Just another reason for me to stay out of New York

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

Quote:

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New York child sued for woman's death after bike crash

The judge ruled the four-year-old girl was old enough to be held negligent under law
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.

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I wouldn't ever visit NYC anyway, but the thinking on the part of this 'judge' (I used that term, sparingly), makes me wonder what the Honorable XXX was smoking.:banghead:

Well, I'll bet it's not the 4 year old that is going to end up paying for this one. They're going after the parents!

Complete buffoonery. The only thing missing in N.Y. is the big top.
What a joke.
Why is it that people cannot accept that sometimes things happen(4 yr. olds running into 87 yr.olds), and that is/was an honest mistake.



From article:

He also wrote that the Juliet's lawyer had presented no evidence as to the child's lack of intelligence or maturity, nor that "a child of similar age and capacity" would not have understood the danger of riding a bicycle into an old woman.

What, the old Guilty, until proven innocent???
Is he kidding.
The let idiots(adults) off the hook for drinking and driving, all the time.
Repeat offending multiple times, until the get the book thrown at them.

And this moron Judge thinks a four 1/2 yr. old has reasoning skills to assess in the middle of a heated tricycle race, that they might bump into someone and possibly cause injury?
Sheessh!!!

I see no reason that a 4 year old should not be held responsible and forced to pay the full penalty of law. She took the life of an elderly citiczen! Off to bed with no supper for you!!! Now, where were the parents while their 4YO DAUGHTER WAS RIDING A BICYCLE ON A CITY STREET???

The parents said they were not present, so they couldn't be held liable. If the parents would have assumed responsibility for the matter, there wouldn't be this problem. I bet they're regretting that now. Most articles are stating that the woman died from unrelated causes, that is not likely. A pelvic fracture in an 87 y/o woman pretty much means she has a good possibility of death due to hospitalization and attempted recovery from the fracture. It is absurd that a 4 year old can be sued. Sure, the kid would be charged, but the parents still pay for it in the end.

I run on elderly, ground-level-fall, patients almost every shift. Most of the time when I give the patient the news that they have most likely fractured their hip(if that is the case), their mentality changes as they know what is soon to come. It's sad to give the news to an old woman laying on the floor who's saying "please tell me its not my hip, please tell me its not broken". Its more serious than most lay-people think.

And again, I DO NOT think it is right to sue a 4y/o.

new york city, toilet to the country (and needs a good flushing). when I saw the article I thought it was either a typo or a joke. anybody ready to go to a "loser pays all legal costs" system?


don't know if thats political or not so I'll just leave it at that