2 Men save woman from burning car wreck, then sue her...

invinciblePRSTV

MARION, Ohio — When David Kelley saw the bumper — headlights and all — lying in the roadway, it clicked that something was wrong.
The gray smoke rolling up from the highway embankment cemented his worry.
His buddy, Mark Kinkaid, was driving and saw the same things. Kinkaid slammed on the brakes, stopped his truck along Rt.  23 in Marion County, and the two men jumped out.
They hopped a barbed-wire fence, knocked down trees and brush, half ran and half slid down the steep highway embankment, and rushed the flaming Hummer.
Kelley said in an interview last week that he still remembers the woman’s screams: “  ‘Help me! Help me! Help me!’ Over and over and over, that’s all I could hear.”
Kinkaid and Kelley didn’t know who was inside, but they knew they had to get to her. They fought their way into the vehicle, wrenched a door open and pulled Theresa Tanner out, saving her from certain death.
That was on March 11, 2009, and now both men are suing Tanner, saying that the crash was her fault and that they both suffered permanent and disabling injuries in rescuing her.
They filed the lawsuit in Marion County Common Pleas Court and are asking for damages of at least $25,000 each, a standard starting point in civil lawsuits.
“All I know is that I am not the same man I used to be,” said Kelley, a 39-year-old truck driver and father of five. He says his lungs were so badly damaged from the heavy smoke and fire that day that he now can’t carry a laundry basket up the three flights of stairs in his Marion home.
“What I saw that day, that woman, it haunts me. The flames were so hot when we got to her that her hair was melting to her head — melting. There isn’t hardly a night that goes by that I don’t wake up in a sweat, that image in my mind.”
Tanner survived but was critically injured and spent several weeks in the intensive-care unit of Grant Medical Center.
Three months after the crash, the State Highway Patrol held a ceremony at the Marion post and honored Kelley and Kinkaid for their bravery.
A professor at Capital University Law School says this is no “man bites dog” story, that rescuers sue those they helped more often than people think.
“The precedent is clear: danger invites rescue ... and if you’ve acted recklessly or negligently and someone gets hurt rescuing you, you could be in trouble,” said Stan Darling, who teaches tort law and civil procedure at Capital.
Every state, including Ohio, has a “Good Samaritan” law that is intended to absolve rescuers from liability when they, in good faith, attempt to save someone. But when it comes to the protection of the people being aided, judges and lawyers look to a federally recognized tort law known as “the Rescue Doctrine,” Darling said.
It essentially says that, if the people being helped were negligent or reckless when they created real danger, there could be a chance to recover damages if the rescuers acted reasonably and can prove their injuries.
Kinkaid, 43, of Prospect, couldn’t be reached for comment. He was indicted on several felonies, unrelated to the crash, after the lawsuit was filed in March and, according to jail records, posted a $50,000 bond and was released from the Multi-County Jail in June. Kelley said he doesn’t know much about whatever Kinkaid is accused of, and he was not involved.
The attorney who filed the lawsuit, Robert E. Wilson, did not return calls for comment.
Tanner, 28, moved from Marion to Marysville since the crash. She was served the paperwork on the lawsuit two weeks ago and does not yet have an attorney. Her husband said the family isn’t commenting.
The State Highway Patrol report of the crash indicates that Tanner told authorities she had argued with someone the day of the crash and wanted to end her life. She told investigators she didn’t remember anything after veering off Richland Road at Rt. 23, just southeast of Marion at about 1:40 that afternoon.
Kelley said he and Kinkaid were on their way to Delaware, traveling south on Rt. 23, when they noticed the debris and the smoke.
Once they stopped and ran to the red 2008 Hummer, with a custom license plate that read 5POILED, it was already in flames and Tanner had been thrown into the passenger side.
Kinkaid broke a window out with a tire iron, and both men tried to reach her. But the windows on a Hummer are small, and it was at first fruitless.
Kelley said he was even more concerned about something else: “When I yanked the rear door open, a baby doll fell out and there was a car seat in the back. There was this screaming woman, her arms all crumpled and her body mangled in the front, but, I thought ‘Oh my God, what if she had kids in there?’  ”
So despite the heavy smoke, he kept reaching and searching. The flames were so hot, so intense, that they burnt the hair from his body and melted the cell phone in his pocket. But he found no one else; Tanner had been alone.
Kelley finally pulled her out and, according to the written statement he gave to authorities that day, he was so overcome from the smoke that Kinkaid carried Tanner up the hill to safety.
Patrol Lt. Chuck Jones was commander of the Marion post when the crash happened and said news of the lawsuit surprised him. He said it does not, however, change his opinion that the men were rightly honored for their bravery.
“None of this or the underlying circumstances of that day change the fact that a life was saved,” Jones said. “She most definitely would have burned to death in that vehicle. I am sure of that.”
Kelley said he knows some people will scoff at the lawsuit and call it frivolous and mean. But he was a self-employed contractor at the time and had no insurance. He says his medical bills have mounted and his daily life is forever changed. He said they filed the lawsuit only after they found out from an acquaintance — long after the crash — that it had been a suicide attempt.
Still, he said, one thing is certain: “If it happened all over again today, I would still stop and get the person out of the vehicle. A life’s a life, you know.”

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/08/01/2-men-suing-woman-they-saved.html

So if you helped out someone involved in an accident and you got severe injuries as a result, would you sue for damages?

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

First three lines sound like the opening to a Stephen King novel.

Rest was tl,dr. Any chance of a summary?

Poor Uncle Tom

I'd sue for money......:p

kieran26

Fair Play to them i say! What the hell was she doing in a burning car anyway?

kylith

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

First three lines sound like the opening to a Stephen King novel.

Rest was tl,dr. Any chance of a summary?

Guys are very badly injured rescuing a woman after she attempted to commit suicide. Guys are suing to cover medical bills.

After reading it I can't say I really blame them for suing. These guys have been left unable to work after saving this woman from herself.

Mike 1972

invinciblePRSTV wrote: »

So if you helped out someone involved in an accident and you got severe injuries as a result, would you sue for damages?

Dont see why in some circumstances one wouldnt.

Especially when one considers that people have been sued after rescuing people.

professore

Well in the States if they had no medical insurance they could well be looking at a 5 figure sum in medical bills for their injuries.

smk89

Non tl;dr

Woman crashes car after saying she wants to kill herself. 2 men help her out of the burning car causing themselves serious lung injuries and need an ICU stay. They sue her for 25k as she acted recklessly for their injuries.

As professore said medical bills in America can be very high.

Capt'n Midnight

they have suffered a loss, so should be compensated

if she was insured then it would be her insurance that would pay out

RMD

To know they made a change to so many people's lives by rescuing her I'd consider reward enough.

But I suppose if they are an in financial trouble and they don't have health insurance, they'll look for money somewhere and it can be found there.

MagicMarker

I hope they win.

invinciblePRSTV

RMD wrote: »

To know they made a change to so many people's lives by rescuing her I'd consider reward enough.

But I suppose if they are an in financial trouble and they don't have health insurance, they'll look for money somewhere and it can be found there.

Ah but did you read all of the piece, let me quote my favourite bit:

Once they stopped and ran to the red 2008 Hummer, with a custom license plate that read 5POILED, it was already in flames and Tanner had been thrown into the passenger side.

To my mind this spoiled women should be willing to give what she has to these guys for saving her life, rather then these guys having to sue her to pay their medical bills.

RMD

invinciblePRSTV wrote: »

To my mind this spoiled women should be willing to give what she has to these guys for saving her life, rather then these guys having to sue her to pay their medical bills.

That women sounds like some typical rich Wife retard. Large 4x4 she doesn't know how to drive, a custom plate spelling "5POILED" and I'd assume the latest pair of flashy alloys.

Biggins

I read the thread title - and thought "America"
Entered and discovered I was right. It gets boring when these things become predictable.

Mike 1972

RMD wrote: »

To know they made a change to so many people's lives by rescuing her I'd consider reward enough.

Even if it left you so badly injured you could never work again and provide for yourself or your dependants in a country with very little in the way of a social safety net ?

MagicMarker

RMD wrote: »

To know they made a change to so many people's lives by rescuing her I'd consider reward enough.

How very disney of you.

up for anything

I hope she counter-sues them for foiling her suicide attempt. It's America. She probably will.

TheZohanS

Biggins wrote: »

I read the thread title - and thought "America"
Entered and discovered I was right. It gets boring when these things become predictable.

It's no different to this.

Garda got €30k compensation for doing his job, absolutely ridiculous.

Magic Beans

Once she invited help by shouting "Help me" she took on the liability for anyone who answered her call. Much the same in Ireland really. It would be a different matter if they just intervened without being asked.

Red Hand

Biggins wrote: »

I read the thread title - and thought "America"

The United States of...America?

Coriolanus

professore wrote: »

Well in the States if they had no medical insurance they could well be looking at a 5 figure sum in medical bills for their injuries.

Add another zero on there. Medical care in the States is rediculous.

phasers

the red 2008 Hummer, with a custom license plate that read 5POILED

Ugh, I'd sue too.

Uriel.

What are the chances she will counter sue for them interfering with her right to die or something messed up like that.

USA.... Tis some spot...

kylith

Luckily they're covered by the Good Samaritan clause which protects a rescuer from being sued if they, for example, break your ribs while performing CPR.

Biggins

Jeremiah 16:1 wrote: »

The United States of...America?

I dunno what state they are in but it don't look good at the rate they carry on like this!

ancapailldorcha

TheZohan wrote: »

It's no different to this.

Garda got €30k compensation for doing his job, absolutely ridiculous.

Not that ridiculous. A Garda acting in this matter can't really be compared to a barman serving drinks. He'd probably have been well within his rights to wait and call for an armed unit. Don't know about €30k but I reckon he deserves some kind of recognition.

Artur Foden

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

Not that ridiculous. A Garda acting in this matter can't really be compared to a barman serving drinks. He'd probably have been well within his rights to wait and call for an armed unit. Don't know about €30k but I reckon he deserves some kind of recognition.

From what I know from a friend in the Metropolitan Police in London, they are under no obligation whatsoever to even go near anyone with any weapon. Be that a sharp stick or a shotgun.

They are to call back up apparently and await the armed response teams or something.
Unsure if this is correct though. But the usual police officer isn't really armed apart from their CS spray so I could believe it.

And 30k for disarming a gunman? 30k isn't that much to be fair. Especially if he spends it on medical bills. 30k is pennies for potentially saving his/someones life.

ancapailldorcha

Christ, that's mad about the Met. Sounds about right, sadly.

And we've all seen more money go to waste on much more frivolous things.

jill_valentine

Not ideal for anybody, but yeah, bearing in mind how horrifying American medical expenses are, I can understand them needing to cover them somehow.

CorkMan

If I was in the nearby vicinity i'd sue her for noise pollution.

Putting a serous dent in life to save a suicide attempt in a hummer with that number plate.. Fair enough with medical bills. If I saved someone's life but ruined my own, I'd feel very hard done by.

It sounds like something a government should pay for.. Medical bills for a citizen who saved another citizen's life.

ancapailldorcha

jill_valentine wrote: »

Not ideal for anybody, but yeah, bearing in mind how horrifying American medical expenses are, I can understand them needing to cover them somehow.

Definitely. You'd think she would have offered to at least cover some of them.

Nice username btw.

Tehachapi

Bla bla america this america that, the fact is if this happened in Ireland, or any country in the world - you would sue for medical expenses too.

Especially if the medical expenses were a few hundred thousand dollars.

Can anyone here honestly say they would just sit back and think "ah sure feck it, I might aswell just pay the $300,000 or whatever myself, no big deal".

A lot of people who criticize north american society have never lived there and generally don't have a clue what they're talking about.

mattjack

I actually know that girl in the hummer...........and its all lies...and she,s gonna sue you all for saying nasty things....spoilt ,America and things like that

minidazzler

To be honest I'm surprised it's not her suing them for some bullshido reason.

CrazyRabbit

I recieved eye strain injuries after reading that large block of text. Be prepared to be sued.

needadvi

That was a very heroic act, and I think that now that she is ok, they shouldn't be left to pay the expenses incurred by a deliberate act!

IF it had been an accident then it would be unreasonable for those guys to sue as they seen the car, they would have known the danger and they took the risk.

I wonder if they would have taken the same risk if they had known in advance that she did it deliberately?

Must say she was a very selfish individual.

prinz

Reminds me of the case of the German child kidnapper and murderer who got something like €3,500 compensation from authorities in Germany for the mental anguish he endured because a cop threatened him with violence (this was when the police still had hopes that the young boy this lad had abducted and murdered was still alive somewhere).

Laisurg

Can't put a price on life i suppose and if they were injured then fair enough.

jmayo

Magic Beans wrote: »

Once she invited help by shouting "Help me" she took on the liability for anyone who answered her call. Much the same in Ireland really. It would be a different matter if they just intervened without being asked.

Uriel. wrote: »

What are the chances she will counter sue for them interfering with her right to die or something messed up like that.

USA.... Tis some spot...

See above, she asked for help.

I think they should sue, even if they weren't injured.
She drives a hummer.

prinz wrote: »

Reminds me of the case of the German child kidnapper and murderer who got something like €3,500 compensation from authorities in Germany for the mental anguish he endured because a cop threatened him with violence (this was when the police still had hopes that the young boy this lad had abducted and murdered was still alive somewhere).

They should have handed him over to some Iraqi contractors to obtain the information.
Then he could accidently fall down a lift shaft.

Eever

Artur Foden wrote: »

And 30k for disarming a gunman? 30k isn't that much to be fair. Especially if he spends it on medical bills. 30k is pennies for potentially saving his/someones life.

Don't think he had medical bills, he just chased the guy along with a group of people from the church. Then he convinced him to hand the gun over, no injuries sustained as far as I can tell.

Tehachapi wrote: »

Bla bla america this america that, the fact is if this happened in Ireland, or any country in the world - you would sue for medical expenses too.

Point proven by the majority of the responses from Irish people in this thread saying the lads are right to sue and that they'd do it too.

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

if she was insured then it would be her insurance that would pay out

Would insurance still cover her if it was a suicide attempt?

I think they're right to sue. It's one thing if she attempted suicide and thought the only person that would come to any harm was herself. But then she screamed for help, she asked for others to put themselves in harms way for her. They were injured when she very purposefully created a life threatening situation and then asked them to help her, they should at the very least have had their medical bills covered. I'm shocked that this wasn't offered in the first place.

jill_valentine

Eever wrote: »

Point proven by the majority of the responses from Irish people in this thread saying the lads are right to sue and that they'd do it too.

Hold on there chief. If it happened in Ireland, we could be confident that the medical expenses weren't going to cripple us financially on top of our health problems. Very different scenario.