That’s where the name Florida Man originated. The news accounts of the bizarre behavior-based crimes taking place daily in the Sunshine State often begin, "A Florida man found himself behind bars and charged with… "
After decades of such too-stupid-to-be-real stories, Florida Man was born. Now he looks to have an accomplice.
In college, I had an away field hockey game right after my last class, and because the timing was super tight, I dashed out of the classroom and leaped down the stairs three at a time. Needless to say, it did not go well and the short story is that I ended up with a broken ankle. The odd thing was, I couldn’t believe how many people just assumed that I’d sue the school. It never even occurred to me to do that. Even five year olds know not to run down stairways at full tilt; how in the world is that the school’s fault?
Friend of mine thinks like this. To be fair, he got horrible food poisoning at a resto when he was a kid, and ended up with a trust worth $20k delivered on his 18th birthday (which was gone very quickly). Loudly muses about how he’d like to get hit by a luxury car so he can retire young. Muses about his $80k in debt won’t matter once his parents die and leave them their homes. I’ve been harping on him for years to not count on any such provenance, that he needs to spend money wiser–advice which he says appreciates while at the same time ignoring.
In recent years, now that both his parents are estranged, he’s started talking about once he gets old, he’s gonna rob a bank and retire to a minimum security prison. “Because you never hear about old guys getting fucked with in prison”
sigh
… or to sue with gay abandon.
I don’t know either, but that hasn’t stopped fraudsters (or just plain doofuses) from claiming that a school – or any establishment – is at fault for not providing an environment that would have prevented the injured party from causing injury to themselves.
That’s an unusual friend you have there. (Make sure he fully understands that he’s NOT in YOUR will.)
Nope, I’m a Northerner, can’t do that lessen ah rahlly wuhrk at et.
Just had a conversation with a janitor at my kids HS about his prick boss. He told me the dude had retired on full disability, then been filmed roofing his house, and stripped of everything and asked for restitution. Instead he got a apparently great lawyer, and not only didn’t pay anything but got a new position as head Janitor!
(Make sure he fully understands that he’s NOT in YOUR will.)
I’ve been quite clear on that point–at this stage everything goes to my nephews (or my sister who is their mother).
He’s mentioned jokingly that he wants to get gay married for insurance and inheritance.
On balance, he’s a good guy, just terrible with money. Always pays his personal debts, just not the ones to faceless corporations.
Very disappointed that gif doesn’t include the payoff.
I’m not sure whether or not to hope that theory is true or wildly apocryphal. Either way…
Oh, well my friends and I totally made it up one day. But it seems plausible, right?
It might explain some things. 
I was about to leap to Florida Woman’s defense, but then I remembered that despite growing up in Florida, my mom was actually born in South Carolina.
Not a sprinkler head. It’s the escutcheon or decorative ring surrounding the sprinklerhead. If the head falls out it’s going to hit you like a thrown baseball because of the water pressure behind it. You’re also going to get absolutely soaked from head to toe in water and in the next few seconds the fire alarm is going to go off.
Okay, then!
Yes indeed.
Full disclosure, I myself grew up in Florida, or at least from the time I was eight onward. But I escaped after college.
I was startled and sprained my neck.
So was Homer.
Then there’s my postman, who was seriously injured on the job and is being denied worker’s compensation. It’s nearly impossible to find a lawyer to contest the decision, because apparently it has become nearly impossible to get an award of attorney’s fees and costs in a federal worker’s comp case, and the amount of time and money it takes to successfully challenge one is so high in proportion to the money at stake.
These stories are entertaining, and there are plenty of people that try to defraud the worker’s comp and disability rating system, but, as the news report here shows, fraud by companies trying to game the system and workers not being able to get compensated is quite possibly a much bigger problem.
