The song that never ends

Jax Beach 1May13

Those of you who read regularly know that T1 is being sued due to an auto accident he had almost two years ago (Oct '11).    In that time the driver of the other car settled with our insurance company but the passenger has not.  

For those new to the story, T1 ran a stop sign in Jacksonville.   A small car coming  through the intersection hit him hard enough to drag his '95 Park Avenue across the intersection and into a ditch (his car was totalled).   T1 did not see the stop sign (no excuse!) which was partially (but not totally) obscured by hanging branches.  

There is no doubt in my mind that T1 caused the accident or that the other driver was speeding.   Arguably, the passenger of the other car was the only one involved who was blameless.   However, despite injuries whose only medical treatment was four months of massage therapy, she is holding out for an obscene amount of money.

A couple of weeks after T1's accident I was rear ended while stopped at a red light.   "I am so sorry!  I did not expect you to stop at the red", these were the first words I heard from the young man who hit me.    I was dazed and my head hurt when the EMT's arrived.   I think the kid was more scared than I was when they strapped me to a back board and took me to the hospital (nothing broken just bruises and a concussion).   Within a couple of days, his insurance company contacted me and offered me money not to sue (over simplification but accurate).   My first question was "You want to give me money not to do something I was not going to do anyway?".   My brother says that I have shut up and taken the money.   You know what?   That is just not me.   Yes, we are having financial problems, BUT, Hubby has a good job, our problems are of our own making (whose aren't?), and we are blessed with adequate health insurance.   It took literally months for the nice insurance man to get me to take a minimal amount of money (the guys was really persistent).   I am not a saint.   If my injuries had been worse or my recovery longer, I would have happily fought for what I deserved.   But they were not (thank heavens) and it is not in me to be unnecessarily litigious.   As a mom, and as someone who believes in doing the right thing just because it is the right thing, I am disgusted with this woman's demands.

We went to mediation today.   Nothing was settled.   I was so hoping that this would be the end.   Now it looks like we may go to court in October.

P.S.  Since the only photos I could have taken today would have been of our lawyer, insurance adjuster, T1 and myself sitting at a conference table drinking bottled water and munching on chips, I leave you with another shot taken on the beach last week.   It's pretty where we live.

Knitters are an odd lot

Well, we survived the deposition.   T1's that is.   We got so lost in downtown Jax (Dear heaven, can I go back to NYC now?) that we were too late to observe the plaintiff's.   Then it turned out that the address in the letter was wrong.    The really frustrating piece is that the correct location is in one of the few places in town that we know how to get to (grrr).   So, the deposition is over and, according to our attorney, T1 did very well (I knew he would).    Next up is mediation, scheduled for May.   The saga continues.

Last night, firmly entrenched in freak out mode, I did what any self-respecting knitter would do.   I obsessed over focused on what knitting to bring.   While Mr.Google had much to say on the related topics of "What should I wear to my deposition?" (business casual), and "What should I say at my deposition?" (The absolute truth without elaboration), nothing came up when asked "What should I knit at my son's deposition?" (go figure).   With no guidance, and me stressing to the max, I had to make this important decision all on my own.

Should I bring the ever-nearing completion Simple Comforts Wrap?   No, not only would it require a tote bag sized handbag, but with only five inches left to go, I would likely end up, at some point, with nothing to knit (horrors!).   The fingering weight Simple Joys Shawl?   No, it would require a book on tape (or TV, or a movie, or conversation) to keep me engaged and Mr. Google suggests not bringing electronics or chatting anyone up.   Finally I decided on a three-fold strategy of socks, needlepoint and (gasp!) a "real" book.  

In the end, I had very little time on my own.   I worked on Hubby's sock at lunch and my needlepoint while T1 was being deposed.   I never even took the book out of my bag (which means I carried around the heaviest thing in my bag, all day, for nothing.).   I really do love my Kindle.

The Scales of Justice

A happier day :-)

I interrupt this blog to bring you the latest bit of drama from Chez Serenity.   Long time readers may (or may not) remember that our oldest was in a car accident a couple of years ago.   The circumstances were thus:   he ran a stop sign while leaving an inner city school where (as an English education major) he was supposed to be observing a class.    A compact car driving through the intersection hit him hard enough to drag his full sized 1995 Buick Park Avenue across the intersection and over a couple of street signs.  His car was a total loss.  I don't think we know what the final state of the other driver's.   There is no question that the other driver had to have been speeding when she hit him.  Regardless, she would not have hit him if he had seen had seen, and stopped at, the stop sign.

We were told on that very day, that he could expect to be sued and sued he has been.   The driver and passenger sued.   The driver settled.   The passenger is still plugging away.    She is not even claiming any serious injuries but still she has turned down every offer our insurance carrier has made.   Tomorrow we head into Jax for the depositions.   He is nervous.   I am nervous.    I wish this whole thing would just go away.