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This really makes you think twice about helping some one , do you risk every thing you own and your livelihood to help out a person that turns out to be a sue happy jerk looking for an easy opportunity . What isnt on this article is that the woman said on Fox News that she was already paralyzed before being removed . What an ungrateful )*^#
Woman Sued for Rescue Effort in Car Crash
Legal Experts Say California Ruling Could Make Good Samaritans HesitateNo good deed goes unpunished, or so goes the saying.
A paralyzed woman is suing a former co-worker for moving her from a car accidentSuch was the case with Lisa Torti, who is being sued for pulling a now-paralyzed friend from the wreckage of a Los Angeles car accident in 2004.
The victim’s lawyers claim the Good Samaritan bumbled the rescue and caused injury by yanking her friend “like a rag doll” to safety.
But Torti — now a 30-year-old interior designer from Las Vegas — said she thought she had seen smoke and feared the car would explode. She claims she was only trying to help her friend, Alexandra Van Horn, and her own life has been adversely affected by the incident.
“I know [Van Horn] has a lot of financial issues and her life has changed,” she said. “But it’s not my fault. I can’t be angry at her, only the path she has chosen to take. I can only pray it helps her.”
“I don’t have any more fight left,” Torti told ABCNews.com, choking back tears. “It’s really emotional.”
The California Supreme Court ruled this week that Van Horn may sue Torti for allegedly causing her friend’s paralysis. The case — the first of its kind — challenges the state’s liability shield law that protects people who give emergency assistance.
Only Medical Workers Immune
The court ruled 4-3 that only those administering medical care have legal immunity, but not those like Torti, who merely take rescue action. The justices said that the perceived danger to Van Horn in the wrecked car was not “medical.”
The court majority said the 1980 Emergency Medical Service Act, which Torti’s lawyers cited for protection, was intended only to encourage people to learn first aid and use it in emergencies, not to give Good Samaritans blanket immunity when they act negligently.
Van Horn’s lawsuit will go on to trial court to determine if Torti is to blame for Van Horn’s paralysis.
But some legal experts say the ruling may discourage people from trying to save lives.
“What they are saying is that if you pull someone out of a pool, if you provide CPR, you do have a defense,” said Torti’s lawyer, Jody Steinberg.
“It seems to defy logic,” he said. “At a certain point anyone who instructs or educates [in emergencies] will advise that you must hesitate. Those split-second decisions will be gone and someone could die.”
Seriously, that Van Horn lady has no soul. Sueing a Co-worker and FRIEND??? And what if Torti had NOT pulled the other lady out of the car, and what if the car exploded? Van Horn should be lucky she’s even alive! Besides, if it was an accident, who was at fault? What happened? Was there another driver involved? Why were the two women so close? Were they carpooling in the same car? If so, what are you supposed to do? Leave your friend in the car and say “whoops, sorry, I can’t help you” when you really can? Did the other woman yell out “Help!” If so, she was asking for help, and it shouldn’t be the other woman’s fault anyway (which, I dont think it is in the first place) Man, the nerve of some people. *shakes head*
That really sucks when you have to think twice about helping someone for fear of being sued! 😡 Some real jerks out there!
Not everyone is “sue happy” though,
I had grounds for suing the hospital (nurse totaly ignored me all day and let me have contrations when they should have been stopped) when I had my son prematurally and yet didn’t….but today I regret it because I could have used that money to get what I need to take good care of my son: house addapted to his needs and a van with a lift. 🙄
So much for trying to be nice and not hurt anyone. Now my son and I are paying for it! (I need a kick myself in the butt emoticon)That’s America for you. Only in this country could someone get away with that. Reminds me of when McDonalds got sued for serving hot coffee 🙄 I hate this country sometimes, or rather just the people in it.
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Dreamscape, Orion, Poison Dart, Fireberry, Spangler + Tigerberry Dragonsdrag0nfeathers wrote:That’s America for you. Only in this country could someone get away with that. Reminds me of when McDonalds got sued for serving hot coffee 🙄 I hate this country sometimes, or rather just the people in it.
The plaintiff won that lawsuit too! Just like the burglar who broke into the woman’s house, hurt himself and sued! He won that too! Sigh.
People who are sue happy make me sick. I almost got sued once for someone who stole a chapstick (must have decided it wasn’t worth paying for – but we had a red one on top of a grey one, he grabbed the red on, looked at it, put his hand in his pocket, and all I saw was the grey one was in front). I called him on it (quietly, no one else except his wife heard this) – and he threatened to sue me because he was middle eastern descent.
Then he called me a moronic bi*** who probably had never finished highschool (it was May – I was one month off!) and was working here to feed my 3 children from different fathers, etc etc… I’m betting the wife mentioned that to the lawyer and he said, don’t sue because she’ll sue right back for more (she seemed to not be as angry as he was, she thought I just didn’t see him put it back). Oh, and he threw his jacket at me and told me to search him (if you know your laws so well, you should know that would be illegal).
Nothing ever came out of it, and my boss (who came over because she heard him screaming at me) said that if he hadn’t taken the chapstick, that he wouldn’t have got so angry. 🙄 :shrug:
And people wonder why I don’t trust anyone. :shrug:
drag0nfeathers wrote:That’s America for you. Only in this country could someone get away with that. Reminds me of when McDonalds got sued for serving hot coffee 🙄 I hate this country sometimes, or rather just the people in it.
That one popped into my mind also. Did that woman think she was getting iced coffee? The judge and jury were the ones who were nuts.
Years ago I backed out of a parking space and into a car driving behind me. I have always felt she sped up on purpose because when I checked behind me before backing up she wasn’t there. But would you believe 5 years later she sued me for causing depreciation to her car. When I called my insurance agent he said send the papers to me. My insurance company tossed that one out.
I hate it when the bad guy wins!! (except you, 2Huberts *snickers* 😆 )
Dragon87-Man, I can’t believe that guy!
Haha-you should have said “Oh no, you didn’t steal it? Our hidden security camera says otherwise”I was delivering pizzas a few years ago, and had to go to an apartment complex I had never been to before. It was daylight, and I had a BRIGHT BLUE car….I mean….BRIGHT blue…blue raspberry blue…anyways, it was very visible. I stopped at the gate to enter the code, and the car behind me went around me and bumped into me. There was no damage to my little car, but it broke their headlight on their 91 tan honda. They were middle eastern too, and tried to tell the insurance company I hit them from the front AND the back. (I was going 5 MPH, HOW is that possible?) I guess 1-they figured if I hit them from behind, its automatically my fault, and 2-they were probably trying to get free repairs on their 15 year old car. I never heard what happened, but I think the insurance company tossed it. They kept changing their story.
I’ve been thinking of being a laywer when I grow up *big doe eyes* lolThings like that make me glad I don’t live in the states. 😡
Here in Canada we have a ‘Good Samartian” Law that states that if you help someone, reasonably (so the woman in the story would have been covered) then they cann’t sue. If they try then it has to be proved that the resuer acted with gross negligence and complete lack of thought and it’s pretty hard to do. People try but well some people are idiots
foxfeather wrote:Things like that make me glad I don’t live in the states. 😡
Here in Canada we have a ‘Good Samartian” Law that states that if you help someone, reasonably (so the woman in the story would have been covered) then they cann’t sue. If they try then it has to be proved that the resuer acted with gross negligence and complete lack of thought and it’s pretty hard to do. People try but well some people are idiots
we have a good Samaritan law too , its the small print that this woman is being sued for. Since she had no medical training or CPR knowledge she can be sued …its all bureaucratic bull and greedy lawyers making this lawsuit happen , they are going for the gross negligence stating that the person in the car was paralyzed by the actions of the rescuer , even though the trapped woman stated that she had no movement in her legs before the rescue took place. I forget what they call it legally ( besides BS ) but her entire prosecution is based on jury sympathy. its all a rouge to get money
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