Town being sued for NOT having a Dive Rescue team

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I'm no expert on governance and funding in US towns and cities but I don't think it takes an expert to figure out that should the plaintiff win in this case, the cost could be hefty for a small town and the money has to come from somewhere.

Will there be a contingency fund for these sorts of things? Or will it be a dire scenario where funding cuts have to be made to town services in the future (maybe to the existing fire/ambulance rescue?). Perhaps somebody with knowledge of these things can enlighten us here.
 
I think were all being to quick to assume that it was an accident...actually, it sounds like a pretty creative way to drown your mother-in-law.
 
JimJam:
I think were all being to quick to assume that it was an accident...actually, it sounds like a pretty creative way to drown your mother-in-law.
Sort of like this?

Return To Sender

A police officer attempts to stop a car for speeding and the guy gradually increases his speed until he's topping 100 mph. He eventually realizes he can't escape and finally pulls over.
The cop approaches the car and says, "It's been a long day and my tour is almost over, so if you can give me a good excuse for your behavior, I'll let you go."
The guy thinks for a few seconds and then says, "My wife ran away with a cop about a week ago. I thought you might be that officer trying to give her back!"
:D

Gary D.
 
Louie:
I'm no expert on governance and funding in US towns and cities but I don't think it takes an expert to figure out that should the plaintiff win in this case, the cost could be hefty for a small town and the money has to come from somewhere.

Will there be a contingency fund for these sorts of things? Or will it be a dire scenario where funding cuts have to be made to town services in the future (maybe to the existing fire/ambulance rescue?). Perhaps somebody with knowledge of these things can enlighten us here.

I do not think that the plaintiff should win.

Holding a town liable for negligence for not maintaining a scuba rescue team sounds as absurd to me as it sounds to everyone else responding in this thread. I also do not see how a plaintiff could prove that even if there had been a scuba rescue team maintained by the town, the rescue team would have probably responded and rescued the victim quicker, and quicker enough to have made a difference.

But in answer to your question, the town's liability insurance carrier pays the tab.

The newspaper article quoted at the beginning of this thread indicated that an insurance company would be defending individuals named in the lawsuit, which is some level of confirmation that insurance coverage does indeed exist.

I looked on-line at the judicial branch website in Connecticut and according to the website, there has not yet been any lawyer appearing in the case on the defense side, and there have been no filings with the court other than the initial Complaint: http://www.jud2.state.ct.us/civil_inquiry/DispDetail.asp?DocNum=KNL-CV-05-4004061-S.

I'll have to keep track of this.

Michael
 
Cases like this exist in America because insurance companies decide it's cheaper to "settle" than to fight. Lawyers know this ... and so they file the suits.

Until the insurance companies decide to take a longer view, and fight these cases consistently, opportunistic lawyers will continue going for the easy money ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)
 
Well dealing with this junk is the price we must pay for the civil rights we enjoy, this lawsuit will NOT be won, but there is a good chance that shut up money will be offered because its often cheeper to pay someone off and bite your tung than to seek the moral victory at to great a cost. If this was restricted our rights would be limited as well, so there is a down side to regulation.

Don't think that this is going to be easy for the lawyer, its not its going to require a sharp person to pull this off.

THIS GOES TO SHOW YOU " YOU ARE ALWAYS BETTER OFF WITH NO WITNESSES "

I still say we would be better off if she was DEAD

CHEERS
 
NWGratefulDiver:
Cases like this exist in America because insurance companies decide it's cheaper to "settle" than to fight. Lawyers know this ... and so they file the suits.

Until the insurance companies decide to take a longer view, and fight these cases consistently, opportunistic lawyers will continue going for the easy money ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Considering that the law firms which represent insurance companies bill by the hour, it is unlikely that they will want to avoid settling the case. I'm sure they would be thrilled. The insurance company defedant attorneys will be happy to rack up the billable hours which will soon exceed the cost of settlement. Even if they win, the cost of settling in these cases is often cheaper than $200-$500 dollar hours.

You have to remember that the suits are brought in local courts and the insurance companies have to hire local counsel to represent them in defending these kind of cases.
 
:mad:

Suggestion: Just put her back in the water.

Ya, ya, I know, she's pretty close to being a vegetable and probably has no idea this is going on.

I can see it now; if the town is forced into having to equip a dive team etc, they're going to have to raise taxes to pay for it. If not there's still attorney's fees etc. The raising of taxes might be enough to make everyone leave a smaller town (don't know the size of this one). So, how does it feel to know you were pretty much single-handedly responsible for the death of a town?

Or maybe the town could've prevented the whole thing by just barricading off the entire waterfront area as "unsafe". Then you wouldn't have any of the populace getting within 100' of the scenic waterfront, including certain people who never figured out the difference between a brake and an accelerator.

Makes me sick. :puke:
 
FreeFloat:
:mad:

Suggestion: Just put her back in the water.

Ya, ya, I know, she's pretty close to being a vegetable and probably has no idea this is going on.

I can see it now; if the town is forced into having to equip a dive team etc, they're going to have to raise taxes to pay for it. If not there's still attorney's fees etc. The raising of taxes might be enough to make everyone leave a smaller town (don't know the size of this one). So, how does it feel to know you were pretty much single-handedly responsible for the death of a town?

Or maybe the town could've prevented the whole thing by just barricading off the entire waterfront area as "unsafe". Then you wouldn't have any of the populace getting within 100' of the scenic waterfront, including certain people who never figured out the difference between a brake and an accelerator.

Makes me sick. :puke:

DON'T SUGGEST THIS TO ANYONE!!

I recall hearing about a park in Japan where authorities were forced into cementing over a pond for exactly these sorts of reasons.

I know it's sad but we always have to think of the lowest common denominator.
 
Suggestion: Just put her back in the water.

Ya, ya, I know, she's pretty close to being a vegetable and probably has no idea this is going on.

I can see it now; if the town is forced into having to equip a dive team etc, they're going to have to raise taxes to pay for it. If not there's still attorney's fees etc. The raising of taxes might be enough to make everyone leave a smaller town (don't know the size of this one). So, how does it feel to know you were pretty much single-handedly responsible for the death of a town?

Or maybe the town could've prevented the whole thing by just barricading off the entire waterfront area as "unsafe". Then you wouldn't have any of the populace getting within 100' of the scenic waterfront, including certain people who never figured out the difference between a brake and an accelerator.

Makes me sick. :puke:



LOL, thats funny, yes today everyone is paying for everyone else, sooner or later this has to stop
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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