Thursday, July 28, 2005
So bizarre
I realize people can sue for almost whatever they want at any time they want. (Which actually would be why I'm a fan of tort reform. And I do realize that's not quite actually the case but sometimes it seems like it.) My mother is being sued. For an incident that happened 14 years ago. That wasn't really her fault but as she was the apartment manager of the building at the time of the incident she's also named in the suit. A small child almost drowned in a jacuzzi and now has brain damage because of it. Ignoring the fact that there were signs posted all over about no life guard on duty keep watch over your small child. Ignoring the fact that by the jacuzzi there were signs that said you must be older than 14 to be in the jacuzzi. Apparently we can also ignore the fact that the property owner settled with the parents 14 years ago. The child is now suing. My mother is freaked out, but I'm not especially concerned (of course I'm not the one being sued so I can be not especially concerned.). So she is staying in Florida. I finally have gotten the story about WHY she is hiding out in Florida. Apparently according to her attorney that'll make it more difficult on the plaintiffs, which benefits them. How it benefits them I can't fathom, but it benefits them. All of the 'logic' behind all this just makes my head hurt. My mom doesn't want to do the deposition. It has taken me like 30 questions just to get the whole scenario. It happened in the evening, my mom wasn't even at the complex when the incident occurred (she was not an on-site manager). All she will be able to talk about are the precautions to keep children out of the pool area. The rather large fence that required a key to get in that surrounded the pool area being the most obvious deterrent. The keyhole to get in the gates were about chest high on an adult so even if a kid had the keys s/he would have a hard time getting in. The whole thing is kind of ridiculous. AND, she's not even paying for the attorney or for the million if the kid wins. The property owners are.
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2 comments:
Your mom needs to chill. It definitely doesn't sound like a big deal. Also, the thing with Florida (I believe), is that if you are a resident there, no one can go after your personal assets, which is why at least two of the indicted execs at our old company packed and up and moved to Florida and why OJ lives there and partly why my MIL got screwed when my FIL who was living in Florida filed first for divorce.
Please note, that I am not an attorney. But, from my one law class in college, I seem to recall that the child would need to prove that your mom was negligent, thus leading to the kid falling in. Based on what you posted, it doesn't sound at all like your mom or the property owners were negligent. Any "reasonable person" would realize that the kid should not have been there. If anything, the parents were negligent and the kid should sue them. Best wishes for your mom!
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