Re-examining demands made by insurance companies

Over the last month a social media storm has brewed with users attacking a woman for suing a person who injured her. There was no debate as to whether she was harmed, nor over who caused her suffering and mounting medical bills, nevertheless the court ruled she will have to pay for her own care.

At a 2011 party in Connecticut, the woman was tackled by one of the hosts. She fell and fractured her wrist, which subsequently required two surgeries. Since then, her quality of life has diminished, and she may require further surgeries to remedy the issue.

The homeowner attempted to file a claim to cover the woman's medical bills, though the company reportedly offered just US$1 in settlement, and said she needed to sue the perpetrator directly in order to collect the funds necessary to cover her medical bills.

Here's where things gets murky. The woman is on good terms with the individual who injured her, and she didn't want to sue. However, as her medical bills began to climb, she saw no other option but to go forward with the lawsuit.

In the suit, the woman requested $127,000, a paltry sum for a personal injury case, which is a further indication that her only intent was to have her medical bills covered by the insurance company. Naturally, personal injury claims require that an individual must have acted negligently, in order to be required to foot the bill for damages.

The claimant's attorney couldn't prove to the jury that the individual who injured her was acting negligently. Moreover, media outlets, and social media, tore the victim to shreds for trying to recover damages. Why? Because the perpetrator was an eight-year-old-boy, who, to this day, still lovingly refers to her as his aunt.

The boy was overjoyed after having received a two-wheel bicycle for his birthday. When Jennifer Connell arrived at the party, the boy ran to her and tried to hug her. Instead, the pair tumbled to the ground, and Connell fractured her wrist. Without a doubt, the boy caused her injuries, and her lawyer tried to prove he should have known better, but the jury didn't buy it.

The outcome of this case is questionable, because it shouldn't have happened this way. There's no reason why the insurance company should have been permitted to force Connell to sue for damages. There's a clear cause and result. Once in court, the woman should have been entitled to damages, though it seems the jury was taken with the boy's age, and the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Just as the media was taken with the case, the jury, too, felt sympathetic. Some outlets have gone so far as to call her 'the worst aunt on Earth'. With a child defendant being sued for his exuberance, it's almost an expected outcome.

If the jury also knew that the boy was being raised by a single father, following the death of his mother, it's unthinkable that a jury would blame him for being overjoyed by the arrival of a woman he called 'aunt'.

One also has to wonder why the boy became the target, rather than the father, as parents are routinely held accountable for the actions of their children in court. It's quite likely a jury would have found in favour of the victim, had the defendant not been a child.

As a result of the massive online backlash Connell has felt due to the circumstances of the case, it's also possible that she has grounds for numerous defamation suits.

One thing is certain, however. This woman should not be left to pay for her own medical bills that are the direct result of another individual's actions. Whether it's a matter of insurance company policy reform, or if her legal team failed to follow the best avenue for the case remains to be unseen.

It's a shame the families were dragged through the mud over something that could been have settled out of court, saving time, money, and emotional suffering. It's not just the individuals involved who suffer, but the overwhelmed court system, and the juries that are called in on needless cases.

Robert Widner is a family law attorney at the Widner Law Group in Dallas, Texas @BobWidner robertwidner.com