A Colorado man who had a panic attack when he found he was glued to a toilet seat in a Home Depot restroom has sued the home improvement giant for negligence, saying staff ignored his plight.
Retired electrical engineer Bob Dougherty, 57, said on Thursday he was stuck in the stall with his pants down for about 20 minutes and that two years after the 2003 incident he was suffering from post-traumatic stress, which has triggered diabetes and heart complications.
"I have these nightmares every night where I am locked in this dark room, with no windows, no doors, no fresh air, no route for escape. I wake up in these cold sweats," Dougherty said.
Spokesmen for Home Depot Inc. could not immediately be reached for comment.
Dougherty said in a lawsuit filed last week in Boulder, Colorado, that he thought he was having a heart attack when he realized his buttocks and legs were stuck to the toilet seat in the Home Depot restroom in Louisville, Colorado.
He explained his plight to an employee who came into the restroom but other Home Depot staffers thought it was a hoax and he had to wait until someone else came in to again summon help.
Dougherty is claiming unspecified damages for help with medical and psychiatric bills, for humiliation and for the diabetes he said he has developed as a result of the stress.
"Home Depot not only ignored my plight, they refused my plight," he said. Dougherty said he suspected the glue had been placed there as a prank by three teens seen earlier in the store.
20051104
Dentist severs finger and fakes car crash
A Dutch dentist who chopped off his finger and then faked a car crash before claiming 1.8 million euros ($2.2 million) from insurers was given a suspended sentence and fined by a court Thursday.
The man, aged 50, mutilated himself and crashed his car into a tree in Belgium in the hope of convincing insurers that the steering wheel had inflicted the injury, the court said.
However, the shape of the cut on his index finger, the level of anaesthetic in his blood and the absence of skid marks on the road suggested otherwise.
"It was not an accident but an amputation he carried out himself, or he had someone do it for him," a court spokeswoman said.
The dentist was fined 25,000 euros and received a six-month suspended jail sentence with 240 hours community service.
The man, aged 50, mutilated himself and crashed his car into a tree in Belgium in the hope of convincing insurers that the steering wheel had inflicted the injury, the court said.
However, the shape of the cut on his index finger, the level of anaesthetic in his blood and the absence of skid marks on the road suggested otherwise.
"It was not an accident but an amputation he carried out himself, or he had someone do it for him," a court spokeswoman said.
The dentist was fined 25,000 euros and received a six-month suspended jail sentence with 240 hours community service.
20051103
Boys get gunshots, not treats, for Halloween
Two Italian boys were recovering in hospital on Tuesday after a 70-year-old man shot them with his hunting rifle because he was frightened by their Halloween costumes.
The 14-year-old boys, dressed as demons, had knocked on the man's door during an evening of "trick or treat" near the northern town of Turin and set off a firecracker.
When the door opened, instead of a treat, the man fired four shots at the boys having been scared by the noise and their strange outfits, the news agency ANSA said.
Police arrested the man, who lived alone and was the victim of several robberies, for attempted murder, ANSA said. Police said the boys' lives were not in danger but one risked losing an eye.
The tradition of asking neighbors for sweets or money on Halloween is relatively new to Italy but is gaining popularity.
The 14-year-old boys, dressed as demons, had knocked on the man's door during an evening of "trick or treat" near the northern town of Turin and set off a firecracker.
When the door opened, instead of a treat, the man fired four shots at the boys having been scared by the noise and their strange outfits, the news agency ANSA said.
Police arrested the man, who lived alone and was the victim of several robberies, for attempted murder, ANSA said. Police said the boys' lives were not in danger but one risked losing an eye.
The tradition of asking neighbors for sweets or money on Halloween is relatively new to Italy but is gaining popularity.
20051102
The place that has no secrets..
Care to find out what your neighbor earned last year, or how much your partner really has stashed in the bank? In Finland you can -- and a lot of people did Wednesday.
Every November when the Nordic nation's tax records of the previous year become public, Finns indulge on a massive scale in satisfying their curiosity about each other's finances.
Newspapers were crammed with lists of the wealthiest and highest-earning men and women in 2004.
Veroporssi, a private firm which offers income details on everyone in Finland via mobile text message, said it was its busiest day of the year and had no time to comment.
Iltalehti tabloid devoted a 24-page supplement to juicy details on which celebrity earned what, while sports stars like Formula 1's Kimi Raikkonen and Liverpool footballer Sami Hyypia, who escape high taxes by living abroad, were highlighted for being "zero-income millionaires."
"People have always been interested in taxation, because in Finland you don't talk about your income, it's considered very vulgar, and even more impolite is to ask what someone earns," said Reijo Ruokanen, managing editor of Iltalehti.
"This is your chance to see if you're keeping up with the Joneses."
In a country where keeping your head down and not sticking out has traditionally been considered a virtue, the tax and income publication is a chance to brag a bit, Ruokanen said.
"A lot of them don't like it when we publish their names, but for some it's a way to be known as wealthy people without having to say so for themselves."
So who's the richest man of the republic?
Aatos Erkko, the main owner of media house SanomaWSOY, topped the list with a personal fortune of 192 million euros, while Olli Riikala, an executive of U.S. General Electric, was the top wage earner, making 5.3 million euros.
Every November when the Nordic nation's tax records of the previous year become public, Finns indulge on a massive scale in satisfying their curiosity about each other's finances.
Newspapers were crammed with lists of the wealthiest and highest-earning men and women in 2004.
Veroporssi, a private firm which offers income details on everyone in Finland via mobile text message, said it was its busiest day of the year and had no time to comment.
Iltalehti tabloid devoted a 24-page supplement to juicy details on which celebrity earned what, while sports stars like Formula 1's Kimi Raikkonen and Liverpool footballer Sami Hyypia, who escape high taxes by living abroad, were highlighted for being "zero-income millionaires."
"People have always been interested in taxation, because in Finland you don't talk about your income, it's considered very vulgar, and even more impolite is to ask what someone earns," said Reijo Ruokanen, managing editor of Iltalehti.
"This is your chance to see if you're keeping up with the Joneses."
In a country where keeping your head down and not sticking out has traditionally been considered a virtue, the tax and income publication is a chance to brag a bit, Ruokanen said.
"A lot of them don't like it when we publish their names, but for some it's a way to be known as wealthy people without having to say so for themselves."
So who's the richest man of the republic?
Aatos Erkko, the main owner of media house SanomaWSOY, topped the list with a personal fortune of 192 million euros, while Olli Riikala, an executive of U.S. General Electric, was the top wage earner, making 5.3 million euros.
20051101
Firefighters capture python in shop
A dozen French firefighters were called in to cut their way to a 10-foot-long python hiding a shop just outside Paris, an official said Sunday.
"We were alerted by someone who said he had seen a snake on the roof of a shop," a fire brigade spokesman said.
"We don't know where it escaped from. Probably from an apartment," he said. Police had taken charge of the reptile.
The firefighters cut a hole in the false ceiling of a shop in Gentilly, south of Paris, to retrieve the snake.
Pythons are among the longest species of snakes. They feed on birds and small mammals, squeezing them to death.
"We were alerted by someone who said he had seen a snake on the roof of a shop," a fire brigade spokesman said.
"We don't know where it escaped from. Probably from an apartment," he said. Police had taken charge of the reptile.
The firefighters cut a hole in the false ceiling of a shop in Gentilly, south of Paris, to retrieve the snake.
Pythons are among the longest species of snakes. They feed on birds and small mammals, squeezing them to death.
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