A Sticky Situation

Man claims he was glued to toilet seat at Home Depot

Associated Press
Published on: 11/03/05

BOULDER, Colo. — A shopper is suing Atlanta-based Home Depot after claiming he got stuck to a toilet seat at a Colorado store because a prankster had smeared it with glue.

Fifty-seven-year-old Bob Dougherty accuses employees of ignoring his cries for help for about 15 minutes because they thought he was kidding.

He told The Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder that store employees "just let me rot."

The lawsuit says Dougherty was recovering from heart bypass surgery and thought he was having a heart attack when he got stuck at the Louisville, Colo., store on the day before Halloween 2003. The lawsuit says a store employee who heard him calling for help and informed the head clerk by radio but that the head clerk believed it was a hoax.

Home Depot spokeswoman Kathryn Gallagher says she cannot comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit said store officials called for an ambulance after about 15 minutes. Paramedics unbolted the toilet seat. The suit says Dougherty passed out as he was wheeled out of the store.

The lawsuit said the toilet seat separated from his skin, leaving abrasions.