Suit: Child Choked on Used Condom

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Suit-Child-Choked-on-Used-Condom.html

Suit: Child Choked on Used Condom

A 22-month-old boy choked on a used condom in the Homewood Suites in Mount Laurel, N.J., according to a lawsuit filed by the little boy's family.

The Wolfe family of Pittsburgh, Mass. was headed home after spending the holidays in Florida and they stayed overnight in the Burlington County hotel.

The morning of their departure, the toddler apparently found a used condom in the room, left behind by previous travelers, according to the lawsuit.

The child’s mother, Amy, heard her little boy chewing and choking on the condom and tried to get it out of his mouth, but he had already “ingested the contents ” the lawsuit stated.

The Philadelphia Daily News noted the suit contends a “life threatening” item was left in the room, which put the boy at risk of getting a "sexually transmitted disease, including HIV or AIDS, or some other, potentially life threatening, potentially fatal illness."

The boy had to undergo tests and faces more testing in the future, Wolfes’ attorney Norm Hobbie told the Philadelphia Daily News.

The complaint also contends the Wolfe family, both parents and three children, have suffered mental distress.


If they stayed overnight, how could they NOT see the used condom before the kid?


Some interesting comments about this article:

"The parents are 100% responsible. Only idiots with a "welfare state" mentality would try to immediately point the finger and blame others for their own failures as parents. I'm surprised they are not sueing the U.S. Govt CDC! After all, I think half of the condoms in the US are provided to the American population as part of the CDCs STD programs".

"Wow. How can you blame the parents and not be outraged by the hotel? People wake up! This is a toddler we are talking about. Toddlers put everything in their mouths. If it were my child I would sue too! Perhaps you would comment differently if you were a parent!"

"First of all I think that it is horrible this child ingested anybody's bodily fluids like that. With the economy today there really is no way of knowing whose it was or how long it has been there. If you don't know or think to look for it you won't. So who is to blame for this everyone from the hotel to the parents." How does the economy have anything to do with this?

"why blame the workers and the hotel, this happened after they were leaving, so they slept there, never seen this thing around the room, unless it was theirs, or did they do that, just to sue the hotel and try to make easy money, why isnt it the parents fault, they didnt notice the kids was making noise chewing on something, until he was chocking, and that girl making that kind of comment under the home land security act, could be arrested by the feds. and face charges herself, things arent as free as they were before 9-11, must be a teenager.."

"First of all how do we know it didn't belong to the PARENTS! Second,where was this condom that the parents didn't see it on check in? If under the bed out of sight then the child would have to have been under the bed too. While it is very gross keep a better watch on your children esp. at that age. The housekeeper should get fired asap!"

"it was the hotels fault obviously the maid wasen't doing there job KILL THEM ALL!!!" WTF? :crz

"wonder if it was the parents used condom." I'm thinking the same thing...

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CherryBlossom
This is a toddler we are talking about. Toddlers put everything in their mouths.

Incorrect. Only the poorly-raised ones do that. Eiw.

I find it hard to believe that in this economy, the hotel housekeepers aren't going to bust their behinds to do a good job, at what is already a thankless and extremely difficult, tiring job. This story is VERY fishy. Besides, what were the parents so busy with that they didn't see their precious one downing condoms?

This sounds much like another one of those cases of "hey look what I found in my Wendy's chili! Someone's amputated finger! Gee how did this get in here? I think I have to sue. I wonder how much money they'll give me if we settle out of court and I don't report it to the press. None? How 'bout if I report it to the press and give them bad publicity, I wonder how much money they'll give me then. Still none? Ok then, I'll get a lawyer. I'll have to split the proceeds with him, but it'll still be worth it. Now how much money will they give me to keep out of court?"

It's called brinksmanship. I hope the hotel goes to court and wipes the floor with 'em. The DNA, hopefully, will already have been tested. The fambly will have to pay all sorts of court fees and lawyers' fees, and then mooface and duh-brains will find themselves in the dock for extortion. Good.

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"The death of creativity is a pram in the hallway"
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There's too much wrong to comment. Oops

I think that it needs to be established WHOSE rubber it was in the first place because therein lies their entire complaint. IF it was their rubber then I think that they should be prosecuted for negligent homicide. If it was NOT their rubber, then I think that they should go forward with their lawsuit. I believe that a hotel guest should have a reasonable expectation of a room being in at least average condition upon their arrival. They should expect that reasonable care was taken in the course of a normal business day for that room to be comparably cleaned and maintained like all of the others. I think that this should include the sanitizing of restooms and kitchenette areas, changing of bed linens, and replacement of towels/washclothes, lightbulbs, toilet paper, shampoos/soaps and a general anti-bacterial wipe down of the whole interior as well as surface areas, but including UNDER beds and tables, behind toilets, and beneath curtains, etc.....Vacuming/sweeping the carpet and spot cleaning when necessary should be expected as well.


I believe that this reasonable expectation should include no leftover pizza in the microwave from prior guests, no half eaten Taco Bell in the refrigerator, no bloody Kotex in the waste paper baskets, no used diabetic testing supplies or needles in the bathroom trash, no empty douche bottles, early preggo test pissing strips, no plastic tampon inserts or Conceptrol/birth control inserts, no used catheter bags, no vomit on the toilet rim, no turds floating topside in the toilet, and NO USED CONDOMS, anywhere. Maybe I just expect too much, but I really think that overlooking a missing Gideon Bible or room service menu is no big deal, but a used condom is NOT acceptable to me. If I had found it then I would have sued as well. The only other possibility here is that the parents planted it, killed their own kyd, and are now trying to make a buck off of it. While that sounds far fetched, it should definately be considered and brought up by the defense. IMO. It's also possible that the rubber was left there by a prior guest, the parents saw it, and used it as a crime of opportunity.


The hotel lawyers NEED that rubber and they also need access to interview ALL guests who stayed in that room for at least a week prior. If they don't have the rubber or it's been degraded, these parents will walk away wealthy and possibly have committed the perfect crime. Who wants to bet that there will suddenly be a rash of kyds choking on items left behind in hotel rooms now? That's how the "locked in hot car" syndrome got started as well as SIDS and other popular parent-kiddie murders. Monkey see, monkey do.

The condom should definitely be tested for DNA and parunts should have been watching brat so he didn't free-range like that. IIt's not their home and kydlet needed to be watched. I do think that if I read the OP correctly, kydlet survived. If it was not the duh's then yeah they should sue.

As for the post about the hotel being at fault and killing everyone, WTF? indeed.

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kidlesskim
IF it was their rubber then I think that they should be prosecuted for negligent homicide.

I didn't see where it said the kyd died. Please point out that part to me; I haven't fully woken up yet.


Edit: I just re-read the OP and it says:

The boy had to undergo tests and faces more testing in the future, Wolfes’ attorney Norm Hobbie told the Philadelphia Daily News.

So, this was not a case of "negligent homicide", "murder", "manslaughter", or even "accidental death", due to the simple fact that the kyd didn't die (yet).

Furthermore, the case is more likely going to civil court for "damages", "emotional distress", and "pain and suffering", rather than to a criminal court, where the burden of proof is set at a higher standard and "victims" do not receive a settlement.

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poofy_puff

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kidlesskim
IF it was their rubber then I think that they should be prosecuted for negligent homicide.

I didn't see where it said the kyd died. Please point out that part to me; I haven't fully woken up yet.


Edit: I just re-read the OP and it says:

The boy had to undergo tests and faces more testing in the future, Wolfes’ attorney Norm Hobbie told the Philadelphia Daily News.

So, this was not a case of "negligent homicide", "murder", "manslaughter", or even "accidental death", due to the simple fact that the kyd didn't die (yet).

I misread it because I thought that he died. Ok then, if he survived and it was their used rubber, then they should be prosecuted for child endangerment. This changes everything. If the kyd survived and the rubber didn't, I don't think they have a case at all. If they have that rubber though, they might can get something out of it or be prosecuted, whichever applies.

I hate to say it but I'd side with the parents on this one, Unless it was their used condom. Even in rattiest of hotels finding a used condom is outrageous, I'm sure if any of us found that in our hotel room we'd be pissed. I know maids don't get paid well but they do get paid, they should do their job to the best of their abilities.

Kaye

Chances are the hotel's insurance company will force a settlement to avoid further publicity and the possibility of a huge jury-driven judgment. In essence, they factor this kind of stuff into their premiums and plan accordingly.

The brat would have been tested for all STDs. Any potential HIV seroconversion would take a few months to show, and blood will be drawn at three and six months for ELISA and confirmatory Western Blot tests. In general, the prudent medical thing to do is to treat the kid for syphilis (Treponema pallidum), gonorrhea (Neisseria gonorrhea) and chlamydia (Chlamydia trachomatis). It is also possible the brat would be tested for human papilloma virus (HPV) and potentially a few others.

A 125 mg ceftriaxone intramuscular injection in one buttcheek, a 1.4 million unit procaine penicillin G injection in the other and a single dose of pediatric weight-adjusted azithromycin dosing would wipe out the big three (syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia). No treatment would be given for others unless confirmed.

I don't like it how they say "Child CHOKED on Condom". Goddamn it, the kyd was EATING the condom, not CHOKING. For crying out loud...

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"I have learned that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everyone off is easy and fun as hell"

:eatu

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poofy_puff
I don't like it how they say "Child CHOKED on Condom". Goddamn it, the kyd was EATING the condom, not CHOKING. For crying out loud...

Yeah, it doesn't sound like any "choking" took place until his moomie saw him swallow the contents and began ramming her fingers down his throat to get to it. This whole thing is extremely gross and IF the hotel cleaning staff overlooked it then they deserve the bad publicity. Why do so many little kyds stick everything in sight into their mouths anyway? Most animals don't do that and ALL kyds don't do it either. It's probably some left over Caveman gene (which would help explain extinction) much like extended breastfeeding, natural homebirths with the whole tribe looking on, and eating placenta. Some of these people just haven't graduated very far up the food chain I am afraid. I honestly believe if most kyds weren't molly coddled like they were that they would choke to death on garbage that they overturned while rooting around in it, choke on more small plastic items and candy than they already do, drown by drinking out of a glass the wrong way, (which explains the popularity of "sippy cups") or by drinking Draino or Clorax.


There is no way that we could have a modern day Tarzan because the average kyd who was left alone in the jungle to fend for himself would likely end up dead before nightfall due to his doing something anti-survival or just plain stupid. I can easily imagine a modern day 5 y/o would be Tarzan leaning over a raging waterfall to get a drink, reaching out to pet a tiger or lion, jumping into a murky pond to swim alongside the alligators, cuddling up in a cave next to some bear cubs, or perhaps trying to take a banana away from a gorilla. I would HATE to get stranded on an island with a plane load of people who were the inspiration for that movie, "Idiocracy".

CAPTCHA = euGYK

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kidlesskim
I would HATE to get stranded on an island with a plane load of people who were the inspiration for that movie, "Idiocracy".

You wouldn't be stranded WITH them for very long, at least.

Full disclosure: I used to slurp from puddles and water that had accumulated on top of trash-can lids and the like (back then most people had metal trash cans and the lids were slightly concave in the center) as soon as my mother's back was turned. I have no memory of this, so it must have been stopped before I was ~2 yo.

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"I have learned that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everyone off is easy and fun as hell"

:eatu

My brother's dog did this once. At least he threw the damn thing up later.

You just know the condom was theirs and are claiming it was left behind by 'previous travellers' so they don't get hauled off for endangering their own crotchfruit. How do we know they didn't do it on purpose to get the kyd to choke himself to death - like that episode of CSI where that single mum drowned her daughter at the fairground so she could run off with her partner.

Yep, always have to have somebody to blame.

First thing I do in ANY hotel room is make a sweep of the place and look for anything that doesn't belong there.

It's the parents fault and nobody else's.

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married with rabbits
My husband says they should test that condom for the duh's DNA. Who is to say they weren't careless after their romp? They could be covering it up.

But convienently the child managed to "ingest the contents"....funny that.

"It truly is the one commonality that every designation of humans you can think of has, there's at least one asshole."
--Me

I can see it now:

Sugeon General Warning: Ingesting contents of used condoms can lead to STDs, low birth rates, and some forms of cancer.

will they put a warning on each one, have to use a magnifying glass for some.


{captcha duumm= doom or dumb)

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captcha duumm= doom or dumb

That is so good!

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"I have learned that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everyone off is easy and fun as hell"

:eatu