These money-grubbing people are bananas!! How can they go ape over the idea of suing the State for someone else’s pet? Did the State own the pet? Where is personal responsibility in all this?
They are making a monkey out of the people of Connecticut if they think they have a case!
Absurd to sue the state for $150 million. The state is not responsible for the misfortunes of its inhabitants. As the story notes they are facing more than a half billion dollar deficit. This lady’s attorneys think she needs $150 million because the state didn’t stop a woman from giving a chimp xanax?
“Test results showed that Travis had the anti-anxiety drug Xanax in his system, but investigators don’t know whether the drug played a role.”
Anyone who has had the misfortune of consuming this substance can say it most likely played a strong role. It’s like saying that investigators don’t know whether steriods played a role in doubling the size of Barry Bond’s head. DUH.
Agreed. I think that they’ve decided to sue the state because their original suit is compromised by the ‘workers comp’ defense.
I can’t even imagine how devastating the injuries are to the victim and the family. But she had to have known about the dangers of interacting with an animal like this herself. If exotic pets are allowed in the state, I don’t see what more they could have done since the chimp had never hurt anyone before. Are they supposed to round up everyone’s Rottweilers and boa constrictors too, just because they are known to be dangerous?
They already recently raised fees on just about any type of license you can get in this state. Now we’ll likely end up paying for this ridculous lawsuit in the form of higher taxes/lost services all b/c some creepy rich woman wanted to live with/sleep with and who knows what else with, a stupid chimp. The owner deserves to lose every penny she has in this lawsuit…not the CT taxpayers. We pay enough taxes as it is. You had to have a chimp, well now you can deal w/ the consequences of your actions. Of course, they’ll weasel out of this somehow and get someone else to foot the bill.
Also….what made this womans injuries worth $150m. I understand it was a horrific tragedy but what made her worth so much? She wasn’t a professional athlete making $20m/yr.
well, was not the first article on this the person was in the house w/the pet? i don’t recall this being, ‘help my pet to come inside’. first of all, this should be a homeowners liability. if the state allowed the exotic pet, then the homeowner is responsible, not the state. sounds to me like she is going to milk $$$$ from an already deficit state! it’s going to go bankrupt! you know who’ll make money then – the lawyers!
This is a legal matter. The state has a very important duty to protect its citizens. I think that her law suit is in line (money is way to high but ask for the moon and make a settlement). The state knew about this dangerous animal,it has laws to take such animals and failed to do so.
Further every State should have laws againts having wild dangerous animals as pets, Snakes, Apes, lions and tigers are not PETS. All should be outlawed for private citizens to own.
The only previous “danger” from this animal was that it escaped. Don’t see much reporting about “dangerous” dogs, cats, birds, etc. that escaped, now do you? IF, and only IF, the wonderful (or should that be “dangerous”) attorney is successful, they should be awarded $1.00 collectively.
If my cat escapes, the worst he’ll do is pee in the neighbor’s flower bed and maybe induce that neighbor to rub his belly by seductively writhing around on the neighbor’s front porch, so he can then sink his cat fangs into that neighbor’s hand. (‘Not that I’m admitting to anything.) Kitty won’t blind anyone. Unless I try to put clothes on him. Or make him grind an organ. Or do any of the other humiliating things that people like to make monkeys do. (And yes, I know a chimp isn’t a monkey.)
Ok, seriously, this poor chimp had to be killed for this tragedy, which was totally NOT his fault! He belonged in a jungle where all primates belong, not for some stupid rich woman to have as a play toy! I completely agree that the State is not responsible, but they were negligent if they received notices for ages about having something done. Should they pay the suit, I don’t think so, but someone is going to make an offer to this poor woman, and she will be paid. I think the rich B should pay every cent, and be glad to do it too, considering she was drugging the poor thing to keep it calm! How stupid can people be??? Now this victim is not only blind, she has no hands, GOD help us!!
careful because you are one as well! does that mean we need to send you to the jungle?
many states/cities give permission for some folks to have exotic pets. many cities forbid certain pets. think of this as well, how many homeowners can’t get insurance because they have a rotweiller? now, there are certain folks that have spider monkeys to help them because of their disability.
how will this end up? probably, the state will not pay out if they go to court. but like a previous post, they might settle out of court. question would be if they do settle, where are they going to find the money? they already in debt!
There’s plenty of negligence, stupidity, and irresponsibility to go around here. The woman who harbored this wild beast is an idiot who ignored the realities of her poor decisions. She is a self-indulgent whack job who dis-regarded the safety of others so she could keep her damn monkey. Then, she calls her friend to help coral the beast putting her in jeapardy.
The “victim” should have declined the request to help and none of this would have happened. Call the police or animal control or shoot it yourself but don’t confront a large, aggitated animal.
The city and state chose to ignore this to avoid a confrontation of the owners “rights”. Plus, the beast was a local legend.
Net result: the victim had her eyes gouged out and is blind. She also had her face and hands TORN OFF. She will NEVER lead a normal life.
Now, the finger pointing and money hunting begins. Medical expenses alone will the astronomical. The victims’s attorney stands to hit a grand slam fee if he prevails. Everbody loses…..except the attorney.
This is akin to pit pull attacks. There’s the initial outrage but it soon dissipates and people forget…….until the next one. Were any lessons learned here? Here’s one: the rights and safety of society at large trump individual rights. That isn’t an erosion of freedom; it’s an intelligent society applying common sense.
The consitution and most of its amendments were drafted by comparatively un-educated and un-sophisticated people who didn’t face the realies of 2009. Some things require change. What are the liberals afraid of? We’ve already abdicated our national language. The country is being over-run by immigrants. And what are we focusing on? MONKEYS.
Amen, Elaine! I could not have said it better myself!
It is unfortunate that this happened, but I agree with you the victim chose to put herself in harm’s way and the owner of the monkey was extremely irresponsible in keeping a wild animal like this as a pet.
Agree completely. Poor judgment and stupidity are the root cause of most accidents. Then, our legal system has lost the ability to objectively assess liability so it becomes an issue of “someone must pay”. Deep pockets rule. Considering the severity of the injuries, the old over-used plaintiff adage that “it’s not about the money” rings true. No amount of money will give this woman her life back so why try?
If the pltfs lawyer gets as far as a jury, I don’t see the jury too excited to compensate this woman who ASSUMED THE RISK when they know their taxes will ultimately pay it. Not in 2010 anyway!!!!!!!!
These money-grubbing people are bananas!! How can they go ape over the idea of suing the State for someone else’s pet? Did the State own the pet? Where is personal responsibility in all this?
They are making a monkey out of the people of Connecticut if they think they have a case!
Absurd to sue the state for $150 million. The state is not responsible for the misfortunes of its inhabitants. As the story notes they are facing more than a half billion dollar deficit. This lady’s attorneys think she needs $150 million because the state didn’t stop a woman from giving a chimp xanax?
“Test results showed that Travis had the anti-anxiety drug Xanax in his system, but investigators don’t know whether the drug played a role.”
Anyone who has had the misfortune of consuming this substance can say it most likely played a strong role. It’s like saying that investigators don’t know whether steriods played a role in doubling the size of Barry Bond’s head. DUH.
Agreed. I think that they’ve decided to sue the state because their original suit is compromised by the ‘workers comp’ defense.
I can’t even imagine how devastating the injuries are to the victim and the family. But she had to have known about the dangers of interacting with an animal like this herself. If exotic pets are allowed in the state, I don’t see what more they could have done since the chimp had never hurt anyone before. Are they supposed to round up everyone’s Rottweilers and boa constrictors too, just because they are known to be dangerous?
They already recently raised fees on just about any type of license you can get in this state. Now we’ll likely end up paying for this ridculous lawsuit in the form of higher taxes/lost services all b/c some creepy rich woman wanted to live with/sleep with and who knows what else with, a stupid chimp. The owner deserves to lose every penny she has in this lawsuit…not the CT taxpayers. We pay enough taxes as it is. You had to have a chimp, well now you can deal w/ the consequences of your actions. Of course, they’ll weasel out of this somehow and get someone else to foot the bill.
Also….what made this womans injuries worth $150m. I understand it was a horrific tragedy but what made her worth so much? She wasn’t a professional athlete making $20m/yr.
well, was not the first article on this the person was in the house w/the pet? i don’t recall this being, ‘help my pet to come inside’. first of all, this should be a homeowners liability. if the state allowed the exotic pet, then the homeowner is responsible, not the state. sounds to me like she is going to milk $$$$ from an already deficit state! it’s going to go bankrupt! you know who’ll make money then – the lawyers!
This is a legal matter. The state has a very important duty to protect its citizens. I think that her law suit is in line (money is way to high but ask for the moon and make a settlement). The state knew about this dangerous animal,it has laws to take such animals and failed to do so.
Further every State should have laws againts having wild dangerous animals as pets, Snakes, Apes, lions and tigers are not PETS. All should be outlawed for private citizens to own.
The only previous “danger” from this animal was that it escaped. Don’t see much reporting about “dangerous” dogs, cats, birds, etc. that escaped, now do you? IF, and only IF, the wonderful (or should that be “dangerous”) attorney is successful, they should be awarded $1.00 collectively.
If my cat escapes, the worst he’ll do is pee in the neighbor’s flower bed and maybe induce that neighbor to rub his belly by seductively writhing around on the neighbor’s front porch, so he can then sink his cat fangs into that neighbor’s hand. (‘Not that I’m admitting to anything.) Kitty won’t blind anyone. Unless I try to put clothes on him. Or make him grind an organ. Or do any of the other humiliating things that people like to make monkeys do. (And yes, I know a chimp isn’t a monkey.)
Ok, seriously, this poor chimp had to be killed for this tragedy, which was totally NOT his fault! He belonged in a jungle where all primates belong, not for some stupid rich woman to have as a play toy! I completely agree that the State is not responsible, but they were negligent if they received notices for ages about having something done. Should they pay the suit, I don’t think so, but someone is going to make an offer to this poor woman, and she will be paid. I think the rich B should pay every cent, and be glad to do it too, considering she was drugging the poor thing to keep it calm! How stupid can people be??? Now this victim is not only blind, she has no hands, GOD help us!!
careful because you are one as well! does that mean we need to send you to the jungle?
many states/cities give permission for some folks to have exotic pets. many cities forbid certain pets. think of this as well, how many homeowners can’t get insurance because they have a rotweiller? now, there are certain folks that have spider monkeys to help them because of their disability.
how will this end up? probably, the state will not pay out if they go to court. but like a previous post, they might settle out of court. question would be if they do settle, where are they going to find the money? they already in debt!
There’s plenty of negligence, stupidity, and irresponsibility to go around here. The woman who harbored this wild beast is an idiot who ignored the realities of her poor decisions. She is a self-indulgent whack job who dis-regarded the safety of others so she could keep her damn monkey. Then, she calls her friend to help coral the beast putting her in jeapardy.
The “victim” should have declined the request to help and none of this would have happened. Call the police or animal control or shoot it yourself but don’t confront a large, aggitated animal.
The city and state chose to ignore this to avoid a confrontation of the owners “rights”. Plus, the beast was a local legend.
Net result: the victim had her eyes gouged out and is blind. She also had her face and hands TORN OFF. She will NEVER lead a normal life.
Now, the finger pointing and money hunting begins. Medical expenses alone will the astronomical. The victims’s attorney stands to hit a grand slam fee if he prevails. Everbody loses…..except the attorney.
This is akin to pit pull attacks. There’s the initial outrage but it soon dissipates and people forget…….until the next one. Were any lessons learned here? Here’s one: the rights and safety of society at large trump individual rights. That isn’t an erosion of freedom; it’s an intelligent society applying common sense.
The consitution and most of its amendments were drafted by comparatively un-educated and un-sophisticated people who didn’t face the realies of 2009. Some things require change. What are the liberals afraid of? We’ve already abdicated our national language. The country is being over-run by immigrants. And what are we focusing on? MONKEYS.
Amen, Elaine! I could not have said it better myself!
It is unfortunate that this happened, but I agree with you the victim chose to put herself in harm’s way and the owner of the monkey was extremely irresponsible in keeping a wild animal like this as a pet.
Agree completely. Poor judgment and stupidity are the root cause of most accidents. Then, our legal system has lost the ability to objectively assess liability so it becomes an issue of “someone must pay”. Deep pockets rule. Considering the severity of the injuries, the old over-used plaintiff adage that “it’s not about the money” rings true. No amount of money will give this woman her life back so why try?
agreed! but as always, GREED is in the mix.
Matt I am still LMAO! The tie-in with Barry’s head is priceless.
If this lady wins the suit against the state someone needs to rip her a new one. Where’s Travis when you need him?!
If the pltfs lawyer gets as far as a jury, I don’t see the jury too excited to compensate this woman who ASSUMED THE RISK when they know their taxes will ultimately pay it. Not in 2010 anyway!!!!!!!!
Isn’t this home of Christopher Dodd????