Driver Who Killed Teen Cyclist Sues for Damages

E@gle.

people like this should be sent to prison

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/wireStory?id=4191775

Mickeroo

If he wins the case i personally think the judge/jury should be disembowled.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

From the article, it would appear that it is the insurance company who is bringing the case, and not the individual himself.

niceonetom

Sean_K wrote: »

From the article, it would appear that it is the insurance company who is bringing the case, and not the individual himself.

"It's the only way I have to claim my money back," Delgado was quoted as saying by the newspaper El Pais..."

sounds like he's doing it himself to me. i can't imagine any insurance company would bring this kind of case for such a small amount of money (to an insurance company that is) as the bad PR would be so negative. that and it being disgustingly wrong.

now i need to go lie down in a dark room and wait for my anger to subside...

Thomas_S_Hunterson

woops yea mistread a couple of lines there

Cabaal

Yes both were in the wrong...he was speeding and lad on the bike didn't have lights etc but at the end of the day the motorist is more at fault as he was speeding and was unable to correctly control his vehicle in the event of danger.

I would hope any sane judge would throw this out

Zorba

Well how much of a conscience does the driver have here ? He killed someone but yet he's more worried about recovering the cost of his car than living with the fact he's killed another human being !!

"Delgado, whose insurance company paid Iriondo's parents $48,500 in compensation for their son's life, filed a suit in late 2006 to recover $29,400 in damages to his car and car rental costs, the ministry traffic report said.

"It's the only way I have to claim my money back," Delgado was quoted as saying by the newspaper El Pais, which first reported the story on Friday. El Pais said a ruling was expected next week."

Turbulent Bill

My initial thought was that the driver was covering his behind, i.e., getting some sort of conviction against the kid to stop his parents sueing for damages, grief etc. Then I noticed that the parents are doing nothing of the sort, and the guy just wants compensation for his car. Unbelievable.

is_that_so

El Pais also reports that they are meeting local officials to discuss reopening the case against Delgado. I can link to the two stories but it's all in Spanish. The lawsuit is up for decision on Wednesday apparently. He maintains his claim is legitimate because "someone has to pay but that he doesn't need it and why should he have to be out €20K".

niceonetom

even if you were a sociopath (and i think bringing this case makes that likely), would you make yourself an international hate figure and possible victim of brutal vigilante justice (here's hoping) for 20 grand? i wouldn't.

DirkVoodoo

That is the most upsetting thing I have read in a while.

"Here is 50 grand for your son's life, which we reckon it was worth, but we are now going to have to get some money back for our client"

kevmy

I can't see him winning either from a strictly legal point of view. He was at least partially to blame. Most insurance companies saw if your to blame tough tittie.

blorg

This would be horrendous even if the driver _hadn't_ been doing 173,9 km/h in a 90 zone. Oh, and he'd been drinking and his blood sample might well have been over the limit had it been taken sooner.

Just unbelievable.

mikemac

I don't have a link but I'm not making it up.
I saw it on a UK motorcycle forum, it's kinda related.

3 kids in the UK, around 11years old were playing chicken on a dual carraigeway. You know, standing on the road and jumping out of the way.
Or standing on the middle line so cars went either side.
A motorcycle hit a kid and killed him.

The motorcyclist then sued the family for compensation for injuries, damage, etc.
He won! (I don't know the law about minors being responsible for their actions so don't ask me)

Now in this case one party was to blame 100%, while the Spanish case seems to allot partial blame to the cyclist.

I would not be suprised if the driver gets some compensation. He won't get all he is looking for but he'll get something as the cyclist was partially blamed.

Edit: Yes, I agree driver is a scumbag and will probably become a hate figure in his own town if the cyclist was local.
Who knows, his car may get keyed and damaged by locals so he'll be using that cash

uberwolf

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/businessman-drops-plans-to-sue-parents-of-boy-he-killed-1278197.html

case dropped following demonstration

Marathon Man

Hopefully the parents will go on the offensive now. How can yer man live with himself?

Rowley Birkin QC

blorg wrote: »

This would be horrendous even if the driver _hadn't_ been doing 173,9 km/h in a 90 zone.

.

independent.ie wrote:

A traffic report said Mr Delgado was travelling at 100kph (62mph) in a 90kph zone

Meirleach

In a separate case, a Madrid taxi driver won €2,500 (£1,858) from the parents of a girl who he knocked down and killed.

Last year, the parents of a girl who killed herself by throwing herself out of a window had to pay compensation of €4,000 (£2,950) to the owner of a car on which their daughter landed.

Whoah whoah what the ****, I can understand the pedestrian being in the wrong and thus the taxi driver not being liable for anything, but surely you'd need to be some sort of cold hearted monster to sue the parents of a girl you'd just knocked down, ditto for the dude who sued the parents of the girl that killed herself.

blorg

@bigkev49- The Independent got the speed wrong; the widely reported speed was "100mph" or "more than 100mph" in English media (e.g. 160 km/h+) which is I presume where they pulled the figure from.

El Pais mentioned 173,9 km/h in a report.

EDIT: Here's an example report from Spain in English:

The driver, Tomás Delgado Bartolomé (43), was never convicted despite later testing positive for alcohol and it being proven that he had been driving at 174km an hour, 84 km an hour above the maximum speed limit of 90km an hour.

and CNN has more specifics:

A traffic report said Delgado was traveling 113 km per hour (70 mph) in an area where the speed limit is 90 km (55 mph). An independent expert hired by Trinidad's family said Delgado was going 173 km per hour (107 mph).

Rowley Birkin QC

Ah right, I stand corrected. It's a bit much alrite to go chasing for costs.

Cabaal

submitted it to digg http://digg.com/remote-done/5076307
anyone care to digg it

is_that_so

Just an update on this. The driver now has to pay somewhere between €6K and €10K which includes all legal costs. He has five days to appeal. They are also reopening the investigation into the event to determine if there should be criminal proceedings against him. Can't find a link in English at present.

Here's a truncated version and a rough translation (with "help" from BabelFish :rolleyes:)

Tomas Delgado Bartolomé will have to pay!
A justice yesterday , ordered the driver who ran over and killed Enaitz Iriondo in 2004, to pay the costs of the judicial process, a day after he withdrew his lawsuit against the family of the deceased and their insurer, Winterthur. Delgado had claimed 20,000 euros for damage caused to his Audi A8 and for the use of a substitution vehicle. But last Wednesday he withdrew the suit, "for the sake of his dignity", and as a result of feeling "pasted" by the coverage that the mass media has given to the case.
...
Sources estimate that the final cost will be between 6,000 and 10,000 euros. The defence has five days to appeal the decision. Also the investigations of the Central Unit of Reconstruction of Accidents of the Civil Guard of Traffic began yesterday into the accident that ended the life of the young person of 17 years on the motorway of Castañares de Rioja. The team, led by Rogelio Martinez Masegosa and considered one of the best in Spain will try to find new data on the accident that could involve a reopening of the case against the driver. It will try to find out if the car exceeded the 113 km/h indicated by the report of the Civil Guard at the moment of the accident.
...