy texting, she wouldn't have seen the markers anyway. Oh yeah, just so everyone knows, I am a "bleeding heart liberal," I just believe in personal responsibility.

I wouldn't give her a penny for anything. If she wants her shoe let her or mommy go get the thing. The city should sue the parents for failing to raise thier turdkid with any common sense. How is this kid going to navigate down a sidewalk at night without a leader dog for the stupid, ooohhh yeah - they are for the blind not the stupid. Life is tough, even tougher if you are stupid.... But get a good lawyer, then you can afford to spend all your life as an idiot.

Even if the cones were up the fact is she was texting and wouldn't have seen a friggin cement truck in front of her. If the cones were up she probably would have tripped over the cones and then fell face first into the hole and sued the cone maker for making the cones so light that they didn't stop her dumb azz from falling over them. People like this will sue the city for breathing dirty air. Hey, wait Im going to sue the city bus for blowing crappy exhaust in my face when I stop at the bus stop and the tailpipe is close to where Im standing, that ought to be worth a mill or two. Yeah, hey Mr. lawyer guy, give me a call, ... come on any lawyer.... call me!

I wonder who they called first the funeral home or a lawyer?????

laywer of course

Who died? She had a few scratches and a bruised ego. Learn to read.

I believe Eddie E. was responding to MelindaInIowa. "there was a 17-year old male that was killed earlier in my hometown because he was texting while driving"

Learn to read.

If they could they would

Right on! Once again stupid begets stupid. No personal responsibility is the credo of too many Americans. Waaa.........everyone needs to look out for poor little me.

I'm just curious why you are so angry. She was careless, yes. She's also young, and kids do dumb things once in awhile. Calling her ignorant and selfish is a little extreme, as I doubt you know this girl personally, and the only thing the article explains is that she was unaware this one particular moment.

Maybe next time she will do a header...LOL

You CAN fix stupid... it just isn't LEGAL :P

I can't believe the parents have the nerve to state that they are going to sue the city. When is the insanity going to end. I have a 15 yrs old daughter who went hysterical when I told her the story. She knows better than to text and walk down the street. It is called as many others have said "personal responsibility for your actions". I have traveled to SI and NYC many times and know you have to watch where you are going at all times. I am scared that she will have a license soon and could travel to NJ where I am on the road.

AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AMEN!!!!!!!!!

RJ, I agree with you that texting needs more attention. I called my cell phone company (T-Mobile) last year and asked them if they could "turn off" the text message function of my phone. I had gotten a bunch of spam ads and was pissed off that ANYONE can send me a message and that I end up being charged for something I didn't ask for. T-Mobile doesn't have that ability (RIGHT!!) but they did refund me the $0.30.

I think that texting is a feature that should be able to be turned on and off so that kids aren't tempted to text while driving. It's bad enough that they're already on the phone which takes their attention away, now we're letting them take their eyes off of the road and try to spell.

It scares me!

Verizon can block texts, as long as you put it on your account through thier website...and Sprint (sucks) blocks texts if you request it.

Someone from the city needs to start a petition and get as many signatures as they can and turn it into the city and maybe they will. If we all sit on the internet and complain about it and do nothing....nothing will ever happen, I am not a citizen of the city of state so I cannot do it, but I have heard of it being done before, especially when someone was texting while doing something else. In Ohio if you are in an accident and you were texting at the time of the accident (fall, car accident, or any type of accident) you are at fault....this is the way it should be.

Our Country would we well served to follow Europe's courts that the loosing party pays all expenses, this would cut out all these frivolous law suits and free up the courts for the real cases where someone was hurt though no fault of their own...

This family is morally bankrupt, which bankruptcy I am sure this family knows about also, lets run up all our credit cards and not pay, let everyone else pay our debt through higher interest rates....

This is so true! I remember when this was actually discussed in congress about 20 years ago - 60 Minutes did a report on it. Of course, it didn't go anywhere. But, yes, I think instead of changing the entire tort system in this country, as some lawyers and doctors want to do, we should make the loser pay. That would eliminate most frivolous lawsuits. But, we also need to get rid of these idiot judges who let these cases come to court.

magsby, both of those ideas are great.

Does your brake lights work? HA,HA,HA. I couldn't let that one get away! I do agree with every comment you have made,Eddie E.

Brake lights don't mean anything when the person behind you is too busy texting to notice.

Well, they DO actually have Darwin Honorable Mentions for people who do something terminally stupid, but survive - I'd say this girl was a shoo-in for one of those!

Vicki, are you going to nominate her for the award?

Well stated --

A perfect comment!

That would be my hope, too, that the jury is composed of people with some sense who will laugh this one out of court.

I think they have a valid case, but the award should be only for the hospital bill and new sneakers. Let the attorney have a 3rd of that.

SOL, I agree, however, I'm sure she will need a new phone as well. Make sure we throw that one in. Not sure how Eddie got on to "morals" with this one, but, whatever...

I have a feeling that the reaciton would have been differend if she had died. Like the Disney land driver who probably was spaced out. We ALL felt bad for him! It was his own fault. But you probably are confused people and don't apply your 'logic' to all cases.

I can only speak for me but IF she had died I would have thought "that's kind of funny yet sad, stupid kid, Darwin in effect, too bad for her parents" and that's about it. 

Her parents have zero cause to sue.  If she had been paying attention it would not have happened, cone or no cones.  She's a silly child so I don't expect her to be mature enough to take responsbility for her actions.  But I would have expected her parents to be smart enough to realize sh*t happens.

And suing for "ick factor"? Consider yourself lucky you only lost a shoe and not a child.  And appreciate your time with her because she'll probably eventually Darwinize herself.

are you kidding me, theyre thinking about suing the city whose money is that the tax payer. its her damn fault for texting and not paying attention to where shes going . luckily shes not driving. thats why im glad that they trying to band texting while driving because see what happened and theyre trying to sue give me a break

Here in the Boston area, the Mass Transit has ruled that anyone even CARRYING a cell phone on the job will be terminated. A couple months ago a T driver crashed into another train while texting. Since then, about 5 drivers have been terminated for using a cell phone to call/text while working.

Stupid begets stupid. I only wish that this story would be followed by the press so that we can see this whole thing played out. I have no hope for the human race......