Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Imagine that you, dear reader, were named the executor of the elderly woman's estate, or (lacking a Will, or the named executor declines to serve) you are a court-appointed administrator of the estate.
Now imagine that the woman's estate is being sued, or is being threatened to be sued, by the health-care providers for the injuries caused to said elderly woman by the child.
You, as executor or administration, would, in many states, have a fiduciary duty to sue the child and her guardians to try to have them pay the medical bills.
As for the child having no 'assets', many home insurance policies will cover this kind of situation.
We don't, of course, have all the facts in this case, but it is interesting to speculate.
and the reason for naming a 4 year old child in the suit? this isn't a simple issue of an estate coming after the girl's parents, otherwise it wouldn't be in the news. it's written as if the estate is coming after the girl herself. even if she have no assets to her name, why come after a 4year old girl? why does a nearly 100 year old law need to be brought up to see if the courtscan even come after a four year old girl?
Imagine that you, dear reader, were named the executor of the elderly woman's estate, or (lacking a Will, or the named executor declines to serve) you are a court-appointed administrator of the estate.
Now imagine that the woman's estate is being sued, or is being threatened to be sued, by the health-care providers for the injuries caused to said elderly woman by the child.
You, as executor or administration, would, in many states, have a fiduciary duty to sue the child and her guardians to try to have them pay the medical bills.
Fiduciary duty prohibits the prosecution of frivolous lawsuits.
I'd be curious to know just how those of you who think this shouldn't be allowed would correct the "problem?"
Would you have an "authorized" standard of who can sue and who can't? What would that standard be? Who would decide it? Who would enforce it? How would you balance it against the Constitution?
All this outrage and blathering is just emotional venting and working yourselves into a tizzy over nothing, if you don't have a solution.
well, first standard I'd put in place is to not go after preschoolers in a lawsuit. it just seemed like common sense to me.
how often have children, in the act of play, caused an injury, great or small, to another person or even property? how many times have children hit adults with shopping carts, baseballs, basketballs, trikes, power wheels, whiffle balls, etc? (never mind the property damage caused by balls and bikes and other toys). hell, I feel like I've been hit by all of the following at some point in my life, even sustained a mild concussion from a softball hit by a Little League batter (an extreme foul ball that went into the crowd). lord knows I didn't sue the child for lost wages for missing a couple of days of work. this is nothing more than an estate preying on children, IMHO. children cause accidents, pure and simple. you can't really blame them the majority of the time. I would never sue a child for unintentionally hurting me, no matter how grave the injuries (again, I'm talking about the CHILD, not the PARENTS).
this country has just become so sue-happy. I ask again, why could the estate go to the parents of the girl privately and handle this situation out of the court system? did the parents somehow refuse to cooperate (then I can see the estate going after the parents, but not the child) or did they not even bother to try?
Seriously, has this sue-happy country now gotten to the point where kids barely old enough to know the ABCs can be sued? what ever happened to accidents? yes, it was sad the woman died, but it's not as if the girl was gunning for her death. the woman didn't even die at the scene- she likely picked up MRSA or pneumonia from the hospital or something. will every accident now be followed up w/ a lawsuit? does this mean I can sue the kid who slams a grocery cart into me in the supermarket? If anyone out there still wonders why people despise lawyers, I present to you Exhibit A:
and the reason for naming a 4 year old child in the suit? this isn't a simple issue of an estate coming after the girl's parents, otherwise it wouldn't be in the news. it's written as if the estate is coming after the girl herself. even if she have no assets to her name, why come after a 4year old girl? why does a nearly 100 year old law need to be brought up to see if the courtscan even come after a four year old girl?
In any lawsuit, you have to name every possible person or entity involved to sort of "cover the bases." For instance, nearly every lawsuit filed against the federal government starts with naming the President as a defendant.
In the case of this suit, if they did not name the child, all the parents would have to do to escape responsibility would be to blame the kid. End of suit. So long as the child is named too, they can't do that.
well, first standard I'd put in place is to not go after preschoolers in a lawsuit. it just seemed like common sense to me.
Apparently the state Legislature there disagrees with you as they passed such a law sometime in the past. But, what do they know? They're only The Peoples representatives! And most laws are not passed willy-nilly and for no good reason. Usually, something has happened which requires a new law to address an existing problem, so there's no reason to assume that law wasn't a result of something.
Quote:
how often have children, in the act of play, caused an injury, great or small, to another person or even property? how many times have children hit adults with shopping carts, baseballs, basketballs, trikes, power wheels, whiffle balls, etc? (never mind the property damage caused by balls and bikes and other toys). hell, I feel like I've been hit by all of the following at some point in my life, even sustained a mild concussion from a softball hit by a Little League batter (an extreme foul ball that went into the crowd). lord knows I didn't sue the child for lost wages for missing a couple of days of work. this is nothing more than an estate preying on children, IMHO. children cause accidents, pure and simple. you can't really blame them the majority of the time. I would never sue a child for unintentionally hurting me, no matter how grave the injuries (again, I'm talking about the CHILD, not the PARENTS).
Just because you, personally, did not sue in those instances doesn't mean you couldn't have. While your sentiments are noble and commendable, they aren't enough to deny someone else the right to do what you chose not to do.
And, I'm guessing that if a situation came up which cost you enough money to warrent seeking damages, you and your attorney wouldn't hesitate a moment to sue. For instance, if the 3 year old next door burned down your $500,000 house by playing with matches, your insurance company and you would go right after him and his parents. So would I. So would just about anyone.
And one more thing: IF it were impossible to sue a child under a certain age, you can bet your last dollar that SOMEBODY would send their minor child to do something which they themselves could be sued for....and get away with. For instance, in the hypothetical case I suggested above, if your neighbor were PO'd at you and wanted to burn your house down, he'd send his kid to do it knowing fully well there wouldn't be a thing you could do about it without proving a conspiracy, which is one of the hardest things to prove in court.
I'd like to make it clear that my defense of working professionals does not extend to lawyers.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
