Posted on 02/11/2005 11:21:34 AM PST by UpHereEh
As a general rule, suing a seven-year-old won't score you any points with St. Peter. But Mary Ellen Michaels and her lawyer, Judson Hawkins, already have guaranteed reservations at the Burning Lake of Fire Spa & Resort. Our saga began when Michaels was rollerblading down a Metroparks bike path in Strongsville last spring. She came upon a seven-year-old riding a bike. Behind the boy was his grandma, who was watching him while his parents were on a trip to New Orleans.
Michaels yelled at the boy to get out of the way. The kid stopped his bike, giving Michaels barely enough room to pass. She tried to squeeze through, but never made it. The toe of her rollerblade caught the bike's rear wheel. Michaels' leg snapped, and her foot twisted 180 degrees. "This was a serious injury," says Hawkins.
Most people would chalk it up to bad luck. What are you gonna do, sue a seven-year-old?
Well, if you're Mary Ellen Michaels, yes.
And just to secure her future in the Land of 1,000 Screams, she also sued Grandma and the boy's parents, who were a thousand miles away at the time.
The boy's lawyer politely notes that this was a bad move. "Basically, what we said is that even if you accept everything she says as fact, she still doesn't have a case," says Patrick Roche. Translation in non-lawyerspeak: "What the %$#@ is wrong with you, Mary Ellen?"
Both the trial and the appellate courts tossed the case. But that doesn't mean the kid's getting off scot-free. Michaels directed her lawyer to fight all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court. "I don't take frivolous cases," says Hawkins, whose hobbies presumably include stealing old people's medicine and torturing kittens. "I did considerable research before I sued a seven-year-old. Given the nature of the injury, I thought it merited a lawsuit."
Michaels was rollerblading down a Metroparks bike path
Imagine, the nerve of the boy to actually ride a bike on a bike path...
I don't know how old she is but apparently it's just too old to understand how society works.
No they are not. They are public byways, similar to a sidewalk and kids as well as adults are on them. If you cycle, you can't go too fast. There are people pulling wagons, bikes, blades, skateboards, etc.
A bike, btw, takes up a lot less room than bladers do. It is clearly an accident and should never have made it to court. It sounds as if this lady was just going too fast for the path.
15mph on a bike down a bikepath is a recipe for disaster.
Let's hope lawyer Judson was smart enough to ask for cash up front on this one...but if not, he and his client deserve one another.
lil Johnny had every right to be riding his bike on the path. The stupidbitch ran HIM over. Bike paths are no place to be learning to stop on rollerblades.
Where's "that word" been used once before, this week?
...a *trend*? :o)
I'm sure it was the guy who's always suing his wife...
I forget his name...
Yeah. That guy. Jeff Dowder?
What would have prevented HER from stopping? Did she HAVE to try to go around in lieu of stopping? It would appear the seven year old exhibited more control over his bike than she over her rollerblades.
Speed limits are posted (and I doubt she was exceeding them) and your supposed to STAY in your lane (to the right).
If you read the article, it sounds like they were head on, and she nearly passed him, but got caught on his rear tire.
And if they live in the city? or an apartment complex? on a busy street? Say he loses control and goes into the street and gets hit? So because he's not riding with the big boys he has no right to be on the path?
LOL, yeah...the guy who always sues people who laugh at him.
Don't forget the pain and suffering. The little tyke was surely traumatized by seeing and old lady who didn't know how to skate screw her leg into hideous angles right before his eyes.
lil Johnny had every right to be riding his bike on the pathNot if he was in her lane of the path. You have driven a car, right? You can understand the concept...
Michaels yelled at the boy to get out of the way. The kid stopped his bike, giving Michaels barely enough room to pass. She tried to squeeze through, but never made it. The toe of her rollerblade caught the bike's rear wheel. Michaels' leg snapped, and her foot twisted 180 degrees. "This was a serious injury," says Hawkins.
Point out the language suggestive of a head-on approach, rather than an overtake from the rear approach.
And if they live in the city? or an apartment complex? on a busy street? Say he loses control and goes into the street and gets hit? So because he's not riding with the big boys he has no right to be on the path?I'm telling you what the rules are on bikepaths.
I don't ride bike paths for precisely these reasons (plus their boring).
He was riding a bike on a bike path. Sorry, I don't see anything wrong with that.
"Not if he was in her path. All the bike paths I've ever been on, specifically state the speed limit (usually around 15mph) and that you must STAY TO THE RIGHT."
First of all: how do you know he wasn't to the right and in the proper lane? On the Venice Beach bike path you have two lanes for opposing traffic and bikes and bladers share THE SAME LANE. How do you know it was different in this case?
*SIGH*
A minor is a person who is not of legal age. How can you sue someone who is not have full legal rights? (And we're not talking about a crime committed here). Maybe--maybe--the parents can be sued if their own recklessnes is responsible for what a child does. This case doesn't warrant that, IMO.
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