Man sues Chicago Hilton for $50,000 after tripping over luggage

by Katie Hammel on

It seems there’s no end to the ridiculous things people will sue over these days. There was the alcoholic who drunkenly fell down the stairs and then sued the hotel for over-serving him, the guy who got electrocuted while trying to sneak onto an Amtrak train and then sued the company for parking the trains where it did, and many, many more.

Now a man is suing Chicago’s Palmer House Hilton for $50,000 after he tripped over some unattended luggage in the hotel lobby. The complaint, posted on a Chicago legal website, alleges that “on or about October 7, 2007” the plaintiff, Richard J. Wood, “tripped, stumbled, and/or fell” over the luggage. (Well…which was it? Did he merely stumble, or was it a fall? And how does he not know which day it happened?)

The suit, in its convoluted legalese, alleges that the Hilton staff were careless and negligent in leaving the suitcase out where Wood could trip on it. Apparently, Wood bears no responsibility for not looking where he was going. There’s no word on how the man was physically injured, but the suit claims he suffered “great pain, anguish and suffering, loss of a normal life”. Was it $50,000 worth of anguish? Unless Hilton settles, it’ll be up to the court to decide.

The best from the weird and wacky world of tourist complaints

by Scott Carmichael on

We tourists are a curious bunch – apparently, by paying for our trip, some of us feel we are entitled to absolute perfection. In this lineup, we’ve listed several of the most insane lawsuits taken to court by tourists.

Have you ever encountered something so ridiculous on a trip, that you had to take your case to court?

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The case of the slutty Dutch girl and the kitchen staff

A Dutch family visited the judge demanding a full refund of their vacation, as well as compensation for having to move to a new resort.

Apparently the situation at their original resort was unbearable, forcing them to relocate to a more expensive location.

What the Dutch forgot to tell the court, was that their daughter had slept with the entire kitchen staff, forcing hotel management to fire most of them.

Verdict: case dismissed

The case of the stupid locals enjoying their own beach

A German couple pleaded their case at the local court, demanding compensation for a spoiled vacation.

The 2 Germans were very upset that their (public) Mauritian beach was also being used by locals. And obviously, the one thing that can spoil a vacation, is having to interact with the people that actually live there.

Verdict: local judge throws case into a local trash can


The case of the outhouse is not an acceptable bathroom?

A Swedish tourist visited his court to beg for a full refund of his vacation.

His complaint? His remote farm destination lacked in-building bathroom facilities, and he was forced to use an outhouse. Apparently this was just too much for him to deal with.

Verdict: case ended up in the crapper



The disturbing case of the do not disturb sign

It takes a special level of stupid to mistake the do not disturb sign on the inside of your door for a warning to stay in your room. That didn’t prevent one tourist from filing an official complaint asking for her money back.

When she arrived at her hotel, she got to her room, and stayed there for several days, claiming the hotel staff forced her to stay indoors. After a little digging, the court found that she saw the sign, and mistook it for a “don’t you dare leave this room” sign.

Verdict: This woman probably does need to be locked in a room somewhere.


The case of the loud mosque

A Dusseldorf court listened to the rants of a German tourist demanding his money back. His vacation had been ruined by the daily call for prayer at a local Turkish mosque. In the weird little world of this tourist, calls for prayer are to be silenced when he’s enjoying his vacation.

Verdict: Stupid tourist should be forced to listen to “case dismissed” every day for a week.

The case of the snores galore

Snoring people are everywhere – including airplanes. However, when a German tourist was treated to several hours of loud snoring on his flight to South Africa, instead of just chalking it up to another annoyance of air travel, he went to court to demand a full refund.

Sadly for him, the court had to explain to him that snoring people are just part of life, and told him to stop wasting their time.

Verdict: a snooze case


The case of the super fertile pool water!

There have been many stories of immaculate conception in history. But none was as weird as the story of a Polish girl that got impregnated through the pool water at their Egyptian resort.

The mother of the girl insisted that her daughter did not have sex, and that the only explanation had to be the filthy sperm infested waters of the hotel pool.

Verdict: This case is dead in the water



The case of nobody told me the fire could burn me

Burning Man may not be the kind of vacation destination suitable for everyone, but 50,000 people make the trip each year. This year, one visitor walked around the large bonfire, getting closer and closer each time.

Eventually, he tripped, and fell right into the flames, burning his hands. Because nobody had told him about the dangers of fire, he took his case to court demanding someone pay him for his stupidity.

Verdict: case fizzles out



The curious case of too many Germans

Brits and Germans have a very special relationship when they are abroad. And by special, I mean they hate each other.

Germans steal all the pool chairs in the morning, and Brits get drunk and wake the Germans up very early, forcing them to get up even earlier for their pool chairs (pardon the stereotypes).

One British tourist had enough – he took a trip to court demanding his cash back. His complaint? His travel agent had failed to mention that his destination was also popular with Germans. And apparently, too many Germans is enough to completely spoil your vacation.


Verdict: Klage abgewiesen!

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American Airlines cleared on racism charges

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Six Iraqi-American passengers sued American Airlines, claiming that racism drove the cancellation of their flight. The men were all residents of Michigan and were employed by a security contract firm and had been participating in training with members of the U.S. military. Their flight was canceled, they believe, because of their nationality.

U.S. District Judge Paul Borman decided that the captain’s decision to return the August 28, 2007 flight to the gate in Chicago wasn’t “arbitrary and capricious.” The flight crew was accused of racial profiling, but Borman’s opinion recognized that the crew was right to be alarmed by unusual behavior. One passenger covered his head with a blanket – “mummy-like” and “menacing” – while the flight attendant provided the safety briefing. Another passenger claimed to be traveling alone, though he’d been seen earlier in the terminal with a group.

“All of these unusual actions by the passengers reasonably concerned the flight attendants, and justified their calls to the pilot,” the judge decided. “Based on the facts as (the captain) knew them to be when he decided to return the airplane to the gate, this court holds that his decision was not arbitrary and capricious.”

Airline fee backfires: skycaps win in Massachusetts court

by Tom Johansmeyer on

When American Airlines started to charge a $2 fee for curbside baggage check-in, the skycaps lost their tips. Passengers were accustomed to paying $2 or so, it seems, and weren’t going to amp up the cash flow just because the money was going into a different pocket. So, nine Logan Airport skycaps – current and former – just came into $325,000, thanks to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, which ruled based on a law intended to protect wages and tips.

American Airlines tried to get by on a technicality, saying eight of the nine skycaps were subcontractors (working for G2 Secure Staff) and thus weren’t protected. The court disagreed, favoring broader protection. But, it isn’t over yet. American Airlines, according to a report in USA Today, is evaluating “all of its legal options.”

American Airlines flight attendant accused of racist remark

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Dudu Nobre, a Brazilian singer, has filed a lawsuit against American Airlines. He, his wife and producer are looking for $4 million in damages, claiming that flight attendants used racial slurs when talking to him and that they stabbed his producer with a sharp pen. So, the next time you’re wondering what could make the long flight from Sao Paulo to New York worse, in a world where amenities and seat space are declining seemingly daily, Nobre is equipped to let you know.

One flight attendant is said to have called Nobre a monkey repeatedly in Portuguese during the flight – pushing it further by making monkey-like sounds. Apparently, these sounds are the closest thing to comment, as American Airlines is remaining tight-lipped.

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