She's... too old!

[judecorp]

Holy crap on a cracker, I am so infuriated right now.

My father just called me to ask for my address, and in the course of the conversation, he told me that my grandmother is being sued.

Apparently, my grandparents were at a casino (this is a frequent occurance) and were riding on an escalator. Somehow (either someone bumped her, or she lost her footing, or whatever) my grandmother lost her balance and stumbled, and she fell on my grandfather, and he fell on someone. This apparently caused a chain reaction with people falling on other people, and since the escalator was never turned off, and there was no staff around, there was a pile-up of people and mayhem ensued. Some people got hurt, I'm sure, and my father said my grandmother received a letter from the casino saying she was being sued for the injuries of the people!

Now, I'm no lawyer or anything, but how can you sue an 81-year-old woman for stumbling on an escalator? People trip every day! WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE FARKING PEOPLE??!?!? Everyone in my family has been encouraging my grandmother to get a lawyer (after all, my grandfather was injured in this whole thing too, he twisted his ankle or something) and she is reluctant to. I think she's just really intimidated and scared by all of this. I am totally beside myself right now. This is the biggest money-grubbing load of crap I've ever heard! (Does anyone have any legal advice? drainbead? vidicon? Anyone?)

(I mean, sheesh, I bet if someone /asked/ my grandmother, she would offer to pay their stupid medical bills!) I worry that some of these people are just trying to get money out of a senior citizen. Or that the injured people are suing the casino, and /they're/ going after my grandmother because they don't want to pay. Frankly, either of those scenarios makes me want to throw up.

Comments

[grrlpower.livejournal.com]

I can't believe the casino is doing it, I'd think THEY would be the ones liable, seeing as how it was their escalator.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's pretty much how I see it, too.

[wendywoowho.livejournal.com]

Oh, the casino is TOTALLY liable and they're trying to shift blame. She should talk to a lawyer, and sue 'em right back.

And I'm not even a litigious person!

[00solstice.livejournal.com]

Yeah... What she said!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

The hard part is trying to convince Grandma she needs one. :(

[kaasirpent]

I am totally against frivolous lawsuits....

But in this particular case, I say the casino started it, and your grandmother should finish it. Get a real weasel of a lawyer. One that eats nails for breakfast. In bourbon, not milk.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Ha ha ha, in bourbon. :)

[sudrin.livejournal.com]

I agree, that sounds like a money grab situation, but they certainly need to fight fire with fire. These sorts of proceedings set dangerous legal situation. I mean if we are all so responsible for what goes on around us, we will all have to stay home to avoid the threat of legal action

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Well, I think that's definitely where we're headed in America.

[vidicon.livejournal.com]

She needs a lawyer. First, though, she should contact that AARP and see if they have an advocate.

If she goes public with the case, bunches and bunches of old people can be convinced to boycott that particular casino. Especially if the AARP gets involved.

I also recommend that she countersue.

[*]

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

The AARP is a FANTASTIC idea. I just called my grandparents and left a message on their answering machine about contacting the AARP.

You are a genius, my friend! MWAH!

[purpleboots.livejournal.com]

Contacting AARP is an excellent idea. It's always a good idea to have a large organization behind you when dealing with stuff like this. Many (older) people are scared of lawyers, but probably not so scared of an organization that works for them. Wonderful suggestion.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Yeah - I'm hoping my grandmother will call them.

[kieron.livejournal.com]

I will give Michael and Rhonda a clal later and ask them their opinions as well....was this in NJ at AC or in CT?

If it was in NJ, then Rhonda will surely know who to contact or have a suggestion...or I think she will...

Man...this definitely sounds like the casino trying to shift blame....

Your grandmother should sue the casino for not having staff on hand and also make a formal statement, through her own lawyer regarding the person who bumped her in the first place if the casino chooses to go after her ....casinos have surveillance cameras and can mroe than likely pull up what happened on the escalator with those....

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I'll give you more details as they arise.

[elspazz0.livejournal.com]

The casino undoubtedly has a huge umbrella liability insurance policy that covers accidents of this type. It is ridiculous that your grandmother should bear the brunt of this.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, no crap. Sure, sue the old lady.

Craziness.

[jadefu.livejournal.com]

AARP is an *excellent* idea. And she does need a lawyer.

Let me know which area this casino is in. If need be down the road, some media coverage might be called for if things start getting negative. Just keep me posted. Even though we don't have a news show, our station has connections to lots of network stations all over the place.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Alright - I'm hoping to talk to my grandparents about it soon, and I'll let you know what I hear.

Thanks!

[carina-s.livejournal.com]

This is why other countries make fun of us Americans. WHAT THE HELL? She should sue for being sued.

[jeffholton.livejournal.com]

I was just about to say the same thing.

Some states allow you to sue anyone who brings a frivolous lawsuit against you.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I doubt she would do that, but it's worth looking into.

[jeffholton.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm not a lawyer, but if I were, I *think* I would tell her that she SHOULD countersue. That way, when it goes to mediation, the two suits basically cancel each other out, and everyone walks away with exactly what they had when they started.

Personally, I think this is someone's sick idea of hitting a jackpot in the casino when they had lost all their money on the slots. I mean that.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I got more information. Apparently, one woman on the escalator was /really/ hurt - she got her hair caught in the escalator and needed 17 stitches in her head! And my grandmother knows this woman, so that makes it even harder for her. She said she's never going to Atlantic City again. :(

But at this point, I don't think my grandmother's even getting a lawyer. I hope she doesn't get screwed. :(

[jeffholton.livejournal.com]

Why won't she get a lawyer?

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Because she doesn't really believe in them - she would never sue anyone, and I don't think she'll get a lawyer unless she has to go to court.

I don't think it will go that far. I think the casino's insurance company is just fishing.

[jeffholton.livejournal.com]

I hope the casino settles everything. That would be nice.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Yes. It would.

[chutup.livejournal.com]

maybe you can convince her of the importance of countersuing because it would deter the casino from bringing lawsuits against innocent people in the future.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I wish I could. Frankly, I wish I could convince my grandmother of /anything/. She's pretty damned stubborn. :)

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

What burns me up is that they are the kind of people who would /never/ sue anyone. I mean, my grandfather was in a really bad car accident once that was the other person's fault by a long shot, and he had recently recovered from open heart surgery, and still didn't sue.

They're just not like that. My grandmother doesn't even want to get a lawyer, according to my dad. Ugh.