What you're referring to is Bodine v. Enterprise High School, and the successful lawsuit had nothing to do with whether or not the person who fell through the skylight was a thief. The skylight was painted black, unmarked, and there were students on the roof on a regular basis. There was also another skylight fall incident a few years earlier in the same school district where the student was authorized to be on the roof and died.
The overwhelming majority of those "can you believe someone sued over this!?" storied are exaggerated or fabricated, largely to push tort reform in the late 80s-90s. Kinda like how Liebeck had severe burns from way too hot coffee and only wanted $20k from McDonalds to cover her medical expenses. McDicks refused to pay, went to court, and the jury found their misconduct so egregious that she was awarded $640k.
10.7k
u/MrSkriggleSFW 7d ago
Stupid as it is...the "thief" in this situation could actually press charges. 100% would not recommend.