A Pennsylvania man who was paralyzed from the neck down after relatives tipped over the Porta Potty he was using has won a $5 million settlement in a lawsuit over the prank gone wrong.
Douglas Adams III and his wife sued the portable toilet manufacturer, its installer, as well as his wife’s cousins—Gerald Grater and Barry Weller—who tipped over the portable toilet during a camping and fishing trip, the Legal Intelligencer reports. Grater and Weller backed their truck against the Porta Potty door in an attempt to lock Adams inside. This caused the toilet to tip, resulting in injuries that rendered Adams quadriplegic.
The lawsuit faulted Poly-San, the manufacturer, with not providing spikes to secure the unit in the ground, and the installer for putting the portable toilet on a 14 degree angle on the side of a hill, propping it up with wood to keep it level.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Where Trump 2.0 Will Differ From 1.0
- How Elon Musk Became a Kingmaker
- The Power—And Limits—of Peer Support
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024
- Column: If Optimism Feels Ridiculous Now, Try Hope
- The Future of Climate Action Is Trade Policy
- FX’s Say Nothing Is the Must-Watch Political Thriller of 2024
- Merle Bombardieri Is Helping People Make the Baby Decision
Contact us at letters@time.com