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by Nomad
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A Canadian driver has opened a legal case in an Ontario Superior Court against the family of a teenage accident victim. Demanding compensation of over $1 million, she claims the tragic event has lessened her "enjoyment of life."
In Hebrew, there's a good word
for it. Chutzpah. It means "extreme
arrogance, brazen presumption."
What other word can express the audacity of the
motorist, who after hitting and killing a teenage bicyclist, has now decided to
sue the estate of the boy's family for over $1 million? That takes a hell of a lot of nerve.
The
Ottawa Citizen reports that lawyers for Sharlene Simon filed the claim last
December in Ontario Superior Court, alleging that she “has sustained and will
sustain great pain and suffering,” including “a severe shock to her system.” On
top of that, according to the court documents, Simon's "enjoyment of life has been and will be
lessened.”
The lawsuit also names other
parties, including two other boys, as well as the county of Simcoe, responsible
for road maintenance where the incident happened. The tragedy occurred in the
town of Innisfil, about 80 kilometres
north of Toronto.
According to the news story:
Brandon took the brunt of the impact, and was thrown over the roof of the car; he was barely alive when paramedics arrived, and despite vigorous efforts at resuscitation, was pronounced dead about two hours later at the Royal Victoria Health Centre in Barrie.
Richard’s bike was struck simultaneously, and he was later transferred to St. Michael’s Hospital in downtown Toronto, where he spent weeks recovering from his injuries. The third boy, Jake, was knocked off his bike, but wasn’t seriously hurt.
Despite a lengthy investigation of the crash by the South
Simcoe Police Service, their 26-page
report concluded that the “lack of
visibility” of the cyclists “was the largest contributing factor,” and that on
a dark overcast night, “the driver... did not see the cyclists on the roadway and
was unable to make an evasive reaction.”
As a result of the findings, the local prosecutor decided that
no charges against Simon would be pursued.
For the Majewski family, it was surely a tragedy that has
shattered their world. And still worse was to follow.
About six months after Brandon’s death, his older brother Devon, who had taken Brandon’s death particularly hard, died in his sleep from a combination of pharmaceuticals and alcohol.
But imagine the father's reaction
when his lawyer informed that the woman who killed his son would be demanding compensation.
Majewski noted that the police
report focused the blame for the
accident nearly entirely on the teenagers, citing a lack of sufficient reflectors
(only two of the three had them) or helmets. The report pointed out that the victims wore dark
clothing which it said contributed to the accident.
There were however lingering doubts about the
quality of the investigation.
Venetta Mlynczyk, mother of the
victim, later went to the Office of the Independent Police Review Director and
alleged that, due to a conflict of interest, the investigation had been
mishandled.
She charged that one of the investigators from South Simcoe was
friends with Simon’s husband, Jules Simon,
After a review, authorities
decided in a September 2013 report that the original investigation was thorough
and any "discreditable conduct by the officers" was not uncovered.
However, the report did confirm
at least one rumor. Simon, according to the review of the investigation, acknowledged driving at about 90 km/h, above
the 80 km/h limit. Following the accident, police did not administer a breathalyzer test because there were “no
grounds to request” one.
According to the law, an officer must have reasonable
suspicion that there was alcohol/drugs in body. Yet, despite Simon, having
admitted speeding on a Saturday night at 1 a.m., and despite not having control
of her vehicle, the officer did not feel any need to administer a breath test. What
exactly constitutes reasonable suspicion, I wonder? Running over three
bicyclists would at the very least suggest "evidence of aberrant driving."
However, the report does say
that:
A roadside screening device was administered “out of an abundance for caution,” the report said, and registered “zero alcohol content in her blood system.”
That leads to the next question: What
constitutes a roadside screening? According to one source, an approved roadside
screening devices are "commonly known as roadside
testers or simply as an ASD. In the United States they are known as a
PBT,
which stands for preliminary breath test."
Not a blood test.
Testing for blood alcohol is normally done by a qualified
technician at a police station. According to information found online about the
Canadian protocols,
The proof of intoxication "requires a procedure of taking a breath
or blood sample and then extrapolating the estimated Blood Alcohol Content (BAC)
at the time of the offence."
That kind of analysis, one would assume simply for legal reasons, should be done by a medical professional.
That kind of analysis, one would assume simply for legal reasons, should be done by a medical professional.
Because of these doubts about the
circumstances, the families have launched their own $900,000 lawsuit, against
the the Simons and Simcoe County police. In that legal case, it is charged
that, contrary to the police report,
Sharlene Simon was speeding, under the influence or texting at the time of the accident, and that (husband) Jules Simon allowed her to drive the SUV when “he knew or ought to have known” she was in no condition to do so.
Given the fact tha the original police report and the subsequent review have supported
the original conclusions- that the driver was not responsible- it is difficult
to see how the case will go forward. After all, as the newspaper article
observes, none of the claims in either suit has been tested or proved.
Still the idea of suing the grieving
family of your crash victim for stealing away your "enjoyment of
life" will probably not make Ms. Simon a very popular local figure in the
Canadian town.
Perhaps she could be admired for
having more than enough chutzpah.
However, in the end, when it comes
down to enjoying life, with a whole
lifetime ahead of him, Brandon Majewski
had only seventeen years to enjoy his own.
