Wedding Woes

this is just ridiculous. article.

(CBS News) If you're texting while driving and you have an accident - it's your fault. But what about the person who was texting with you? That question is at the heart of a lawsuit in New Jersey.


David and Linda Kubert's lives were shattered in seconds -- about the time it takes to send a text message.


"This is a senseless crash that didn't have to happen," David said.


Accident photos tell the story. On September 21st, 2009, the Kuberts were riding their motorcycle about a mile from their New Jersey home. A Chevy truck swerved across the center line and hit them head-on. And they saw it coming.


"What I saw was a gentlemen in the truck steering with his elbows, with his head down. And I could tell he was text messaging," David said. "I looked down after the impact and my leg was torn off. I asked my wife is she was ok and she told me the bones of her leg were through her pants."


Both Kuberts lost a leg in the crash.


Kyle Best, then 18, pleaded guilty to three motor vehicle violations, including using a handheld device while driving.


Texting while walking banned in N.J. town

The Kuberts are now suing him as a distracted driver for civil damages -- and in a novel twist -- are also suing Shannon Colonna, his girlfriend, for sending him text messages while he was driving, and distracting him. Phone records show they exchanged 62 texts that day.


Skippy Weinstein, the Kuberts' lawyer, argues Colonna was "electronically present" in the crash. He says she should have known Best was driving home as they exchanged text messages leading up to the crash. She says she "may have known" he was driving.



the rest of the article is here.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57439808/suing-the-sender-distracted-driving-lawsuit-blames-both-texters-for-crash/

Re: this is just ridiculous. article.

  • That's just ludicrous. How was she to know he was still driving? What if she thought that he had pulled over or wasn't driving? Insanity.


  • They've probably done it b/c he didn't have much insurance to go after and they probably have sky high medical costs.  I'm not saying it's right, but if they can find money anywhere and make a legal argument to claim it, they should go after it.

    Although I found out it's far cheaper to have your leg amputated than it is to try and save it.  $250K to try and save, little less than $11K to lose it.
  • In Response to Re:this is just ridiculous. article.:[QUOTE]They've probably done it b/c he didn't have much insurance to go after and they probably have sky high medical costs. nbsp;I'm not saying it's right, but if they can find money anywhere and make a legal argument to claim it, they should go after it.Although I found out it's far cheaper to have your leg amputated than it is to try and save it. nbsp;250K to try and save, little less than 11K to lose it. Posted by VarunaTT[/QUOTE]
    I doubt you would feel this way if you were being sued for texting some one.

    If a court does not dismiss this as nonsense it will set a terrible legal president. How can someone be electronically present in a moving vehicle? What is next suing the passanger for talking to the driver?
    Suing howard stern because he was electronically in your car?
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_this-is-just-ridiculous-article?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:47Discussion:a10bd138-9f10-4fc4-840e-f76fc469e22bPost:8c583852-fc50-4569-ab3b-9ba5a020e183">Re:this is just ridiculous. article.</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re:this is just ridiculous. article.: I doubt you would feel this way if you were being sued for texting some one. If a court does not dismiss this as nonsense it will set a terrible legal president. How can someone be electronically present in a moving vehicle? What is next suing the passanger for talking to the driver? Suing howard stern because he was electronically in your car?
    Posted by themanlyman[/QUOTE]

    It is very true; a distracted driver is not a safe driver. There should be more emphasis on the driver to act more safe while driving. If that means taking away the radio and making sure the eyes are on the road and not on their phones, then so be it. Maybe if the driver sees that everyone is held liable, then they will act differently knowing they could get a good friend into trouble this way. It takes two to tango they say.
  • IlIlllIIlIlllI member
    First Comment
    If you got hos in different area codes then those hos need to be not texting you anyway.
  • DG1DG1 member
    5 Love Its Name Dropper First Anniversary First Comment


    Eh. Bartenders can be sued for overserving. I don't see how this is much different.  They'd have to prove that she knew he was driving, though, which will be tough unless that was actually in the texts somewhere.

    image
  • WzzWzz member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited May 2012
    how would she know he was driving if she didn't see him with her own eyes? that would also mean he has no free will of his own to not text and drive. really, it's a completely different situation than bartenders who have a financial interest in the person they are serving alcohol. how does she benefit if he drives and texts at the same time, unless she has an insurance policy out on him?

    i get calls and texts all the time while driving, and the people might even know i am driving but they call or text anyway because they know i'll get the message when i eventually stop.
  • Actually, manlyman, it's what I do for a living.  So yes, I do feel that like.  

    Like I said, I don't think it's particularly right, but if you had hundreds of thousands of dollars in hospital bills, copay, medicines, home health care, physical therapy, changes to the house/residence b/c of injury, loss of income, loss of vacaction and sick time, possibly problems with retirement, workman's comp, insurance caps, future health care costs that your insurance might reject and/or social security disability, you might not be so quick to judge two people (husband and wife, even worse situation b/c all of these costs are doubled and there's not a working/physically capable spouse at home to help the injured) who went after any money they could see that might hold their lives together.  These are all things victims of major car accidents have to deal with.
  • 6fsn6fsn member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I can see why they are going after the texter and I can see where there could be a legitimate case.

    Is nobody else going to comment on the lawyer named Kippy?!
  • In Response to Re:this is just ridiculous. article.:[QUOTE]Actually, manlyman, it's what I do for a living. nbsp;So yes, I do feel that like. nbsp;Like I said, I don't think it's particularly right, but if you had hundreds of thousands of dollars in hospital bills, copay, medicines, home health care, physical therapy, changes to the house/residence b/c of injury, loss of income, loss of vacaction and sick time, possibly problems with retirement, workman's comp, insurance caps, future health care costs that your insurance might reject and/or social security disability, you might not be so quick to judge two people husband and wife, even worse situation b/c all of these costs are doubled and there's not a working/physically capable spouse at home to help the injured who went after any money they could see that might hold their lives together. nbsp;These are all things victims of major car accidents have to deal with. Posted by VarunaTT[/QUOTE]
    I never judged anyone.
    I don't think it is fair to blame the girl, it is the guy that was driving that was driving that is at fault. Him and no one else. He could gave pulled over or waited until he got to a red light.
    His actions caused the accident.

    And I don't get what you mean by this is what I do? What send text messages? Or are you in law?
  • Further more; if they were driving in a car and not on a motorcycle they might still have their legs.
  • In Response to Re:this is just ridiculous. article.:[QUOTE]Further more; if they were driving in a car and not on a motorcycle they might still have their legs. Posted by themanlyman[/QUOTE]

    Are you implying that they are partly responsible for the loss of their legs because they were riding on a motorcycle and not in a car?!?
    image
  • VarunaTTVarunaTT member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its First Answer
    edited May 2012
    <div>You quoted my entire post, then you put:</div><div>
    </div>In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_this-is-just-ridiculous-article?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:47Discussion:a10bd138-9f10-4fc4-840e-f76fc469e22bPost:8c583852-fc50-4569-ab3b-9ba5a020e183">Re:this is just ridiculous. article.</a>:
    [QUOTE] I doubt you would feel this way if you were being sued for texting some one.  
    Posted by themanlyman[/QUOTE]<div>
    </div><div>When I said I do feel that way, that is what I was responding to.  I don't think you judged anyone.  I'm not sure if I agree that the girl has any liability, but I don't believe this has ever been tried before and I think it can be a legitimate question.  And if anyone faced with the reality those two probably are don't go after every dime they possibly could, they're doing themselves a disservice.</div><div>
    </div><div>Blaming them for riding a motorcyle?  This kid hit them head-on, crossing a median to do so.  This is 100% his fault.  And, they still could've lost limbs or other severe injuries in a head on collision in a vehicle. </div><div>
    </div><div>ETA: dime, not time.  Adurr.

    </div>
  • I think this is pretty interesting... and not at all as ridiculous that you all seem to think it is.

    It may set a really interesting precedence. Look at it this way; the couple in question supposedly exchanged over 50 texts that day, and I'm guessing one of those from him to her, said something along the lines of "on my way home now" or something like that. If that was my boyfriend, and I knew he had a car, which the girlfriend obviously did, why would you keep texting him if you knew he was driving home? Unless of course she thought he wouldn't be stupid enough to reply while he was driving. Either way, she even says "she 'may have known' he was driving". So why keep texting him? Especially when everyone knows how dangerous it is to text and drive. I think that the answer will be found in the text message transcripts. I mean if she was texting him every 30 seconds wanting an answer, then obviously she wanted him to reply right then, while he was driving, instead of waiting till he was parked safely or pulled over to reply to it.

    I think there's definitely some culpability there, and the question needs to be asked if the people texting the person driving can be held responsible in this type of situation. Think of all the things people could be getting away with if questions like these weren't asked, and things not set into motion to eventually become a legal persuasion or to set a presedent to be used in other cases, for the better.  

    and to manlyman, I seriously hope you're not implying what I think you are, that the couple that were hit have partial fault or could have somehow prevented it by not riding a motorcycle... you can be that thick.
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • I think the point is, if you send a person one text, saying "What are you up to?" or something like that, yeah, you have no idea if they're driving or not. And if they are, I'm pretty sure we all hope that the friend/SO/family member or whoever are smart enough not to answer or even pick up their phone to check the text message if they're driving. My point was, that if they were exchanging upwards of 50 texts that day, somewhere along the line, he probably told her he was on his way home, so she knew he was driving and kept texting him... I'm implying that she had knowledge that he was driving and she continued to keep contact with him... that may or may not be the case, but if it is, I think it's worth questioning if the plaintiff's have a valid case against her.
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  • WzzWzz member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    There is too much blame on other people for a person's actions, and this just sounds like either sharing blame or placing blame where it doesn't need to be.
  • And yes I judge people that ride motorcycles. They are a danger to themselves and every other person on the road.
  • 62 messages in a day really isnt that much.  If I am having a conversation with someone sometimes we will send that many in 2 hours.  I have a good friend that I text with a lot bc she will do it when she is holding her sleeping baby so it doesnt wake him.  I get texts when I am driving all the time.  I read them at red lights.  I dont think anyone but the person driving should be held responsible.  I would be interested to see how this plays out though.  
    :)AJ Pregnancy Ticker
  • This is why I have a texting and driving app that disables my calls and texts while I'm in the car!
    Lilypie Pregnancy tickers THw1PKynnBZ4fVUGLPN1j6BKQ8d6ARbX4jGydYMHvUQ,QezptEgimhvAOeg49lyOshWKDraDzrdno-lHdColcd8
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