My Trial
by okay, here it is. The official word on things is:
Ghey.
COMPLETELY inadmissible was the fact that she was driving with a suspended license.
Not COMPLETELY ignored was the simple fact that she doesn't really remember what happens, and her story makes no sense.
Unfortunately left out by my lawyer was the fact that...having seen cars parked in the far lane (nearest to the sidewalk) on BOTH SIDES of the road, which indicated to me that they were used for parking...I decided to make a left hand turn across 2 lanes of completely STOPPED traffic and a 3rd lane used for parking, only to get T-boned by a car, and pushed onto the curb where an unexpecting brother is propelled down the block, and quite injured.
And for some reason the fact that she didn't even sit through the entire procedings didn't change anyone's decision, or weigh in at all. (she only came for 1 day, whereas I was here all 3 which goes to show a general lack of interest, you'd think. She didn't bother showing up...for 2/3's of it. She didn't even SMILE. She's not even FRIENDLY!
Ugh. All in all it wasn't HORRIBLE, except for 3 wasted days. Philly's really pretty nice. I hated it after the accident. Now it's not so bad in my eyes.
The Jury: Found me AND the other driver at fault. They awarded the other driver (the plaintiff) $20,000, which is kinda high considering she's walking, sitting, flying on airplanes, blah blah blah. 90% MY fault (gheyyyyyy) and 10% hers. This makes no sense to me. Even the amount of money she got is more than I'd imagine.
My insurance company had tried to settle with her for up to 9k or 10k. She wanted at least 35k, but went to court hoping for over 50k. CRAZY. Anywayz, I'm glad that she didn't win it all.
FORTUNATELY the decision is not out of my insurance coverage bounds. I will not have to pay anything, my insurance rate will not rise, and my insurance company will cover the 18k we owe.
Nonetheless, I found this all to be very GHEY. See you guys later. Time to leave the city of "brotherly love".
AI Summary
38 Comments
Once again, I thank everyone for your prayers and support. Please drive careful, you do NOT want to go through crap like this.
bummer that you were found 90% at fault, but at least you don't have to pay the 18k!! and it's finally over!
unfortunately this may not be 100% true. The poor brother is sueing now. (which may or may not affect me.) I hope it doesn't. I so hope it doesn't.
uhh, i don't feel so well,
is it preliminary stuff or do 'we' have dates for that?
we'll see next march
My heart dropped when I read this. That sucks that he is suing, though he might be in a situation where he is forced to. But that sucks that you have to do this all over again.
yeah, it's okay. I WANT him to sue. I want him to get reimbursed. He was the parking attendant just standing there. I never had a worse day in my life than that day. I would have gladly died to protect his life and his health. It was so sudden there was no way he saw it coming, and just jumped, but couldn't clear the car. I felt horrible having to see his family members come running. When I imagine the panic his wife must have felt hearing that her husband was hit gives me goosebumps and the chills. They were a young couple. It's so sad. :( I pray for them all the time. He's the ONLY one that deserved the money
Sometimes medical insurance companies will sue without the injured person even being involved. The good thing about that is that since he's a brother, he might be able to get them to drop the charges against you.
I don't care if he sues me (my insurance company), I want him to get the money no matter what.
hopefully this is over
you are a gem for sitting through it all respectfully. glad you don't have to pay!
yeah, me too. Thanks, Fow.
Aww poor Toddy. I'm sorry it didn't go so well :(
What is the $20K supposed to be for? It was an accident, what right does she have to be awarded money? Insurance covers vehicle damage. She shouldn't get anything considering she was driving illegally. The legal system is ridiculous. There are so many loopholes. That brother should be getting money to pay for his doctor bills. He's the victim in the matter, not that wacko.
she was hurt. She went to a chiropractor. Many of her initial problems are already gone. She has back pain in her lower back, but it can't really be proven that it was from the accident. Plus, she stopped going to the chiropractor over a year ago, AND she had never gone to a specialist, AND never got recomended for "further" procedures. Her latest checkup with the defense's doctor showed her to be pretty much fine.
oh, and she's 5'4", and she weighs over 300 pounds (AFTER a gastric bypass done in 2002). So who's to say that her back pain isn't from her weight?
I got into an accident back in 1997 and the other guy tried to pull some garbage that he suffered back pain. My car had a golfball size dent. It was a tiny car. He was driving a full size van. Uh...what a liar. I found out from my neighbor the guy slipped in the Ledgewood Mall. So this woman is probably slippery like that guy.
I'm so sorry Toddles! (I've got lots of good attorneys here, too, if you decide you need one for your next case.) It sucks when blatent injustice happens, even though we know satan's world is the real cause, it's hard to get through. We're all thinking of you!
so, why was her lack-of-license inadmissable?
It's legally a separate matter. It's like if you're driving on a suspended license on your way to murder someone, you're charged with the murder and suspended license separately. But she probably got in serious trouble for it.
I don't get it at all. Because it happened, we need to see whose fault it is according to traffic laws. Not whether or not they should have been on the road. I don't know...
Well I just want you to know... we had a party here ALL ready to bust you outta the joint!!!!
And if you needed to make a run for the border, I'll make sure you got a new identity... witness relocate'n'all.
OMG toddy, i'm so sorry. I mean its good that you dont have to pay BUT its def her fault, esp for driving w/o a license (suspended) i dont know HOW they could've awarded her money...let alone $20K.
Well all in all it is in your favor, you dont have to pay and your premium wont be raised.
im jsut so sorry you had to go through all of this. my heart goes out to you!
what a nightmare. i'm really sorry to hear about all this. it'll all be over bfore you know it.
thanks, man, it means a lot to me.
aw man, that is insanely ghey. it makes me so mad for you! there is no justice in this system.
That's crap....I mean good for you that you owe nothing out of pocket...but this kinda sucks. I'm sorry it was 3 crummy days for you, but at least you get to not have to worry about that aspect of it anymore. :)
yeah. It just made me feel like those 8 jurors think I'm 90% responsible for the brother's injuries. And that was KILLING me.
Even though her testimony was wrong (maybe not intentionally) and since she didn't have a valid LICENSE. geez. She didn't even SMILE in the court. She's not all that pleasant. I approached her after day 2 (the only day she was there) and I wished her a safe flight home.
You're too nice Todd...I would have given her the "evil eye" from across the courtroom. Hahahah...just kidding. But seriously, you are super nice. :)
I hope there's no such thing as "too nice". It can work against me sometimes. I really do feel bad for the lady who sued me. she is in SOME pain, SOMETIMES. but it is her fault... Still I feel bad for her.
I wish the lady was found 100% at fault and have to pay for the amount the brother is suing for. You're right, she doesn't deserve a cash reward. It's like that crazy scenerio where a burgular comes in the middle of the night to break into your house and steal valuables, and trips on a shoe you left in the middle of floor, and then winds up getting awarded money from the homeowner for his resulted injury from an act of crime where he had no business being there in the first place! The law is really wacky sometimes. And, no doubt interpreted into wackiness more times than none. I feel so bad for you bro. Chin up tho. Hope you feel better.
thanks man. You nailed it! it's just like that! I'm looking on the bright side, don't worry. I was pretty down at first. I'm doing much better today.
thanks to Jehovah, I should add.
Yay, for good days!
Todd, I'm sending you hugs. And one of them is from Tyler....he says be happy. :)
thanks, kiersten
and tyler. :D