A birthday celebration quickly turned into a nightmare for Fiamma Villaverde, a 29-year-old mother from Berisso, Argentina, after a ceiling collapsed mid-movie at a theater in La Plata while she watched “Final Destination.”
Villaverde had been enjoying a spontaneous birthday outing on May 19th with her 11-year-old daughter and a friend.
“We hadn’t planned on going to the movies,” she told Infobae. “It was my birthday, we were out walking, and passed by the cinema. We said, ‘Shall we go?’”
They chose to see “Final Destination: Bloodlines,” ironically, a horror film, when disaster struck.
“There was a loud noise. At first we thought it was part of the movie because we were really into it, but then a chunk fell on me,” she recalled. Debris struck her shoulder, back, knee, and ankle. “It didn’t hit my head because I happened to be leaning over the armrest.”
Villaverde sought help at the ticket counter, where a manager approached her and asked, “How do you want to settle this?” Her response was firm: “Settle what? I’m going to file a complaint. What if it had hit my daughter in the head? You’re irresponsible!”
Though offered medical assistance, she opted to visit a hospital in Berisso on her own. “They did an X-ray. The diagnosis was trauma from the impact. I also have several bruises and need another X-ray on my back in a few days.”
Now battling anxiety and panic attacks, Villaverde said, “I’m under psychiatric treatment and on medication.” She added, “I haven’t been able to work for days. Who’s going to take responsibility for this?”
