We're getting sued

[Deceptitech]

Which reminds me...

"Gangleader: Do you have any idea what we are gonna do to you? If we find any kind of scratch?
Shep Ramsey: Lemme guess. Your gonna pound my face.
Gangleader: What are you nuts? This is the '90s. We're gonna sue you."

Oh damn, That's from Suburban Commando.

I only watched it for Christopher Lloyd's performance. Everything else was, predictably as anything the hulkster did, cheesier than velveeta.

[PepperElf]

Yep. Two years ago, my wife was driving home from work. It was late evening and she was coming home on the highway. A tractor(!) pulled out in front of her, and he didn't have lights on. She hit him at 60 miles per hour, totalling her car.

same thing happened to a former co-worker. she was driving back from vacation doing about 60-65 and a semi pulled out on the road at 2am or so... with his lights off. and yeah, her car was totaled too.

the semi-driver and his insurance tried harassing her and blaming her for it. tho if i remember correctly the police report was in the co-worker's favor so she ended up "winning" in the long run. tho then she had to fight about getting her car replaced, etc.


but for the OP... so she fell on her butt... sure there's nothing wrong with getting checked out by a doctor if that kind of fall might hurt you. but lying on the official report isn't going to help your case out at all... i can jsut imagine what a judge would say... probably the same thing your boss said.

[Gabrielle Proctor]

Oh snap.

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. You beat me to the "snap". Oh well, I'll say it anyway...

SNAP!

[One-Fang]

Come to NZ. Not only don't we sue - we can't. Our laws prevent an injured person seeking any kind of suit against whoever may have caused their injury (for accidents, anyway, not abuse, obviously).

I think you can sue for negligence, but not for costs and damages. I'm not sure what you can actually 'get' out of a negligence case. The government covers the cost of any medical treatment and time off work, so you really don't have much to sue for.

[Nyoibo]

Ivellios,
One question.
How do I get citizenship in this mystical land where one does not always have to fear lawsuits

From what I've heard it's not that hard, then again I just got born here, so it was easy for me.

[AlmightyALT]

Kinda reminds me of the time in primary school when a lad who didn't like me tried to get me in trouble by biting himself, the only problem with that? At the time I was missing my two front teeth, he wasn't

Alas... I didn't have that fortune. I got sent home and then sent to Behavioral Disorder classes. But then Karma stepped in and got the girl back. In high school she skipped, did drugs, got into tons of trouble with the law, and kicked out of her house. And where am I now? Working in Japan with a good salary, good benefits, and a great boyfriend. Gotta love Karma.

[smileyeagle1021]

Ivellios,
One question.
How do I get citizenship in this mystical land where one does not always have to fear lawsuits

[Ivellios]

alpha I think another thing that helps boost americas litigation levels is there are no laws against it, a person in aus recently got declared a serial litigator when she threatend to sue heaps of companies for not hiring her due to her age, when her age wasn't even listed on her regime and she was not hired due to not meeting the requirements for the job.
End result was the companies that gave her settlements decided to sue her instead

[Bloodsoul]

Which reminds me...

"Gangleader: Do you have any idea what we are gonna do to you? If we find any kind of scratch?
Shep Ramsey: Lemme guess. Your gonna pound my face.
Gangleader: What are you nuts? This is the '90s. We're gonna sue you."

[Alpha Strike]

Yep. Two years ago, my wife was driving home from work. It was late evening and she was coming home on the highway. A tractor(!) pulled out in front of her, and he didn't have lights on. She hit him at 60 miles per hour, totalling her car...

The farmer got the ticket. His insurance paid for our car.

He's suing us for loss of his tractor.

I was hit by a cherokee jeep about ten years ago on my bike.....

everyone iI spoke to, even ten hears ago, said I should have sued her. WHY, I asked. It was partially my fault, I wasnt hurt badly (By some miracle), and I got a new bike.

I just dont get it either.

My father and his brother are part owners of a small business in Chicago and they've had problems with folks using lawsuits as a way to scam them.

One example stands out: The company had problems with a customer who frequently either paid late or didn't pay at all. After a number of these incidents, with unpaid bills piling up, the company finally decided to sue to recover at least some of what was owed them. In retaliation, the customer counter-sued in another state (the company was in IL, the suit filed in NC) and let it be known that he'd drop his suit only if the company dropped theirs. Otherwise, they'd be forced to travel to NC and they'd end up paying more for travel+personel+court costs then they'd actually end up recovering from this deadbeat.

As they looked into the customer/deadbeat further, it turned out he had a history of screwing companies out of payment for their products and then using the threat of frivolous, far-away law-suits as a way to avoid ever having to pay. The sad part was that in the end, my father's company decided not to pursue this deadbeat specifically because it couldn't justify spending more on chasing him down then what he actually owed them.

Generally, I think the proliferation of lawsuits, at least in the US, is caused by three factors.

First, as we've all experienced, many folks seem to have a tremendous sense of entitlement. Secondly, we're a fairly litigious society, and so when something happens to a person, they think of all the dumb lawsuits they've ever heard about - and the big paydays involved - and think "Why not me?"

Finally, it seems like there's no consequences for filing a frivolous lawsuit. Besides the time and money it costs to file, it doesn't seem like there's anything in place to dissuade folks from using lawsuits as a threat or weapon, or as a means of taking someone to the bank. [I hope I'm wrong on this last point - I'm sure someone will correct me. ]

[ditchdj]

A good attorney will do this rather than filing suit based just upon whatever the client says. You would be surprised (well, maybe this board wouldn't) how often clients out right lie to their attorneys. Attorneys learn quickly not to blindly trust their clients.

Well I guess that tells me what kind of "attorney" is suing me on behalf of a zombie debt collector. Funny thing is that I sent them a letter demanding proof of the debt in July and I have heard absolutely nothing back from them.

[Soetkin]

A truck in front of me lost a large spool of electric wire, it bounded on the road and - by some miracle- only hit my car on the side because I managed to swerve out of the way without hitting any other traffic. Truck driver even got a ticket because the spool was not secured at all.
It took them six months to pay for the damages to my car as they took it to court (insurance agency handled everything). Un-be-lievable.

[Horsetuna]

I'm not trying to start an argument, but if you accept that an accident is your fault, then why should the other party owe you anything?

I was hit by a cherokee jeep about ten years ago on my bike.it was just after sundown, and I was helmetless on the sidewalk. they stopped, I stopped, paused, then continued... I could not see if the lady saw me or not I realized in retrospect.


SMASH.... My bike was pulled UNDER the vehicle, twisted up like you took two ends of a towel and twisted in opposite directions. I fortunately, was flung off and was not as well.

I clearly remember now, seeing the veicle back up and my poor bike emerging from underneath. I w3as... surprisingly, not that shaken

The poor driver though: almost

I got away VERY lucky,with only bumps and scrapes. She and I loaded my bike into her vehicle and she drove me home... she was very apologetic, me I was trying to reassure her it wasnt her fault, etc...

When we got home, we spoke to my mom,and she agreed to replace my bike. I was fine with that. The next day we went in, did the police report thing, I got a medical check up (though nothing came up aside from bruises and bumps)

everyone iI spoke to, even ten hears ago, said I should have sued her. WHY, I asked. It was partially my fault, I wasnt hurt badly (By some miracle), and I got a new bike.

I just dont get it either.

[LingualMonkey]

The tractor wasn't totalled, it was damaged, and he's claiming an injury.

His suit won't go anywhere. Our insurance company is handling the entire thing (and any potential countersuit). My wife gave a deposition on it, and she's pretty much done. We've been told over and over that this won't get anywhere and we should just write the whole thing off as his idiocy.

Oh, she was driving a Grand Prix, that was totalled beyond recognition. She bought the same car, same year to replace it.

[Geek King]

The farmer got the ticket. His insurance paid for our car.

He's suing us for loss of his tractor.

Yeah. Good luck with that, Farmer Bob.

With him getting the ticket, I'd file counter-suit for court costs, time spent on court, and additional damages for frivilous lawsuit. That's as close to a sure thing as you get right there. Sadly, the farmer probably couldn't pay out, but it would be satifying to have that over his head if he pushes through with it. No, I'm not a nice person.