Woman Sues 12-Year Old Nephew for Accidentally Knocking Her Down … When He was Eight
Imagine, if you will, that you’re just arriving at your nephew’s 8th birthday party. Your nephew is a good kid who you describe as “very loving, sensitive.” He just received his first two-wheeler, is probably full of sugar, and is pretty darn excited that it’s his birthday. When he sees you, his favorite aunt, his excitement is just too much to bear and he runs to you, yelling your name and launching himself into your arms. As he’s 8 years old, he’s probably too big to be doing that, but he is just so excited. He knocks you down and, as luck would have it, you break your wrist.
Do you:
- Ignore it.
- Give your nephew a stern talking to about throwing himself at people, and maybe send him on a little guilt trip so it doesn’t happen again.
- Sue him for $127,000.
Jennifer Connell of Manhattan chose #3. That’s right, she is suing her nephew (now 12 years old) for $127,000 because he accidentally knocked her down 4 years ago. Why did he do that? Because he was happy to see her at his birthday party.
The Connecticut Post reports:
“All of a sudden he was there in the air, I had to catch him and we tumbled onto the ground,” Connell testified of her encounter with the 50-pound boy. “I remember him shouting, ‘Auntie Jen I love you,’ and there he was flying at me.”
Although hurt, Connell said, she didn’t complain to the boy at the time.
“It was his birthday party and I didn’t want to upset him,” she told the jury.
But, Connell continued, her life was turned upside down as a result of the injury.
“I live in Manhattan in a third-floor walk-up so it has been very difficult,” she said. “And we all know how crowded it is in Manhattan.”
And then there is the damage the injury has done to Connell’s social life.
“I was at a party recently, and it was difficult to hold my hors d’oeuvre plate,” she said.
Apparently, in 2015 America, “exuberance” is an offense that can get a child dragged into court by his own aunt. One wonders if being compensated for the unimaginable horror of having a hard time holding her hors d’oeuvres is worth the family estrangement, and the bad press.
