Suing the sick

[Gob]

A nurse who stumbled and twisted her ankle while visiting a terminally ill cancer patient sparked fury today when she said she was suing him for thousands of pounds in damages.

District nurse Penelope Snelson, 37, slipped and fell on a wooden wheelchair ramp at the home of 75-year old Mike Fountain and suffered ligament damage.

Mr Fountain, a retired research chemist, died only a week later from the multiple organ cancer which had plagued him for several years.

But lawyers acting on behalf of Mrs Snelson under a 'No Win No Fee' arrangement still sent a letter to the dead man saying the accident was 'his fault' and said he had allowed his £575,000 house in Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire, to become a 'danger to users.'

His grieving widow Christine, 76, burst into tears as she opened the letter addressed to her late husband from Aegis Legal which read: 'We consider this to be your fault by reason of negligence because you failed to take any reasonable care to see that the Claimant was reasonably safe in using your premises.'

It added that Mr Fountain had: 'caused or permitted your premises to become or to remain a danger and a trap to persons lawfully using the same.'

It said he had further 'failed to give the Claimant any or any adequate or effective warning of the dangerous nature of the makeshift ramp' and said he should 'should have known it was dangerous and unsafe.'

The lawyers claimed Mr Fountain 'failed to discharge the common duty of care' owed to Mrs Snelson and urged him to send through various health and safety documents including 'hazard warnings and notices' inspection records, safety checks, accident book entries and housekeeping records.

They said the grandfather should have erected a safety barrier around the six foot long ramp which lay on his front doorstep.

When his family contacted the lawyers to protest and said Mr Fountain had passed away, they said the legal action would continue.

Should Mrs Snelson win her case, her lawyers will get an automatic 'uplift' in legal fees netting them thousands of pounds in extra cash.



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z18L6BYHcS

[Scooter]

Ok, I don't know what the facts are in this particular case.

But in a general sense, if someone is injured because of another person's negligence, does the latter's death, even under tragic circumstances, relieve him/her of liability?

[SisterMaryFellatio]

Yes...hes dead!

[loCAtek]

By stumbling, wasn't the nurse behaving in an unsafe manner, not authorized on that ramp? ...And she was the one negligent?

[Scooter]

Yes...hes dead!

So hang on then... if someone crashes into my car head on (his fault) and I am severely and permanently disabled, the fact that he dies prevents me from recovering anything from his estate, and I must bear the costs of HIS negligence?

Are you crocked?

[Sean]

I think the point being made Scoot was that he is no longer personally liable. His estate on the other hand...

[Scooter]

Well duh, obviously I wasn't suggesting that a dead person could somehow be made to pay from beyond the grave.

[Gob]

Doesn't this again come down to personal responsibility, or lack of it, and to the ludicrousness of claims for thousands for twisted ankles?

I'd send the woman's name to the local press, and out her.

[Sean]

Hey Strop, can we have an emoticon for 'tongue in cheek' please to help out our trans-Atlantic friends? <insert said emoticon here>

[oldr_n_wsr]

I have to agree with scooter here. While I would not sue if it happened to me, legally the home owner is liable for anyone hurt on their premesis especially if it involves and improperly installed wheelchair ramp. Homeowners insurance should cover it.

[rubato]

Too bad.

The US tort system has metastasized into English law now. Surgery is your only option.

Now that's a real pity. Back in the day, Alex Comfort MD (the author of "The Joy of Sex") installed a large red switch by his front door in England labeled "burglar alarm*" and wired to give a huge jolt to anyone who turned it off. When he was living in Santa Barbara he said that he could never do that here because of the US tort laws.

yrs,
rubato

* it may also have said "danger, do not turn off" but I can't recall.

[Joe Guy]

What a weasel that Mr Fountain turned out to be!

Taking the easy way out and dying like he did thereby leaving his widow to deal with the lawsuit.

His widow ought to also sue him for damages caused by his abandonment. He had a bloody 'duty of care' to her, didn't he???

[Lord Jim]

Doesn't this again come down to personal responsibility, or lack of it, and to the ludicrousness of claims for thousands for twisted ankles?

I'd send the woman's name to the local press, and out her.

I'm with Strop on this one.

[kristina]

Wouldn't she be covered by Worker's Compensation, or the equivalent? She's a District Nurse, so she was (I'm guessing) on the job when she was injured.

[BoSoxGal]

I'm sorry he had cancer. I'm sorry he died.

However, if there was negligence in the way access/egress to his house was set up, it is still perfectly reasonable for any injured party - a family member, the postman, a visiting nurse - to sue his homeowner's insurance/estate for recompense for that injury. Recompense should be reasonable and in line with actual injury/p&s.

And yes, if the nurse was on the job, she probably also has a worker's compensation claim - but they (worker's comp) will want to be made whole by his homeowner's too, if there was negligence. Are you going to 'out' them for that egregious expectation?

The house is worth more than a half million dollars, no? A property owner IS liable for damages to an invited guest caused by a dangerous situation created on their property through negligence. That is long-established law, here and there.

I think you folks are getting inflamed because the guy died. I'm sorry he died, truly. One doesn't really have any bearing on the other. If the nurse was independently wealthy, she probably wouldn't be caring for him, much less suing for injury incurred through visiting his residence. She was hurt through negligence, she is seeking recompense.

Show me by proof that her case is baseless and she's just a greedy bitch looking for something for nothing, and then I might join your cries to guillotine her.

[oldr_n_wsr]

Does the UK have a workers comp equivalent?
From Wiki:

Workers' compensation (colloquially known as workers' comp or workman's comp in North America and compo in Australia) is a form of insurance that provides compensation medical care for employees who are injured in the course of employment, in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her employer for the tort of negligence. The tradeoff between assured, limited coverage and lack of recourse outside the worker compensation system is known as "the compensation bargain." While plans differ between jurisdictions, provision can be made for weekly payments in place of wages (functioning in this case as a form of disability insurance), compensation for economic loss (past and future), reimbursement or payment of medical and like expenses (functioning in this case as a form of health insurance), and benefits payable to the dependants of workers killed during employment (functioning in this case as a form of life insurance). General damages for pain and suffering, and punitive damages for employer negligence, are generally not available in worker compensation plans.

No chance of a big payout if she sues the employer (if UK has similar rules) and her med bills are covered under universal health care in the UK.

[oldr_n_wsr]

On a side note, if you have work done on your property by an outside contractor, always make sure he has the necessary insurance for his company and all employees.

I hired a guy to come and cut down a tree one year and checked his insurance and it all looked good. Then he showed up with a crew of presumably illegal aliens. I say presumably because I did not know for sure but I have seen them waiting for jobs outside the 7-11 down the block. The owner refused to show me their green cards and/or working papers so I terminated the job with him. They get hurt on my property, I could get screwed. Chances are an illegal alien hurt on your property will not sue you (too afraid of "outing" his immigration status) but by law they can regardless of their immigration status.

[Gob]

BSG, I agree with most of your post above, esp, the bit about "reasonable and in line with actual injury".

However the sort of ambulance chasers this woman has contracted are not really interested in that sort of claim are they?

[rubato]

BSG, I agree with most of your post above, esp, the bit about "reasonable and in line with actual injury".

However the sort of ambulance chasers this woman has contracted are not really interested in that sort of claim are they?

So they are Americans?

I'm so ashamed.

You can send them back.

yrs,
rubato

[Sue U]

Doesn't this again come down to personal responsibility, or lack of it, and to the ludicrousness of claims for thousands for twisted ankles?

BSG, I agree with most of your post above, esp, the bit about "reasonable and in line with actual injury".

However the sort of ambulance chasers this woman has contracted are not really interested in that sort of claim are they?

Why do you think that merely by filing a claim someone would be getting anything more than what is reasonable compensation for the injury suffered? Do you think that there is some sort of magic in legal representation that turns a worthless claim into millions of dollars? I can guarantee you that there would be no legal claim made here if it were not a serious injury. It is expensive to litigate claims and the "value" of the injury has to be sufficient to warrant making the claim. I can't tell you how many cases I turn away because even though there was negligence and injury, the case simply wouldn't be worth the candle to litigate.

As for "personal responsibility," why shouldn't a landowner take responsibility for the hazards he creates on his property that end up injuring people he has brought to the premises for the express purpose of providing services to him? This is exactly what homeowners insurance is for. His widow may be weepy, but it is her insurer -- not her -- that will ultimately foot any bill.