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Examples Of Three Practical Jokes That Went Horribly Wrong

29 July 2015

Deann Miles

Do you like practical jokes? If you do, then you should do your best to ensure that they never get out of hand. If they cause injuries (emotional or physical) to your victims, then you may be faced with a personal injury claim for damages. This is not just a wild supposition; there are actually cases of practical jokes that got out of hand. Here are three such examples:

Fake Suicide Threat

In 2013, the mother of a deceased fifth-grade girl filed a lawsuit blaming her daughter's classmates for the death. According to the mother, the young girl's death was a suicide caused by a cruel prank played by her classmates.

It seems that the prank began when one of the classmates, a boy, claimed that he was planning to commit suicide. Another classmate, a girl, joined in the prank and convinced the victim of the prank that the boy really wanted to kill himself.

Since they were all close friends, the victim developed emotional and psychological trauma to her friend's impending "suicide." As a result, she committed suicide by overdosing on a drug.

Poisonous Cakes

Students at Brooklyn high school surprised their teachers one day by handing out free cakes. These were normal, even respected students (one was even a straight-A scholar), and the teachers did not suspect anything wrong with the cakes.

Unfortunately, the cakes had been laced with some drugs (allegedly laxatives or insecticides). One of the teachers immediately went to the emergency room after feeling numb immediately after eating the cake. Another one developed breathing problems and had to seek medical attention, too.

Fatal Surprise

An age-old prank, which people play in different variations, involves hiding and jumping out to surprise a person. Well, a family in Colorado wasn't amused when such a prank cost them the life of their teenage son.

It began when two cousins broke into a house in order to prank their family friend who was playing video games with another younger friend. When the duo jumped out of the closet, the younger friend grabbed a gun and shot at the direction of the noise. It was a reaction, but a reaction that left a teenager dead.

The next time you want to play a prank on a friend, think carefully about what you want to do. Only proceed if you are certain that nothing can go wrong with your joke. Otherwise, you may soon be facing personal injury claims when your prank injures a person or damages property. If you've been the victim of a prank gone wrong, contact a local attorney, like Burgess, Harrell, Mancuso, Colton, La Porta & Shea.

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