A football fan who is suing the Dallas Cowboys has, quite literally, found herself in the “hot seat” after she allegedly “burned her buttocks” in August 2010.
According to CBS News, Jennelle Carrillo of Cleburne, Texas, allegedly received “severe burns to her backside” after sitting on a black marble bench outside the entrance of Cowboys Stadium.
Carrillo had been at the stadium in Arlington to attend the Blue & Silver scrimmage football game and temperatures that day were reportedly higher than 100 degrees.
“The bench was uncovered and openly exposed to the extremely hot August sun,” the suit, which was filed in Tarrant County civil court, states. “The combination of the nature of the black, marble bench and hot sunlight caused the bench to become extremely hot and unreasonably dangerous.”
The suit goes on to state that no warning signs had been posted to alert fans and passers-by of the hot benches, ESPN notes.
Carrillo’s lawyer Michael Wash told CBS News that his client had suffered third-degree burns on her derriere and had to get skin grafts. She was allegedly “hospitalized for about a week” as a result of her injuries.
Wash also said Carrillo had “suffered mental anguish, physical pain and disfigurement as a result of her wounds.”
Carrillo, who is suing the franchise and its owner Jerry Jones, is reportedly seeking to get a “jury trial and payment of court fees, interest and a damage amount” determined by the jury, CBS notes.
Some have compared Carrillo’s case to the infamous “McDonald’s Hot Coffee Lawsuit” of 1994 in which a woman who spilled scalding coffee on her lap while sitting in a car sued the fast food chain for damages.
After news of Carrillo’s lawsuit emerged, CW33 KDAF-TV News asked a few Texans to weigh in on the issue.
“I mean we could just sue anybody for anything if that’s the case. I don’t think that’s right,” said one woman who opposes the lawsuit.
“I mean common sense, right? Cause I mean if the seat’s hot — sit up, stand up…get off of it. I mean, use your brains, right?” said Sean Welborne, another critic.
The Dallas Cowboys have offered no comment due to the ongoing litigation, per team policy.
