Snake in a Crib, Part 2: The Lawsuit!

Images of the California king snake, now in Islip animal shelter custody, from WNBC

The family who found a California King snake wrapped around a 7-month-old baby's leg on Monday has decided to sue the mattress manufacturer and store where the mattress was purchased.

Baby Isabella and her mother Cari Abatemarco had been visiting her grandparents' home in Brentwood, on Long Island, and grandfather John Abatemarco said, "No grandfather wants to come home to find a snake wrapped around [his granddaughter's] leg." And her uncle Charlie described the scene, "I heard screaming and I came running into the room. The snake dropped off her leg into crib. I grabbed a back scratcher to capture it, not knowing if it was venomous." (It wasn't.)

Now the family will sue Toys R Us and mattress maker Sealy, claiming the mattress wasn't properly packaged when it was sold. While some suspect the snake, which is not indigenous to Long Island, may have been someone's pet that got loose and then slithered into the Abatemarco house to beat the heat, their lawyer said, "Either the heat from the baby drew the snake out of the mattress or just the snake migrated out on its own looking for a meal."

As for the mattress, it's been returned--and it's unclear what Toys R Us will be doing with it! And here's some other good bedding advice: Never bring home used or discarded mattresses, box frames, springs, etc., because they might be infested with bedbugs.

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By Jen Chung in News on June 11, 2008 8:44 AM

Comments [rss]

Barbj8

What a beautiful snake. I would have kept it, the baby--not so much.

dadoc

BS case, knucklehead parents, Should have just taped the media coverage to show to the kid in years to come, get a laugh out of it. Defendant should NOT SETTLE!!! Then should sue plaintiffs for costs. Cal Kings are common NYC pets. Snake coulda come from anywhere. When I was a kid in Brooklyn in the 60's my snake cage was left open. Dozen of my pets (none venemous, all caught on vacations) took flight. For a few days had neighbors (smiling) ringing the doorbell & giving back my snakes. Lawsuits? Get real. Parents should be sentenced to a few weeks in Myanmar or such to get some "suffering" perspective.

Lilitu

1. The baby was never in any danger. Those snakes eat mice and other snakes. Unless the baby smelled of rodents (in which case they have much bigger problems than a small snake in the crib), it wasn't even going to nip. Which probably wouldn't really have hurt anyway, because as Spiritof76 said, that is no 4 foot long snake. It's a juvenile.

2. Go ahead and just try to prove that snake came from the mattress.

3. Who told you to buy an open mattress, geniuses?

I'm sure it'll be settled out of court, but I'd really rather the companies let a judge laugh these people out of the courtroom.

Spirit of 76

Aha! As I thought yesterday, there's no way that's a 4-footer as the mother claimed. That looks about 2 to 2 1/2 feet in the first picture, just like I guessed.

pickycapellit

I'm tired of these muthafuckin' snakes in these muthafuckin' mattresses!

Snoopy

If the mattress came from a location where the snake is not indigenous then obviously the snake didn't come from the mattress. Assuming of course the mattress was wrapped as they normally are.

Rocknrope

Good point S.D. "Hey, we know it came from the mattress, I've got an idea, let's return the only piece of evidence we have to the defendant!"

Not the brightest bulbs out there in Brentwood.

S.D.

"As for the mattress, it's been returned--and it's unclear what Toys R Us will be doing with it!"?

Since they're suing, that probably wasn't wise. If someone steps up and says "Hey! You found my snake!" (unlikely Now!) they're screwed.

Think2wice

In a fit of pique people love to look for a scapegoat.

But I do feel very bad for the poor baby and her traumatized mom. I'd never be able to sleep at night if I witnessed that.

Fritzdecat

Good to hear the snake is now in "custody" Hope it gets a fair trial.

rtd2101

The snake is kind of cute.

eyekantspel

there should have been a warning label on the mattress. "Caution, may contain snakes"

Seriously, another stupid lawsuit. If our JUDGEs had any sense/balls, they would toss stupid suits like this and slap the plaintiffs with costs, and sanction the attorneys bringing them. That doesn't happen enough.

starrygordon

They'll settle out of court to avoid the unpredictable outcome of a trial.

This could become quite a cottage industry, if there are enough snakes to go around.

Rocknrope

Good luck to the plaintiffs in proving that the snake actually came out of the mattress.

smitty

There is no possible way to know that it came from the mattress. That's totally illogical.

gossipgirl

This doesn't make sense to me...

JRod5417

Puh-lease! This just happened on Monday and they are already suing. Can someone please explain what the damage is besides some possible emotional distress?