Risky Rocket

Any story involving a bottle rocket being shot out of someone's rear end is bound to end badly, as a lawsuit filed by a West Virginia fraternity member proves. Perhaps the only surprise in the case is that the student suing Marshall University is not the one who actually fired the rocket.

Instead, the litigious undergrad is Louis Helmberg III, who says he was merely an innocent bystander when his Alpha Tau Omega fraternity brother, Travis Hughes, decided to launch the rocket while standing on the deck of the frat house. When the rocket prematurely detonated, Helmberg was allegedly so startled that he jumped backwards and fell off the deck in the process. He subsequently sued the fraternity, Hughes and the university, claiming that his injuries left him unable to play for the university's baseball team and cost him significantly in medical expenses.

Helmberg argued that the defendants should be subject to strict liability, because “firing bottle rockets out of one's own anus constitutes an 'ultra-hazardous' activity.” But earlier this month a court dismissed the university from the lawsuit over a procedural error.

Frightening Photo

When Alfred Lolange was hired as the head chef at New York's Z-Two Diner & Lounge he was promised a weekly salary of $2,500, but when his first paycheck arrived it amounted to just $2,000. The diner's owner, Steve Osman, allegedly explained that he was withholding the rest for taxes. Lolange accepted this explanation, and, at the start of tax season, asked his boss for a copy of his W-2 form, showing the taxes that the restaurant had withheld from his checks.

Instead of giving Lolange the form, however, Osman allegedly showed him something a bit more sinister—a photograph of a person whose fingers had been cut off. “This is what happens to people with a big mouth,” Osman told his employee, according to the suit. Several months later, Lolange reportedly tried to change back into his street clothes after his shift, only to discover that someone had slashed them. He was fired shortly afterward, and is now suing his former employer for lost wages.

Slippery Surface

Talk about a greasy spoon. West Virginia resident Mary Carpenter is suing a Chinese restaurant after she allegedly slipped and fell on a puddle of grease. Carpenter claims that the Dragon Garden Buffet Corp. was negligent for allowing grease to accumulate on the floor near its buffet, leading to a Dec. 10 fall that left her with serious injuries, ongoing pain and mental distress.

Carpenter is now seeking compensatory damages with interest, arguing that the restaurant failed in its duty to keep its customers safe.