Doctor sues girl, 11, over inline-skating collision UPDATE!

[waggy]

Originally posted by: brxndxn
As far as I'm concerned, that doctor can go fvck himself. The kid's parents should be suing the doctor if anything. Why does he have a right to her position in space more than she has a right to it?

That's essentially what he's arguing..

yeap.

also he was comeing up behind her. he should be able to pass her without yelling or screaming.

doing so he scared her and caused the accident.

i suspect the girl will win in the lawsuit.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Adult sees child playing in street (inling, bicycling, etc). REGARDLESS ... you BETTER BE PREPARED T OSTOP. Honestly .. the doctor got what he deserved and ignorance is no excuse.

 

[KK]

This is where I wish the fvcker got ran over by a damn bus than by a 11 year old.

 

[Krazy4Real]

That doctor is an idiot. I hope he loses in court.

 

[AMCRambler]

Originally posted by: waggy
http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dl...?AID=/20070301/COMMUNITIES11/703010351

bicycling doctor has sued his then-11-year-old inline-skating neighbor for pain and suffering after they collided on their Chester Township street in 2003.

Their trial is under way in Morristown this week.

Lauren Ellis was inline-skating down her street on a fall afternoon when she collided with an adult neighbor, a prominent fertility doctor, who was bicycling.

Dr. Alexander Dlugi, now 54, sued the child, claiming she was negligent and caused the collision by reacting unreasonably when he approached her from behind on Sugar Maple Row, shouted "watch out" and rang his bicycle bell.

This week, the seven-member jury in the civil trial pitting the endocrinologist against Ellis, now a 15-year-old freshman at West Morris-Mendham High School, heard testimony from the teenager and Dlugi, and opinions from an accident-reconstruction specialist.

The accident expert said on Wednesday Dlugi could have avoided the collision by simply riding around the skater.

Doctor's case

Dlugi was an owner of the Bedminster-based Center for Reproductive Endocrinology at the time of the accident, and remains a fertility specialist and part-owner of the center. He broke his collarbone when he tumbled from his bike. His attorney, Thomas Jardim, said the doctor's injury did not heal properly or quickly, so he underwent surgery in February 2004, and missed a significant amount of work and income.

The doctor has difficulty sleeping well, has lost mobility in his right shoulder and enjoyment of sports he used to excel at, including biking, swimming and tennis, Jardim said.

Ellis was bruised when the collision knocked her to the ground, but her parents, Jon and Janet Ellis, did not file a counter-suit.

"It may seem like an odd thing," Jardim said, of the lawsuit against the child. "But people are responsible for their actions." He said the law recognizes that minors over the age of 7 are presumed responsible for their actions, as adults are.

A defense witness

For Wednesday's testimony from John Desch, the president of an accident-reconstruction firm based in Riverdale, diagrams, photographs, an easel and ruler were used for an analysis of the encounter between the exercising neighbors on Oct. 19, 2003. Desch, who was called as a witness by Ellis' attorney, Joe Accardi, concluded that the girl did not do anything wrong, under the circumstances.

The girl was skating, generally on the right side of Sugar Maple Row, and Dlugi had passed her once on his first bicycle loop around the neighborhood. Ellis stopped skating and stepped to the curb when she noticed two approaching vehicles. She stepped back into the road -- with Dlugi a distance behind her on his bicycle -- and resumed skating. Then Dlugi decided to overtake and pass the girl on the road, Desch said.

Wrong move to left

Dlugi, who was traveling at no more than 8 mph, rang his bell and called out as he neared her. Hearing the noises, the girl turned around to see Dlugi waving at her and drawing near, and she tried to get out of his way but actually moved into his path and they collided, Desch explained.

"She's startled by the presence of the bicyclist. She takes evasive action to avoid an impending collision and moved further to the left," Desch said. "I don't find any fault with her actions at all."

He opined further that Dlugi should have fully braked, or maintained better control of his bicycle, and could have avoided the entanglement with the skater by riding around her in silence.

Jardim, the doctor's lawyer, sought to discredit Desch's opinions by noting he never investigated a collision between a bicyclist and a skater, and misidentified on his diagram the actual point of their crash. But Desch stuck fast to his opinion that the girl, ahead of the doctor on the same side of the road, had more rights than Dlugi did to her position on the street.

The trial before Superior Court Judge W. Hunt Dumont resumes today with testimony from medical doctors. Closing arguments are set for Monday.




now who is at fault? personally i think the doctor is. he was comeing up from behind the girl and startled her and she reacted. he should have taken care when passing her. now the scumbag is just trying to make a buck.

Apparently he doesn't excel at biking if he can't avoid an 11 year old on inline skates. Idiot. He needs to DIAF.

 

[gamepad]

He's not gonna win...

 

[Sentinel]

Good thing, that will teach her. Flipping 11 year olds should be insured to ride those things.

Just kidding.

 

[BeauJangles]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: brxndxn
As far as I'm concerned, that doctor can go fvck himself. The kid's parents should be suing the doctor if anything. Why does he have a right to her position in space more than she has a right to it?

That's essentially what he's arguing..

yeap.

also he was comeing up behind her. he should be able to pass her without yelling or screaming.

doing so he scared her and caused the accident.

i suspect the girl will win in the lawsuit.

Isn't it commonly accepted that aperson has to avoid the people ahead of them?

This doctor is really an asshat.

 

[Bootprint]

Originally posted by: TheCanuck

Dr. Alexander Dlugi, ... shouted "watch out" and rang his bicycle bell.

What grown man has a bell on his bike these days!?!?! This guy has some serious Mommy issues. He should be ordered to pay any lawyer fees to the girl + a few grand for wasting her time!

The law probably says that he has to have the bell.

 

[zylander]

When I first started reading I was assuming they colided head on, and even then I thougth the law suit was BS. When I found out he was behind her and couldnt move around and she ended up accidently moving infront of him, absolutely amazing.

 

[jjones]

I don't understand why the girl's parents aren't countersuing that POS for running her over.

 

[feralkid]

Originally posted by: TheCanuck

Dr. Alexander Dlugi, ... shouted "watch out" and rang his bicycle bell.

What grown man has a bell on his bike these days!?!?! This guy has some serious Mommy issues. He should be ordered to pay any lawyer fees to the girl + a few grand for wasting her time!

Yes, possession of a bell clearly establishes guilt beyond the shadow of a doubt.


:roll:

 

[moshquerade]

she should counter sue :roll:

 

[waggy]

A Morris County jury deliberated about 15 minutes this afternoon before finding that an 11-year-old girl did not cause a fertility doctor to crash his bicycle in their Chester Township neighborhood in October 2003.

The doctor, Alexander Dlugi, was not in the Morris County courtroom when the jury of four men and three women announced a verdict that brought a smile to Lauren Ellis' face.

"I'm relieved it's over,'' said Ellis, who missed five days of her ninth grade classes for the trial.

One of the jurors, Leo Redmond 3d of Rockaway, said they believed that Ellis, now 15, was startled when Dlugi rode up behind her, rang his bicycle bell and yelled "Watch out!'' Ellis, who was on rollerblades, turned to her left and into the path of Dlugi.

"We all felt the story Lauren gave was right'' and that she acted appropriately, Redmond said.

Dlugi, who suffered a broken collarbone, said in his lawsuit that his fertility treatment practice lost about $323,000 due to the accident, of which he was due half. He also wanted money for pain and suffering.




UPDATE

 

[TheCanuck]

Originally posted by: feralkid

Originally posted by: TheCanuck

Dr. Alexander Dlugi, ... shouted "watch out" and rang his bicycle bell.

What grown man has a bell on his bike these days!?!?! This guy has some serious Mommy issues. He should be ordered to pay any lawyer fees to the girl + a few grand for wasting her time!

Yes, possession of a bell clearly establishes guilt beyond the shadow of a doubt.


:roll:

Never said that having a bell meant you're guilty...just that any grown man that has a bell on his bike is completely and utterly ghey! Anyone that thinks they can get away with suing an 11 year old for something like this needs some sense smacked into them.

 

[gsellis]

In the SCCA, it is the responsibility of the overtaking 'driver' to make a safe pass. He failed to do so. His appeal is not well founded. His fee will be retained. He will have his license suspended for 3 races and will have to work at a roller rink for 3 weekends.

 

[AgentJean]

See what needs to be done is this guy needs to have his name published that he sues children. I'm sure a lot of people would love going to his clinic knowing he hates children.

Yeah, he's going to loose alot more than $300k.

 

[Brutuskend]

HHAHA

What a dumb ass.

I'm SO glad he lost.

 

[HomeAppraiser]

Originally posted by: waggy
http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dl...?AID=/20070301/COMMUNITIES11/703010351
Jardim, the doctor's lawyer, sought to discredit Desch's opinions by noting he never investigated a collision between a bicyclist and a skater, and misidentified on his diagram the actual point of their crash. But Desch stuck fast to his opinion that the girl, ahead of the doctor on the same side of the road, had more rights than Dlugi did to her position on the street.

If you look at the file you can see the head move back and to the left. Back... and to the left.

 

[bignateyk]

hahaha... 15 minutes? Its about time that a stupid ass lawsuit gets shut down without any thought required... what an idiot...

 

[crt1530]

They should have made the doctor pay her lawyer's fees.

 

[DrPizza]

Now, can she counter-sue?

 

[NoShangriLa]

Originally posted by: TheCanuck

Dr. Alexander Dlugi, ... shouted "watch out" and rang his bicycle bell.

What grown man has a bell on his bike these days!?!?! This guy has some serious Mommy issues. He should be ordered to pay any lawyer fees to the girl + a few grand for wasting her time!

He should also pay for the physical and mental damage that he inflict upon the girl, and should pay for wasting the judge time. He should also be sent to cycling school to learn defensive riding. He is a tard for not be able to navigate around a pedestrian. The girl is at fault for skating on the street and the tard is at fault for not yield to traffics till it is safe to pass.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Who sues an 11-year-old...for something like this no-less!?

I hope people get the word out on what a douche this guy is. That $150K he's "due" is nothing compared to the losses if the clinic partners can his ass because the clientelle won't see him.

 

[wetcat007]

It's not the girls fault he doesn't know how to use a bike, how the hell fast was he going, I can stop very quickly on a bike don't know how I'd ever mange to collide with someone in this manner unless I was simply refusing to slow down.