Portable Toilet Tipping - not a good idea. - Mark P. Loftus

Saw some coverage on this on the internet the other day. A Donald Adams of Pennsylvania agreed to go on a fishing trip with some relatives. The “lodge” at which they were staying lacked indoor plumbing. Instead, it offered portable toilets similar to that shown below. When Donald went outside to do his business, his companions decided to engage in the time-honored tradition of porta-potty tipping. While Donald was in the unit, his relatives blocked his exit with a truck. They then began rocking the toilet and eventually tipped it over. You can imagine where this is going. Somehow in the ruckus, Adams was knocked askew and landed on his neck. He fractured two cervical vertebrae and is now paralyzed from the shoulders down. His anticipated future medical bills are between $6 and $10 million dollars.

Adams sued the manufacturer of the portable toilet -which is known as a Poly-San . Additionally, he also sued the guy who installed the toilet – Lewis Crawford. There was evidence that that particular brand of toilet is supposed to be affixed to the ground with metal stakes that go through holes in the base of the toilet. Poly-San admitted that it did not supply consumers with the stakes[that is most certainly NOT a good fact for Poly-San]. And Crawford allegedly admitted that he installed that unit on a hill[huh?] at a 14 degree angle. Crawford claimed to have made attempts to level it, but was concerned it would tip over. And, Crawford was aware other units HAD tipped over. The news accounts had conflicting reports if Adams named his dim-witted relatives. The case settled for $5 million. I could not determine who paid what amount – but would imagine Poly-San’s insurance carrier accounted for most of that figure.