I tripped on the sidewalk once and now I have sickle cell anemia.

Maybe I'm stupid (hold back your agreement please) but how does stress cause diabetes?

3...2...1... let victim bashing commence!

Super glue doesn't instantly anneal your ass to anything. Did he not sit down and immediately stand up after realizing the seat was wet? I'm not sure I really feel sympathetic for this dude's predicament.

So...you can catch diabetes from a toilet seat?

@hypnotik_jello: is it really victim bashing if we don't think this guy is a victim? Well, maybe he is a victim of himself . . .

@leah I'm assuming that it was already starting to dry when he sat on it, and maybe he was too scared to pull it off once he sat down and it started to harden. Anyways, superglue does act pretty fast so it's definately possible.

@Megatenist: and crabs. they're trying to say that the stress caused it, but If i recall back from my common sense days...genes and eating habits cause diabetes.

@Leah: I was joking. Seriously though, IANAMD but, diabetes from a toilet seat? That's a new one.

@vanilla-fro:
I know.My saving throw of sarcasm failed.

Did he not sit down and immediately stand up after realizing the seat was wet?

@Leah: You'd rather get poo all over the place than deal with a little moisture? I always wondered who those people were who did that in public restrooms...

He didn't just have to go, he was feeling sick. There might not have even been another stall to go to. Besides, why the hell should he assume he's sitting on super glue? He gets no sympathy for not crapping his pants?

I'm guessing the glue had to be either very tacky as you usually don't plop down on wet toilet seats. Even then, who doesn't use the paper ass-gaskets on public toilets or sit without looking?

Regardless, as always I am sure there are details missing from the story to make the victim pull in sympathy from the public that big bad evil Home Depot is at fault for gluing his ass to the toilet seat. I'd say at best it was their fault for not coming to his aid after pleading, but I still don't understand how stress leads to diabetes....at all.

@vanilla-fro: ...and PCOS and pregnancy.

"Bob says no one at the Home Depot would help him. He says they thought it was a hoax and ignored his pleas for help."

Regardless of how he got there why didn't any of the employees believe him or at least call the cops to have him removed if it was a hoax.

There's too much of a lack of common sense in the retail industry.

Why didn't he put some TP on the seat if toilet condoms weren't there?

2000 is an insult...
But if you sat down on Superglue, wont you immediately feel it and probably stand up immediately?
Next time use seat covers.

I think this guy should have taken the $2,000, or at most stick them with the Ambulance / Hospital bills (which probably aren't $2K anyway). And I'm not victim bashing here - he deserves something for this. But stress-onset Diabetes? Honestly, I'm no doctor but I've never heard of this. I found one article on Google that addressed stress and diabetes, and basically said to prevent stress from inflaming an already existing diabetes case, take vitamin B. So it's a stretch.

@mandarin: There weren't any seat covers.

Now that's what I call (wait for it) a sticky situation!

I would believe everything except that it is Home Depot's fault. I could see, if this guy were "crap his pants immediately" sick, that he might sit down even if it were moist. If any of you, like me, have thought it was fun to put super glue on your fingers, you would know that super glue will stay relatively moist for a while on anything except for flesh. At the first touch on flesh it seems to instantly bond. The only thing I don't get (the part I think this story is not telling) is that if this was a public restroom in Home Depot, how were they supposed to know the seat had super glue on it? And why is it their fault for not knowing?

When I first read the headline I thought it was a brilliantly funny commentary on the fact that the victim looks a lot like Wilfred Brimley.

I was really disappointed to learn that it was a simple factual statement.

Who doesn't look at the seat before you sit even if you're about to explode. I don't want to sit on someone elses urine droplets.

OK, I know the opportunities for hilarity are just endless, but I'm going to issue a blanket request here.

If the only purpose of your comment is to victim-blame/bash, please don't post a comment.

@ducksauce:

LOL @ Wilfred Brimley...It's true, he does look like him!

This is PURE conjecture here. (I do not know the details of the case)

Atypical antipsychotics are sometimes prescribed to treat PTSD
[www.medscape.com]

Atypical antipsychotics have been shown to increase the risk of developing diabetes.
[www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

So maybe that's how superglue application to the buttocks may, in some convoluted way, cause diabetes.

(Does that mean Home Depot should have to foot the bill for this man's lifelong medical care? I can't imagine arguing for that)

A few clues to the mystery...

1. He's old. Maybe not Tutankhamen old, but he's getting up there in age.
2. He has a severe heart condition and as many know, any severe disease/condition will age you, faster than time will.
3. He wasn't feeling well to begin with.
3. He began taking his nitroglycerin pills for his heart condition (I'm pretty sure the recommended dosage is NOT 'take as many as needed in case of superglue malfunction')
4. Home Depot didn't offer to pay is medical bills, and instead offered $2,000. Since when does a store or company HAVE to pay for your medical bills? I kind of understand they might do so, but do they HAVE to? But also, $2,000 seems like it would pay for a few medical bills.
5. I've studied Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder through several peer-reviewed articles and studies, and I have not seen any case where diabetes was a result from PTSD. Plus, nowhere did it say that he was actually diagnosed with PTSD. I actually think it's somewhat of an insult to anyone who actually has PTSD to say that this guy can have it from being glued to a toilet. I mean, there are men from the Vietman War and Korean War who actually have severe PTSD, and this guy is trying to join their ranks by saying he was traumatized? Humiliated, sure, but traumatized? Is he going to wipe down the seat from now on?

Actually, that's a good point...if I have to use a public restroom I ALWAYS wipe down the seat or use one of those paper seat cover things.

I find this odd. First, super glue hardens quickly. He would have had to sit on that thing within moments of someone applying it. Also, who doesn't look at the seat before you sit in a public bathroom? I mean eww...

His whole case is rested upon the whole incident causing him to basically go into a depressive state which made him go inactive to the point of developing diabeties. I personally don't see it.

Home Depot should have stepped up and covered all his medical bills and then some on the top. That would have been the honorable thing to do. It is a crappy thing, but I don't see his claim as being very valid. There was fault on Home Depot, there was fault on him.

I still can't get past the part of the super glue. If it really was super glue it would just have hardened too quickly to be anyone other than someone just in there, or himself alone. It might not have been super glue though, but something else instead.

While the Stress=Diabetes factor is very far-fetched, Home Depot should pony up for the ambulance, hospital bills, loss of wages, and pain and suffering. And 2 grand is not enough.

Yes, the flagged comments inbox is starting to fill up...

Funny, this is the SECOND time this has happened to this man...
"In 2005, a former Nederland official alleged that Dougherty claimed he was glued to a second toilet at the Nederland Visitor Center the previous summer." As reported in the Boulder Daily Camera.

...how were they supposed to know the seat had super glue on it? And why is it their fault for not knowing?

@Toof_75_75: Because they're supposed to keep the restroom clean? At least clean enough to be used.

They'll probably say it's their fault for refusing to help him but I don't think you can be held liable for refusing to help someone, even if they're dying.

@ShadowFalls:

Gel super glue really doesn't harden in just seconds. It has the tendency to stay tacky and pliable for a little longer. I could also have been something like epoxy. Were there any crime lab tests done on the chemical makeup of the anal adhesive?

@Rectilinear Propagation:

But if someone had been in there 1, 2, 5, 10 minutes prior...Home Depot doesn't have a towel boy at the door of the restroom checking to make sure everything is always spic and span. It would be a waste of money, generally.

I find it difficult to believe that anyone (even someone who REALLY needs to go) would just plop their ass down on an obviously wet PUBLIC RESTROOM toilet seat. That's just freaking disgusting.

@Consumerist Moderator - ACAMBRAS: Is victim-blaming going to be banned? I thought that was about 75% of the traffic here.

@edebaby:

You'd stand there and wipe a few drops off, even if it cost you crapping your pants?! I can actually see that side of it (sitting on super glue) being plausible.

Honestly this is too much. Don't want to be a "victim basher" but really, this is another case of American's sueing for stupid reasons. He is due a little bit of money, but to go as far as to say "I got glued to a toilet seat and it ruining my life" is dumb.

Lots of people suffer embaressing situations, and they get on with life, without suing. I hope he doesn't get any cash at all, I have no pity for those who make up stories. Diabetes, right...

The first thing I do when entering a stall is wipe the seat with toilet paper. It's a habit.

Listening to the guy I definitely feel bad for him. I can quite see how he got diabetes from it, but I can see how he could be very embarrassed about the incident and have reoccurring nightmares. I can't understand why his life is ruined now. Plenty of people have diabetes. I do think Home Depot should have paid his medical bills and offered him some settlement, though a small one.

I am unsure if Home Depot should be responsible, on one hand it happened at their store, on the other hand they can't possibly prevent every possible thing. If you get stabbed in a Home Depot should be be able to sue Home depot- I don't think so. If Home Depot has a water leak and you trip and fall should they be responsible- I think so. This falls in the middle for me- it did happen somewhere that Home Depot is responsible for maintaining, but they can't do everything.

Also, what kind of sick f**k puts super glue on a toilet seat, I've never heard of that.

@spookiedog: He's denying it so who knows.

Although I shouldn't be I am surprised that after the Jo-Ann Fabrics, wherein the woman experience leakage almost immediately, commentors are still insisting that people experiencing diarehha have time to wipe down the seat and contruct a toilet paper seat cover before sitting down.

@spookiedog: If thats true, which it very well could be, then he could be a professional grifter. Who the hell gets glued to a toilet seat more than once, let alone twice in 3 years?

Like I said, seems there are details of the story missing.

A) The man was about to crap his pants, if you've ever been in that situation, remember how it felt and how fast you were running to the toilet. If he felt anywhere near the feeling of the JoAnn Fabrics lady, he wouldn't have cared if it was a cold metal bucket in that stall.

B) They were in Home Depot. There is a lot of *industrial* super-glue in those types of buildings. I'm surprised it didn't harden before he sat on it. It would have only taken a few seconds for the skin to start bonding to the seat, if that long. Trust me, I went through an unfortunate experience with super glue and fabric while building a set in college. NOT a fun trip to make to the ER.

C) Stress has a direct effect on glucose levels, at least in terms of Type 2 diabetes, from what I understand. ([www.diabetes.org]) Yes, the stress-to-diabetes argument is shaky, but if he can prove medically a correlation between the event and his diabetes, he deserves his day in court.

The fact that no one helped him is what scares me the most, and it took another customer to take care of the situation. I just hope the guy gets somewhat better.

man you can't make this shit up. poor guy, home depot should've at least paid for his hospital bill.

@Toof_75_75: I know, it was a guess. I don't see how else they'll pin it on the store except to say that the condition of the bathroom is their responsibility.

Why didn't they apologize for not believing he needed help and then try to track down who put the super glue (or whatever) on the toilet? A store camera might have caught someone taking the glue into the bathroom and then he could have sued the prankster.

@Consumerist Moderator - ACAMBRAS: ILU mod!

Did anyone else read the Smoking Gun copy of the lawsuit? According to that, it was a store employee that called 911, not another customer (what Dougherty told CBS4--interesting discrepancy, that), and he was stuck for all of... wait for it... fifteen minutes. And he got PTSD bad enough to kill his pancreas from that? Uh-huh. The manager that ignored him at first still deserves to be demoted, at the very least, and Home Depot sucks for other reasons, but come on.

@Consumerist Moderator - ACAMBRAS: Will killed comments just disappear completely or will there be a 'comment deleted' place holder?

The guy has a valid claim regarding being glued to the toliet and the medical bills directly associated with that (although MissJ is right, the bottle probably don't say that being glued to a toliet makes it a good idea to go crazy with the pills).

But I'm sorry, an old man with a serious heart condition is not going to convince me that THIS ONE INCIDENT gave him diabetes. No.

@wring: HAHA
@Rectilinear Propagation: Yeah, I guess that would be their only hope. I personally don't think it should be their issue, but sadly enough I don't make the decisions :-p I'm definitely agreeing with you about everyone just ignoring the guy, though! That's pretty rough. Like you said, too, still no one believes that someone could have to go IMMEDIATELY!

You have to feel bad for the guy, in that I would be pissed and humiliated to have been in that "position," but I don't think it's something you try to sue the "crap" out of Home Depot for.

Okay, while on the one hand nobody should assume somebody is "joking" when they're calling for help (not a store employee anyway) I'm taking a bit of offense to his statement that because he is now diabetic he is "nothing more than a crumpled cripple sitting at home, waiting to die."

Both of my parents are diabetic. One is insulin dependent, the other just regulates with diet and medication. A lot of people in my family are diabetic.

I don't care how difficult his sugar levels are, he CAN work with them and he CAN manage them with the help of a physician. Yes, he has a heart condition and he's probably not in the best health. But you can get past a lot of health problems if you're willing to try to retain your life.

Diabetes is a difficult disease, yes. The stress of the experience is probably hard to deal with too.

But it does not a "crumpled cripple" make.

Yes, he should have his medical bills covered. They should take responsibility for their employees ignoring a customer in pain and in distress. After that? I don't believe they owe him anything further.

Did anyone else read the Smoking Gun copy of the lawsuit?

@King of the Wild Frontier: I will admit to avoiding it due to the description of the photo.