Family wants $990,500 for student's 'severe' basketball injury

[mbyron]

Q: How do you keep a lawyer from drowning?

A: Take your foot off his head.

[Mark Padgett]

A lawyer and a coach are both drowning. You have a big decision to make - lunch or a movie?

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

A lawyer and a coach are both drowning. You have a big decision to make - lunch or a movie?

Both...the longer I'm absent, the less complicit I am.

[amusedofficial]

The amount mentioned in a civil suit as "damages" doesn't necessarily have to comport with reality. Most suits settle, but as in any negotiation, neverleave money on the table. Insurers love it when you negotiate against yourself.

Lost future earnings is generally proved with expert testimony from vocational experts

[Back In The Saddle]

Originally Posted by amusedofficial

The amount mentioned in a civil suit as "damages" doesn't necessarily have to comport with reality. Most suits settle, but as in any negotiation, neverleave money on the table. Insurers love it when you negotiate against yourself.

Lost future earnings is generally proved with expert testimony from vocational experts

Assuming a 9th grader has any idea what vocation he wants to pursue. Your typical 9th grader is going to be a doctor AND a fireman AND a policeman AND drive a garbage truck AND ...

As for the "somebody was negligent, somebody has to pay" mentality, that's just messed up. "Little Johnny is hurt, quick somebody call the lawyer. Oh, and call 911, we need to get this documented." What a sad, pathetic society we've become.

[mick]

Originally Posted by Back In The Saddle

As for the "somebody was negligent, somebody has to pay" mentality, that's just messed up. "Little Johnny is hurt, quick somebody call the lawyer. Oh, and call 911, we need to get this documented." What a sad, pathetic society we've become.

Your beautiful granddaughter got cut on that plate from ear to chin....

That, too, was messed up.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by Back In The Saddle

Your typical 9th grader is going to be a doctor AND a fireman AND a policeman AND drive a garbage truck AND ...

AND, if you ask his parents, an NBA superstar.

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

AND, if you ask his parents, an NBA superstar.

Well, then we better raise this $990K up a bit, as that kind of "coin" doesn't even equal "guaranteed money" or a "signing bonus" anymore!

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Back In The Saddle

Your typical 9th grader is going to be a doctor AND a fireman AND a policeman AND drive a garbage truck.

You forgot astronaut.

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

You forgot astronaut.

What if that 9th grader's goal is to be the next Bill Gates! What a settlement that would be!

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by Nevadaref

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]The boy is seeking $785,000, of which $35,000 is for current and future medical bills, $250,000 is for lost future earnings and $500,000 is for damages.
The parents seek $205,500, mainly for damages linked to what the claim calls "emotional distress arising from witnessing the harm to their child." All told, the family is seeking $990,500.

Aren't we taking this a bit too far?

I thought the point of most of this money was to help for lost future wages and damages....... i.e., now the player can no longer be a basketball superstar because he has a bad/possibly scarred hand.

Please to be explaining - How does that disqaulify him from discovering an IT company, or becoming an astronaut, or even movie star (minus a hand model of course)?

Originally Posted by grunewar

Aren't we taking this a bit too far?

I thought the point of most of this money was to help for lost future wages and damages....... i.e., now the player can no longer be a basketball superstar because he has a bad/possibly scarred hand.

Please to be explaining - How does that disqaulify him from discovering an IT company, or becoming an astronaut, or even movie star (minus a hand model of course)?

How does it disqualify him from being a handyman?

[SAK]

He can still become a basketball referee

[Back In The Saddle]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

What if that 9th grader's goal is to be the next Bill Gates! What a settlement that would be!

No kidding! It takes a lot more $ to drop out of Harvard these days.

[Back In The Saddle]

Originally Posted by mick

Your beautiful granddaughter got cut on that plate from ear to chin....

That, too, was messed up.

Yes, that is sad. And it's reasonable that if the facility was negligent they should paying the medical expenses. But life is a dangerous business, we have no expectation that we're never going to get hurt, and the pervasive and cancerous mentality that "somebody's gotta pay!" is nothing more than wanton vengeance, greed and opportunism. In most cases we'd all be a lot better off if Little Suzie's folks got a life instead of a lawyer.

Just my $0.02