Jennelle Carrillo of Cleburne,Texas has filed a lawsuit against the Dallas Cowboys and team owner Jerry Jones after allegedly suffering third-degree burns from sitting on a black marble bench outside Cowboys Stadium while waiting to watch a scrimmage. The complaint, filed in Tarrant County,Texas, states that Carrillo required hospitalization and skin grafts on her buttocks after spending an unspecified amount of time on the bench in the Texas heat. Meteorologist Steve Fano of the National Weather Service in Forth Worth noted that the temperature on Aug. 10, 2010 (the day of the alleged injury) was 101 degrees.
Carrillo insists that the stadium should have warned people about the dangers of the proverbial hot-seat: “[n]o signs were posted at or near the bench warning that it was too hot to sit on, nor was the bench roped off to prevent the persons from sitting on it.” As a result of this “failure,” Carrillo’s suit claims that she suffered mental anguish, physical pain, and disfigurement.
Mike Wash, Carrillo’s attorney, stated, “It was hot enough to produce third-degree burns through her clothing that day . . . I’m surprised there aren’t more reports of burn injuries from sitting on those black, dark benches.”
While the Dallas Cowboys have refrained from commenting on the litigation, we can guess that they do not share Wash’s surprise.
Fan Sues Cowboys, Jerry Jones over burned buttocks
Woman burned about hot seat at Cowboys Stadium sues Cowboys and Jerry Jones