Does she want to become the most hated female in Canada? Okay, we know that the victims' families are suing her, but for her to turn around and sue the victims? What kind of a hare-brained lawyer advised Sharlene Simon to do that?
Steve Mertl at DailyBrewYahooNews:
....Woman who struck cyclists, killing one, now suing them for stress she’s suffered.
This is a cautionary tale about our modern reflex to head straight to court to compensate us the tragedies in our lives.
An Ontario woman who struck three teenage boys on their bicycles, killing one, now is suing the kids' families for more than $1 million for the stress she's suffered as a result of the accident.
Before your head explodes, you should also know she's being sued by the teens' families, but I'll leave it to you to decide who's more deserving.
Of course their respective insurers will probably wind up with the tab, which means we all pay in the end through higher premiums.
Sharlene Simon was driving down a country lane in Simcoe County north of Toronto around 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 28, 2012, when she suddenly came on the three teens riding abreast returning from a local coffee shop.
Unable to stop in time, she plowed into the group, killing 17-year-old Brandon Majewski and seriously injuring 16-year-old Richard McLean. Their friend Jake Roberts, also 16, escaped with only scratches, QMI Agency reported.
Last December, a lawyer for Simon filed a statement of claim in Ontario Superior Court naming the estate of the dead teen and the families of his friends, alleging the driver "has sustained and will sustain great pain and suffering," including " a severe shock to her system" as a result of the crash, Postmedia News reported.
Simon is claiming $1.35 million because, according to her claim, "her enjoyment of life has been and will be lessened" by the accident.
Simon is herself the target of a $900,000 suit by the families of the victims that alleges Simon was speeding, intoxicated or texting at the time of the accident.
Neither side's claim has been proven in court.
It's not clear from the news reports which suit landed in court first. Lawyer Brian Cameron, acting for the victims' families, told QMI Agency their suit was mainly to recover medical and funeral costs.
Still, he was stunned at Simon's suit, which also names the County of Simcoe for failing to maintain the road......
It's the sort of thing one would expect to hear about in the USA.
ReplyDeleteIn this case, perhaps it is the lawyer thinking of the tactic 'The best defense is offense'