Woman suing Cowboys over burned butt

DALLAS (KXAN) - A woman who suffered third-degree burns and required skin grafts has filed a lawsuit against the Dallas Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones. Janelle Carrillo asks for a trial by jury in the case.

The lawsuit blames the injuries on the conditions of a black marble bench located just outside the entrance to Cowboys Stadium, which had become searing hot in the normally scorching Texas sun.

August temperatures in Dallas on Aug. 10, 2010, the date of the injury, were at or above the 100-degree mark in a record-breaking wave of high temperatures, according to reports of the day in the Dallas News.

The lawsuit filed on behalf of plaintiff Carrillo complains that no warning signs were posted at or near the bench in question, telling the public "that it was too hot for persons to sit on nor was the bench roped off to prevent persons from sitting on it."

Carrillo, a resident of Cleburne, Texas, was at the stadium to attend the Blue & Silver Debut scrimmage game.

As a result of her burns, Carrillo was admitted to a hospital and underwent skin grafts and other treatment for her burns, according to the lawsuit.

The attorney for Carrillo -- Michael A. Wash of Austin -- contends in the suit that the bench's condition posed an "unreasonable risk of harm" due to how hot it is in the city in August and because of the materials with which the bench was made. The lawsuit claims that the owners and corporate entities of the Dallas Cowboys should have known that the bench's black marble material "would become unreasonably and dangerously hot when exposed to the  August sun...should have known that the plaintiff or some other person would sit on the bench at a time when it would be extremely hot."

The lawsuit claims that the defendants named were negligent in posting a warning about the condition of the bench in the heat and failed to "make the condition reasonably safe."

Carrillo seeks damages for her physical pain and anguish, medical expenses, loss of earning capacity, physical impairment, disfigurement. She also seeks recovery of pre-judgment interest as provided by Texas law.

The defendants named include Cowboys Stadium, L.P., Cowboys Stadium GP, LLC; Blue & Silver, Inc., the managing member of the stadium; JWJ Corporation and Dallas Cowboys Football Club, Ltd.