New York Child (4) sued for woman's death after bike crash

bad2dabone

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11657376

A New York child can be sued for crashing a bicycle into an elderly pedestrian and causing injuries that led to her death, a judge has ruled.

Juliet Breitman and another child were four years old when they raced their small bicycles on a Manhattan street and ran into Claire Menagh, 87.

Juliet's lawyer had argued Juliet was too young to be held negligent.

The judge disagreed, ruling Juliet's lawyer had presented no evidence she lacked intelligence or maturity.......
.........
The children struck Ms Menagh, knocking her to the ground. She underwent surgery for a fractured hip and died three months later.

Ms Menagh - and later her son, acting as executor of her estate - sued the children, arguing they were "negligent in their operation and control of their bicycles". The estate also sued Dana Breitman and Rachel Kohn, saying they had consented to the race.

Juliet's lawyer sought to have the case dismissed, filing with the court a copy of Juliet's birth certificate showing she was four years and nine months old at the time of the accident.

They're suing kids now Joe, kids!

alwaysadub

What the hell. They're 4-how the hell can they be negligent in control of their bikes?!
That really takes the biscuit.

cuppa

See boy racers. AT 4 its all all juvi mistamenas . At 10 its murder on the tracks. Im doing next kid who crayons my wall

bad2dabone

What's the point of suing a 4 year old anyway? I mean what are you going to get out of it? the contents of their piggy bank? Their Teddy Bear?

I wonder did the Hospital that the old woman went to ask her what her religion was. To add to the outrage of her being mowed down in her prime by rampaging junior infants. It's a disgrace Joe, a disgrace.

heffomike54

This is beyond mental, you can't be tried for most crimes until you 7 years old or something like this, but you can be sued!!! Madness.

gonedrinking

I don't see what the problem is, when I was 4 I had the sense not to crash into people, this whole argument that they are only 4 so they can do whatever the hell they like is a joke. The 4 year old should be ordered to pay compensation to the deceased womens estate when they start working, even if that won't be for another 14 years.

Jesus Wept

Sue the parent/s.

gsxr1

gonedrinking wrote: »

I don't see what the problem is, when I was 4 I had the sense not to crash into people, this whole argument that they are only 4 so they can do whatever the hell they like is a joke. The 4 year old should be ordered to pay compensation to the deceased womens estate when they start working, even if that won't be for another 14 years.

You would have to be an ejit to sue a 4 year old kid

Maybe even a Moron

A 4 year old kid would probably not know how to spell their own name yet.

OutlawPete

Tough, they'll just have to cut back on Farley's Rusks for a while, that's all.

bad2dabone

she was 87, the kid did her a favor!

PanchoVilla

cuppa wrote: »

See boy racers. AT 4 its all all juvi mistamenas . At 10 its murder on the tracks. Im doing next kid who crayons my wall

Misdemeanors? I'm normally not anal about spelling but that's just terrible! I guess Hooked on Phonics doesn't really work.

galwayrush

It should only be allowed if the dead woman can come back and make a statement in court. That makes more sense than some greedy relatives trying to make money out of the accidental death of an old woman.

Herb Powell

ah, she was 87, she could've gone any day

galwayrush

Herb Powell wrote: »

ah, she was 87, she could've gone any day

True, life and death are a vicious cycle.:pac:

Herb Powell

galwayrush wrote: »

True, life and death are a vicious cycle.:pac:

I was half joking. Only half though:D

PanchoVilla

They should have counter-sued her for blocking a public thoroughfare, damaging the bicycles, and causing undue stress and trauma to a minor. Also, the judge who ruled in favor of the estate should be sacked immediately for being a complete imbecile.

Busi_Girl08

Can they prove that her death was directly linked to the accident/injuries?

3 months is a long time.

phasers

What exactly are they going to get, the girl's favourite teddy bear?

peasant

Isn't it the case that they are sueing the parents?

I don't think that a four year old is a legal entity yet, not even in the US ...so the the lawsuit automatically transfers to the parents/legal guardians.

A four year old can't sue anyone either but their parents can do so on their behalf.

Or something like that ...

fulhamfanincork

The 4 year old committed manslaughter, what's the problem?

Busi_Girl08

peasant wrote: »

Isn't it the case that they are sueing the parents?

I don't think that a four year old is a legal entity yet, not even in the US ...so the the lawsuit automatically transfers to the parents/legal guardians.

A four year old can't sue anyone either but their parents can do so on their behalf.

Or something like that ...

Yup, that's it, basically. My parents sued someone on my behalf when I was 2, but it was all in my name.

Although in this case, I received the compensation, so, I dunno, will the 4 year old have to pay off in installements, or will the parents have to fork it all over?

CrazyRabbit

Ban old women, children & bicycles from the streets. It's the only way to prevent these accidents from occurring.

gonedrinking

how do you know it was an accident

LionelNashe

If the judge proceeded according to the law, then that's fair enough - he should be sacked if he did otherwise. Civil case, so its up to the defendants lawyer to show beyond a 50-50 probability that the kid can't be held negligent.

Ficheall

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/7176964-4-year-old-sued-for-negligence-judge-allows-case-to-proceed-in-nyc

Apparently the death is unrelated to the accident. Surprisingly.

So it would seem greedy relatives are indeed to blame.

Biggins

gonedrinking wrote: »

I don't see what the problem is, when I was 4 I had the sense not to crash into people, this whole argument that they are only 4 so they can do whatever the hell they like is a joke. The 4 year old should be ordered to pay compensation to the deceased womens estate when they start working, even if that won't be for another 14 years.

One of the most stupidest posts ever made.

dr ro

Biggins wrote: »

One of the most stupidest post ever made.

Terrible grammar here. Atrocious.

Biggins

dr ro wrote: »

Terrible grammar here. Atrocious.

Terrible grammar there! Awful.

dr ro

there you go again.

Biggins

dr ro wrote: »

there you go again.

Thank you but at least I know how to capitalise!
Keep going, your doing well.

Saila

She underwent surgery for a fractured hip and died three months later.

so breaking your hip is fatal now

dr ro

let's not get too stupidest about it!

Biggins

dr ro wrote: »

let's not get too stupidest about it!

I'll say nothing. Too obvious. :pac:

LionelNashe

Saila wrote: »

so breaking your hip is fatal now

#

Living to 87 is fairly fatal.

mikemac

A related story I'd know for a motorcycle site

In 2006, a child was playing "chicken", ran onto a dual carraigeway and was hit by a motorcyclist.
The child was killed.

The motorcyclist successfully sued the family for compensation for his injuries and won.
And rightly so!

Can't find a direct link, it's some legal forum
http://www.torquesite.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=250

Scuid Mhór

this is quite stupid.