New York child sued for woman's death after bike crash

[Dretlin]

New York child sued for woman's death after bike crash

I have recently felt that it was easy to stereotype Americans as "sue happy". I have also thought this stereotype is exactly that and have dismissed it as unfounded and not true.

I am struggling to come to a clear judgement on the above article. My first thought to see believe that this is completely wrong and have little to do with justice.

[Asmodean]

Don't sue the kid - sue the parents, I say. If you give your kid a bicycle, do you not have the responsibility to teach that kid to operate it responsibly or keep the use to an enclosed area?  

[Tom62]

Yes, the Americans are sue crazy, it is a kind of national sport for these guys over the ocean. Look for example at those crazy patent's infringements lawsuits. Motorola sued Apple, Microsoft sued Google, :shake:

[Sophus]

America is sue happy because stupid lawsuits sometimes win and make headlines. We are a stupid country.

Unfortunately I don't think we're alone. For example:

A Brazilian court ruled this week that McDonald’s must pay a former franchise manager $17,500 because he gained 65 pounds while working there for a dozen years.

[Dretlin]

America is sue happy because stupid lawsuits sometimes win and make headlines. We are a stupid country.

Unfortunately I don't think we're alone. For example:

A Brazilian court ruled this week that McDonald’s must pay a former franchise manager $17,500 because he gained 65 pounds while working there for a dozen years.

I do not believe America is a "stupid" nation. I have however become accustomed to the asinine minority being louder than a wiser majority. I can not think of anywhere that is not completely untouched by that.

I do however find something disturbing about a six year old being sued.

[Sophus]

America is sue happy because stupid lawsuits sometimes win and make headlines. We are a stupid country.

Unfortunately I don't think we're alone. For example:

A Brazilian court ruled this week that McDonald’s must pay a former franchise manager $17,500 because he gained 65 pounds while working there for a dozen years.

I do not believe America is a "stupid" nation. I have however become accustomed to the asinine minority being louder than a wiser majority. I can not think of anywhere that is not completely untouched by that.

I do however find something disturbing about a six year old being sued.

Four-year-old  

[Dretlin]

Four-year-old  

The child in question is now six and was four at the time of accident. That does however not lessen the vulgarity.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Wait, a negligent four-year old?!  Why, I'll never!

[Asmodean]

Wait, a negligent four-year old?!  Why, I'll never!

*looks at avatar*

You could just eat it, yes? Then problem go away, no?  

[The Magic Pudding]

I think when suing someone for causing death, it has to be shown that you suffer a loss that can be compensated.
A spouse who looses their partners financial support has an obvious case.
But that's down here.

So what happens if the plaintiff is successful?
Are they going bankrupt the now six year old and sell off her non essential stuffed toys?

I've seen old people in the supermarket blocking the aisles, their look of surprise when they see someone else wants to pass.
This is in an aisle at least three trolley widths wide, but they manage to effectively block my wheelbarrow.
Old people need to be taught to keep left or right, not both at once.
If four year olds on bikes can help teach the oldies some awareness of their surroundings, they have my support.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Wait, a negligent four-year old?!  Why, I'll never!

*looks at avatar*

You could just eat it, yes? Then problem go away, no?  

"We all float down here ...."

[Kylyssa]

There may be more than meets the eye here.  This may be an insurance issue.  

In 1995, I was struck by a car driven by an uninsured driver while I was walking on the sidewalk.  I was fortunate to have insurance or I probably wouldn't have gotten the best treatment.  However, when the hospital billed my insurance, the insurance company would not pay.  They declared the driver of the vehicle to be responsible.  It was about $35,000.  I couldn't afford to pay it or even to pay on it as the injury had cost me my job (florists stand all day so I couldn't work as one until I recovered) though I was able to continue my COBRA payments to keep my insurance.  So I consulted with a lawyer.  

The first lawyer looked into the situation and found that the guy who'd run me over was broke before he ran me over and even more broke and in jail afterward.  He suggested that suing him would just cost me money and I'd get nothing.  The second opinion lawyer agreed with him completely.  So I was stuck paying for the medical bills related to the accident even though I had insurance.  

The family of the woman in question might be stuck with a million in medical bills which her insurance may be refusing to pay unless they pursue the "responsible party" which, for some reason, has been determined to be the child rather than the parent.

[skwurll]

That's just stupid... There's a difference between negligence and an accident.

[Tom62]

In any civilized country, you don't sue 4 year old children. If a child caused an accident (in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, etc.) then the parent's insurance pays for the damages caused by the children. In many European countries, this type of insurance is mandatory (the same counts for health care insurance) and anyone, who is not insured is a moron.

[Sophus]

Four-year-old   :|

This world, I swear....