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[FrenchMovieTheme]

so i get a call from my gf on wednesday night crying telling me to come to her work because she was just robbed. so i drive up there and the place is packed with police officers. there are probably about 8 police officers there and they are interviewing everyone that was in the store at the time.

so then i find out what happened and it went like this. dude comes in through the back door and my gf asks if she can help him. he says large coffee. so she goes back to get it and he follows her and has a gun. so he shows the gun but doesn't make a scene about it and says "open the register" so she does, and then he says "the other money too in the back" (the safe) so she gets that also. then he takes it and runs off. there are only 2 other people in the store at the time. an old guy and this other dude on his laptop.

the old dude, who is pretty cool i know him, said he thought the robber was a friend of my gf's and was just talking to her behind the counter. the other dude had his headphones on and didn't see what happened.

also, about 5 mins earlier there was a place up the street robbed by the same guy

now my gf is PROBABLY going to sue the place because of their negligent behavior. i'll see what you guys think about this. the reason she is suing is because they refused to PAY to replace the backdoor. you see it is a double door, and one side broke off the hinges so you kind of had to carry it there and hook it on to close at night, the rest of the day/night it was wide open. now the owner says "well we have it on order it's just not ready yet". the door had been like this for 3 months. the REASON it wasn't "ready" is because the business next door could have it done for free for them and they were having troubles getting the order in. nevermind that he could have paid the $300 or whatever and had it done overnight. now he is out $1500 or however much the guy got out of the register/safe. dumbass

also, what kind of place has girls closing ALONE at midnight? that is fucking ridiculous. i went to help her out everynight she closed because of this

anyways now we need to go take pics of the door and file a lawsuit and blahblahblah it's a mess. what a week!

 

[Hooker]

Pfff, Americans and their sueing ways...

 

[the year 20XX]

If the guy came in pretending to be a customer, couldn't he have come in just as easily through the front door?

Okay, that nitpick aside, I'm glad nobody got hurt.

 

[borghe]

sorry man. you lost me at "backdoor that was capable of being closed" and "girls closing a place at midnight".

I feel bad for your girlfriend. I too have been robbed before and know how unpleasant of an experience it is (re: it fucking sucks). But at the same time why was the door open to begin with and if girl's stop closing places at night I want their pay reduced (not seriously, but the whole equal work for equal pay thing). it would be a civil case though so anything can happen (literally). but I certainly wouldn't feel good about the suit.

my two cents. but I do feel bad for her. no one should have that happen.

 

[MrAngryFace]

That sucks, but im not a fan of sueing. Sounds like youre just finding someone to payback. Which is cool, but its sorta not cool at the same time.

Equal opportunity will put everyone in equal danger. Its no real suprise.

 

[Fifty]

Damn, I'm sorry. She seemed to have handled it well at least, and it wasn't her money! But still, I'm sure it freaked her out seriously.

If the guy came in pretending to be a customer, couldn't he have come in just as easily through the front door?

This seems to be true. Of course I don't know everything, but couldn't he have just walked in the front door with the gun in his pocket/pants and done it that way? If she was hurt by this and the back door was the only way in (or there were metal detectors at the front) then I'd see sueing, but perhaps this is just a knee-jerk reaction. I don't want to be insensitive, but I also don't want to see you go through a load of trouble for nothing.

 

[dskillzhtown]

I have a friend that worked at a cell phone place that was robbed at gunpoint. Evidently the robber had hit like 10 places and had killed a few people in the process, but didn't hamr her at all, just took the money and ran. As far as suing, I don't think that it is something you want to pursue. I mean, how are you going to prove that the robber wouldn't have come through the front door? How can you prove that even if the door was fixed that the robbery wouldn't have happened. You can't. Now if the broken door had fallen on your girl, then yes you would have a case then.

Just be happy that your gf didn't get hurt. She can always get another job.

 

[MrAngryFace]

She's also going to have a hard time getting employed in the future if they see a lawsuit in her history.

 

[radioheadrule83]

I'm in the UK so I dunno if such a thing is more alien here than over there or what...
but I was robbed at gun point in an off license. Pretty fucked up cos we had one of those time-release safes that I couldn't open. He came in wearing a bike helmet and when we asked him to remove it (as we're meant to) he just stormed over to the counter and demanded money from the tills / safe.

He got £900 in all. Not sure if that's good or bad for him, but I'm sure thats better than nothing.

I couldn't remember a single detail when the police came. I didn't go out the shop to see which way he went or how he fled, I just locked everything as soon as he left. About a week later, I was followed home after closing the shop too, so I had to go into another shop and get a taxi from the back entrance to escape before going to the police. In the end I decided it was a shitty job and just left.

People kept trying to tell me to put a compensation claim in etc, but I didn't do it. The company clearly thought I might though I had flowers, fruit, chocolate and all sorts of shit delivered to my door with condolences.

 

[FrenchMovieTheme]

it should be noted that i told her NOT to sue, but her parents are outraged and so on so i'm really staying out of it on that front. i'm against suing as well

 

[mrkgoo]

Dude, he had a gun. He would've robbed whoever was in the store, I reckon, girl or no.

 

[Blackace]

Well if the place that got robbed before her work has a backdoor I don't see this lawsuit really working out..

 

[FrenchMovieTheme]

i understand he could've easily robbed a male too, but don't you think as a thief you would be more likely to rob a place where there is one girl closing rather than a guy? if you were desperate for the money of course you would do it regardless, but if you were planning it out dont you think you would say "i'd rather rob it when a girl is there"

 

[Fifty]

Hopefully her parents calm down, because as MAF said, it's not good to have a lawsuit in your history. It sounds like a dangerous job, but she had to have known the risk. Sure it's not the best idea to have a woman alone in a store at 12, but that's not enough to sue over. Treat your girlfriend to a day at a spa or something to get her mind off it

 

[MrAngryFace]

Her parents are probably stuck in that old world notion about how women should be treated. While I wont argue it isnt valid, it isnt practical. They may stick to their guns on principle, if your girlfriend wants to end the effects of this event, the sooner its dropped the better.

Stepping outside your house you play the odds every day. Odds may favor certain sexes or races or whatever more, but thats not really the issue anyway.

 

[Scoobert]

dude comes in through the back door and my gf asks if she can help him. he says large coffee. so she goes back to get it

Does she always let customers through the back door and make an order?

I can see how the business can be held accountable though. They didn't exactly give her a safe work environment. Male or female, if you're going to be closing you're going to want everything to be secure. I can see a lawsuit working, the owner knew of a potential risk and didn't rectify the problem.

I bet he'll fix the door now.

 

[Deleted member 4784]

I'm just commenting in this thread for the sake of discussion (I'm not a lawyer).

IMO, your girlfriend is already entitled to Worker's Compensation regardless of the issue of negligence and liability; which, for the same reason, is why she CANNOT sue her employer. Worker's Compensation exists not only out of protection of the employee, but of protection for the employer resulting from frivolous claim and lawsuits. My understanding has always been that the exception to this rule was the issue of "Serious and Willful Misconduct" on part of the employer (as defined by Labor Code §4553); which, if you ask me, hardly fits the circumstances of what you have provided. On the other hand, it sounds to me like your girlfriend may have a very good case of third party liability against the landlord of the building.

I'd suggest that your girlfriend see an attorney before she comes to any decisions on this matter, as a licensed legal professional is far more qualified to provide you with advice on this matter. An attorney would also be able to analyze the full details of your story to conclude who your girlfriend has grounds to sue. What I'm trying to say is that, if I were you, I wouldn't come to any decisions based off of this thread.

I'm sorry to hear that your girlfriend went through such a traumatic experience. Even if she doesn't feel that she needs it, I would suggest that you encourage her to get the most out of Worker's Compensation by seeing a therapist. I've been through a similar experience in the past and although I was quick to "get over it", the memories of events such as these are always lingering. I wish her as well as yourself the best of luck.

 

[MrAngryFace]

I believe people 'get over things' better during the Fall TV season.

 

[DCX]

i understand he could've easily robbed a male too, but don't you think as a thief you would be more likely to rob a place where there is one girl closing rather than a guy? if you were desperate for the money of course you would do it regardless, but if you were planning it out dont you think you would say "i'd rather rob it when a girl is there"

That is true, for as stupid as criminals are sometimes, they do some profiling especially if they know the area...he would know when it would slow, and who's closing...and yes with a gun, it matters not if Obi Wan was there he would have hit the place anyway, but it makes it easy becuase women don't have egos...men do and it wouldn't have gone so easily for him.

DCX

 

[fart]

she has no case. sucks she got robbed, but this is one of the unfortunate risks of working retail. glad no one got hurt. the money is meaningless. instead of suing, she should work with the store owner to make sure the place is safe, since it's in everyone's best interest, and really, this is what matters.

 

[ShadowRed]

She's also going to have a hard time getting employed in the future if they see a lawsuit in her history.

Huh how do you figure? What company checks to see if you have filed a civil lawsuit?

 

[borghe]

Huh how do you figure? What company checks to see if you have filed a civil lawsuit?

most reputable companies run a credit and criminal/court check on you before hire. it is their legal entitlement to do so. but even beyond that, civil cases are public record. anyone can look them up. give me your name and DOB and I can look up your entire public record if your circuit court system has records for viewing online. even without your DOB and just firt initial and last name and I can look it up and get a good idea of who you are. public record.

and among other things this is one of the things they look for.

 

[Diablos]

Nooo, not Britt
That sucks. Hope she's ok. But yeah, girls as good looking as her should not be closing stores in LA late at night.