I love this part: "The wheels of the motor vehicle Plaintiff was operating suddenly dropped off into a large unmaintained area on the shoulder of Alljoy Road,..."

Those damned wheels! They're eeee-vil!

I dream of being a magistrate or judge in this case: "Plaintiff and counsel will approach the bench." {Two quick whacks with the gavel.} "Bailiff, please clear this court of this trash. Next case!"

What is it with alcohol in the USA?

We watched a nice program about New Years's celebrations in various cities. In essentially every city in the world, people toasted with champagne - or perhaps wine, or beer, or water or nothing at all, depending on their personal preference. For the celebration in New York, the presenter noted that "alcohol was forbidden".

Friends of ours recently visited the US. At the end of a long day in an amusement park (Sea World, I think), the parents wanted to relax with a beer. So the wife stayed with the kids, and the hubby went off to buy them two beers. The beer stand informed him that the law forbade them from selling more than one beer per person. He had to buy a beer, walk back to his wife, give it to her, and stand in line again to get his own beer.

Why is the USA so weird about alcohol?

When the press writes about litigation they'll present the claims as those of the plaintiff, though they are actually defined by their attorney. So while it may seem absurd to sue the DOT and such, it's not appropriate to blame the girl for this. She's probably not even familiar with how you construct a suit of this sort. Also the article doesn't describe her current mental capacity. If the accident was sufficient to cause paralysis, there may be accompanying brain damage. Even if there's not, paralysis often takes a heavy psychological toll.

@JJ: If the legal system were not set up as a lottery, then any competent attorney would simply tell her that she has no chance. As it is, some ambulance-chaser is going to take a chance that one can blackmail some deep-pocketed organization into a lucrative settlement.

This is a sad accident, but "shit happens". This is why one has insurance. Of course, most 20-year-olds figure they are immortal, and few bother...

@bradley13: The USA is still very Protestant, indeed Puritan. Anything enjoyable must be prohibited, or at least regulated.

I don't take these things too seriously. Anyone can file suit for anything. Wake me up if she wins.

Including the DOT on the list is a nice touch by her lawyer though. If discovery shows they knew there was a problem with the shoulder there (which I have no doubt it will, someone will have written an ass-covering email somewhere) she might even have a chance. The "bar served me drinks when I was intoxicated" claim is getting a bit hackneyed these days...

Of course, having driven down numerous poorly maintained roads, in dodgy cars, often while a bit tipsy, I have no sympathy for her at all.

Would she have sued the bar if she was caught for a DUI?

BTW Jock's is in Bluffton, SC. From reading the review the bar is a whole in the wall and the waitresses imbibe while working.

Doing a google map from the bar to the far end of Alljoy Rd is about 6.1 miles. Alljoy has a state route assigned to it but appears to be an access road for some businesses and river (sound) front properties.

If she was screwed up enough to have a severe accident within six miles of the bar -- she had absolutely no self regulation.

As far the bar serving her underage -- was she alone? Was she a regular? Was she hot? Had she come in with other people before and been served? Did she have a fake ID just in case?

I'd laugh her ass out of court.

So, was she an adult, or was she a child? The ambiguity on this is maddening. There should be a single age for adulthood.

The outcome isn't necessarily binary. I could see a large judgement reduced by 90% because most of the fault is her own.

I don't know if we are talking about a place that pays off the liquor inspectors and caters to under age drinkers, or a reputable place that was fooled by a good fake ID. I see Jim R's comment, so it looks like the former, but I wasn't there.

Like Random Guy said, anyone can file for anything. I have to wonder what is going on in law schools and bar associations that lets lawyers listen to these people and agree to file the suit? Don't they realize how utterly insane many of these cases are?

There have always been stupid people doing stupid things and blaming others. We just now have lawyers that cater to them and validate their stupidity.

Like Random Guy said, anyone can file for anything. I have to wonder what is going on in law schools and bar associations that lets lawyers listen to these people and agree to file the suit? Don't they realize how utterly insane many of these cases are?

There have always been stupid people doing stupid things and blaming others. We just now have lawyers that cater to them and validate their stupidity.

I'd think that lawyers would argue that they have a responsibility to represent their client, regardless of how they feel about the merits of the case. (Cynics would probably spell it re$pon$ibility.)

By the way, after she wins a multimillion dollar judgment, you, the taxpayer, are going to pay for all her future medical care, including live in care givers, through Medicaid.

"Like Random Guy said, anyone can file for anything. I have to wonder what is going on in law schools and bar associations that lets lawyers listen to these people and agree to file the suit? Don't they realize how utterly insane many of these cases are? "

On the contrary, they're very lucrative. After they threaten to discover the hell out of the defendant, the defendant's insurance company will conclude it's cheaper to settle than to fight. The settlement will be in the low six figures, and the lawyer will get 40% for a few hours' work.

Until judges start throwing out this ridiculous cases and fining or disbarring the idiot lawyers who bring them there in the first place, this will continue to happen.

Personal responsibility: you're doing it wrong.

I would not only throw this case into the trash can, but I would then stuff this woman into the trash can as well.