Tragedy today at Pittsburgh Zoo

[AlexPKeaton]

And my answer is 20% Mother / 80 % zoo.

Reason?

What killed the boy? The dogs. Who owns the dogs? The zoo.

Mother is responsible for broken legs. Zoo is responsible for the viscous mauling.

Nothing worse than being brutally attacked by a few quarts of Castrol GTX

That was pretty good haha.

[MRandall25]

How are you supposed to foresee a mother dropping her child into a wild dog exhibit if it's never happened before anywhere?

Lets just put it like this. Say this was a pit of acid right next to an elementary school. Would it be acceptable for the owner of this pit of acid to have a 4 foot railing and no other safety measures, even if no one has ever fallen in?

One would assume people would be smart enough not to hang themselves over the fence and put themselves in danger.

[Sarcastic]

I think that the mother dropping her kid was an accident, but the zoo needs to be prepared for "accidents". And, yes, stupid people. As I said, you need a full mesh there if people are looking at aggressive animals. I can't say that the zoo is without fault.

[MRandall25]

That's what the fence is for. The zoo shouldn't be liable for idiot mothers hanging their kids over the fence.

[AlexPKeaton]

How are you supposed to foresee a mother dropping her child into a wild dog exhibit if it's never happened before anywhere?

Lets just put it like this. Say this was a pit of acid right next to an elementary school. Would it be acceptable for the owner of this pit of acid to have a 4 foot railing and no other safety measures, even if no one has ever fallen in?

One would assume people would be smart enough not to hang themselves over the fence and put themselves in danger.

In an extraordinarily dangerous exhibit, frequented by young kids and unpredictable toddlers, I think it is perfectly reasonable that additional safety measures above and beyond a simple railing should be required.

Also, did the mother hang the kid completely over the railing, put the kids entire weight on the railing fully, or simply have his legs on the railing while holding on - and the unpredictable toddler leaped out because he saw a doggy. I would need more details on this to fully assess blame.

[llipgh2]

One would assume people would be smart enough not to hang themselves over the fence and put themselves in danger.

Unfortunately it's easier to assume they do hang themselves over railings and do put themselves in danger. They just have been lucky and haven't fallen in.

People are morons.

[TheHammer24]

Negligence charges the jury with examining what was reasonable under the circumstances, as Shyster pointed out. Courts frequently look at what other similarly-situated defendants do. If everyone does A in a situation, and the defendant chooses B which leads to an injury, courts are more willing to find that choice B was unreasonable. On that point, I bet you could examine a lot of zoos around the country and find very few exhibits in which a child is exposed to animals 14 feet below with only a four-foot railing separates them. There is a strong argument, then, that the zoo is unreasonable (if that is indeed what the empirics show). Of course, it was also unreasonable to put your child in a position in which they could fall -- that's why a comparative negligence system tries to apportion relative fault.

[Sarcastic]

In an extraordinarily dangerous exhibit, frequented by young kids and unpredictable toddlers, I think it is perfectly reasonable that additional safety measures above and beyond a simple railing should be required.

Yeah, no doubt. How many times have you seen a young kid go crazy and start running around all over the place. Extra measures. I think you should go out of your way to provide safety. The missing mesh that probably costs a few bucks would have been good enough there. The zoo chose not to have it. I don't know what percentage of the blame goes where but, if this goes to court, it'll get interesting.

[bhaw]

And my answer is 20% Mother / 80 % zoo.

Reason?

What killed the boy? The dogs. Who owns the dogs? The zoo.

Mother is responsible for broken legs. Zoo is responsible for the viscous mauling.

Nothing worse than being brutally attacked by a few quarts of Castrol GTX

I just spit water everywhere.

What was the joke here b/c I clearly missed it (probably from another thread)

[Rylan]

APK said viscous instead of vicious.

[Mr. Colby]

The mother was holding the kid on her hip (in one arm). They rounded that multiple-sided observation deck, and the boy was pounding on the glass as they proceeded around. When they went to the open side with no glass (the front) the boy pounded on air and slipped from his mother's grasp.

There was no kid being stood on the railing, the mother was just not holding the child tightly enough and went too close to the opening

[Rylan]

The mother was holding the kid on her hip (in one arm). They rounded that multiple-sided observation deck, and the boy was pounding on the glass as they proceeded around. When they went to the open side with no glass (the front) the boy pounded on air and slipped from his mother's grasp.

There was no kid being stood on the railing, the mother was just not holding the child tightly enough and went too close to the opening

I hope every changes their tune about the mother a bit. Damn that makes this story that much worse.

[Kraftster]

Well, hopefully the innocence of the mother's conduct makes it easier for her to go on with her life after this. Received a letter from my daughter's daycare today when we picked her up giving information on where to make donations because this child went to one of the other locations of the daycare. Tough to even see that letter while picking up my 16 month old daughter and thinking about this.

[blackjack68]

The mother was holding the kid on her hip (in one arm). They rounded that multiple-sided observation deck, and the boy was pounding on the glass as they proceeded around. When they went to the open side with no glass (the front) the boy pounded on air and slipped from his mother's grasp.

There was no kid being stood on the railing, the mother was just not holding the child tightly enough and went too close to the opening

Where is this from?

[MWB]

MC had previously said his brother in law is related to the family (I believe).

[Mr. Colby]

It's from a family member

[viva la ben]

I have nothing but sympathy for the parents and extended family. Nobody should have to endure what they went through.

[Sarcastic]

The mother was holding the kid on her hip (in one arm). They rounded that multiple-sided observation deck, and the boy was pounding on the glass as they proceeded around. When they went to the open side with no glass (the front) the boy pounded on air and slipped from his mother's grasp.

There was no kid being stood on the railing, the mother was just not holding the child tightly enough and went too close to the opening

That makes it that much more tragic.

Again, if that open part was covered like the rest. Sorry, but the zoo is not without fault here.

[Pitts]

Seriously, regardless of how it all happened, I can't imagine the pain those parents are going through.

[newarenanow]

The mother was holding the kid on her hip (in one arm). They rounded that multiple-sided observation deck, and the boy was pounding on the glass as they proceeded around. When they went to the open side with no glass (the front) the boy pounded on air and slipped from his mother's grasp.

There was no kid being stood on the railing, the mother was just not holding the child tightly enough and went too close to the opening

Ouch. That makes me feel even worse. Just so sad. I feel horrible.

[JeffDFD]

With a 14month old that likes to pound on the glass and wave to me when I am on the other side...I feel sick

[Rylan]

With a 14month old that likes to pound on the glass and wave to me when I am on the other side...I feel sick

I don't have a kid and that made me feel really sad.

[canaan]

With a 14month old that likes to pound on the glass and wave to me when I am on the other side...I feel sick

if you were on the other side of the glass, you'd have bigger things to worry about then your kid falling in.

/levity

[TheHammer24]

How quickly one's life can change.