[...] Thanks to the “genius” of  Judge Paul Wooten of State Supreme Court in Manhattan you AND YOUR CHILD can be sued according  to this Bullshit Lawsuit. [...]

I think the judge probably understands that letting them sue the child doesn’t mean they will win the lawsuit.

Or…we could stop suing everybody over really stupid things. What could possibly be gained from suing over this? Children will have fewer places to play?

Bec- a broken hip for an 87 year is no walk in the park. While the child should not be held liable, the parents should indeed. Pedestrians have a right to safely navigate sidewalks without harm. But if parents can’t follow the kid (like I did with all three) until they are sure the kid won’t plow into people. they should stick to backyards, driveways and empty parking lots.
Paula what is to be gained? Well some parents are so self-absorbed, ignorant and feel so entitled that ONLY hitting them in the wallet wises them up to their own responsibilities. Sad, but true.

My bad- I see the correction in the later article.

However, bicyclists must yield to the pedestrians.
Thing is, if parents don’t act responsibly and teach their older children to do so, eventually bikes will be banned on sidewalks altogether- just because a few knuckleheads have no courtesy or decency. No elderly person should have to worry that they will get ran over and end up in a nursing home- or dead. And I certainly wouldn’t want that guilt on me and my child either.

Agreed – which is why if the parents either didn’t teach their kids to slow down and watch out for pedestrians, or weren’t close enough to stop them while they were going so fast, or both, then they’re definitely in the wrong. On the other hand, I was once hit by a little kid on a bicycle who swerved into me as I was walking by. He wasn’t going too fast, and his dad was right there with him, but sometimes kids move and you can’t control everything. Dad was very apologetic. And I was very understanding, because I knew he couldn’t do anything fast enough to stop it. I have no idea what happened in this case. Were they moving a bit too fast? Did the elderly woman step out in front of them? (because I’ve had that happen to me too, and it was quicker than I thought an elderly woman could move. She was spry!) Unfortunately, I fear it was less “freak accident” and more that the moms weren’t paying enough attention, let the kids get away from them, and bicycle faster than they should have.

the fad: When parents see other parents pay for being negligent in keeping their child form harming other people, they will think. Unfortunately they only thing some people respect is a loss of money- not life or limb.

What baffles me in this case is that the elderly woman died three months later of unrelated causes. So, sure it’s possible (even likely) that the accident hastened her death, but there’s no clear connection. Also, if the parents are to blame for poor supervisions and guidance, then sue them, not the kids.

Maybe one of Claire Menagh’s children is a lawyer, or the spouse of one? Because the only reason to sue little children is to generate legal fees.

Ugh! This story makes me crazy.

Goddess, are you saying that we should move to the suburbs to raise our kids since they shouldn’t be playing on the sidewalk?! Honestly, we don’t have enough information in this case to know whether the parents didn’t do a good job here. We all take risks being out in public — at 87, she might have been injured getting hit by a shopping cart. Who knows? I’m sickened by our litigious society where we are so eager to assign blame. Accidents happen. That’s why they call them accidents.

Kids ride on the sidewalk in Manhattan (and Brooklyn, for that matter) and they have for generations. There is no evidence that these parents were not paying attention to their kids. You may not think that bikes belong on sidewalks, but they are legal to ride on the sidewalk (as long as you’re under the age of 12 or maybe 13). How are the kids supposed to get their bikes to the park anyway (other than riding them on the sidewalk)? Clearly, you’ve never lived with kids in a city.

Paula- I’m saying no one should meance pedestrians on sidewalks. I was offered the excuse that Manhattan does not have driveways, yards or parking lots to trian kids. I’m saying it’s all about choices. I am really appalled that so many here take so lightly such a grievous injury to an elderly person. So yes, if you can’t control your little cyclists and keep them from plowing into people- keep them off of the sidewalks on bikes, by all means. If bike-riding is that important, move to where you think you can handle it safely. You’re not entitled to risk someone’s health and limb. And if it were your 14 year old joy-0ridinig in your car hitting anyone an causing injuries you can betcher ya yas you would be held legally and financially responsible for that harm. Why would this be ANY DIFFERENT AT ALL? Child/vehicle/liability to parents.
And I myself, am sickened by the sense of entitlement so many parents think they have when it comes to their children. Makes me ashamed to count myself as one on days like this.
And Paula- they may be legal to ride on sidewalks (for now- til indulgent parents get them banned altogether)- but even now, bikes MUST yield right-o-way to the pedestrians.

I don’t think anyone here is making light of this woman’s injuuries. I just don’t think it’s fair to sue a 4-year-old. Sure, sue the parents, but not the 4-year-old.
And, of course, bikes must yield to pedestrians, goddess. I’m not suggesting otherwise!

Paula, we’re city people, and yet we still manage to be considerate of others. It may be legal for kids to ride bikes on the sidewalk, but that doesn’t mean it’s OK. We lived in Manhattan and now urban Chicago with kids, and until my kids were fully capable of sharing the sidewalk (i.e. old enough and well trained enough to pay full attention and yield to pedestrians) we WALKED the bikes to the nearest schoolyard or park. Yes, this is possible. You are a city person, so surely you remember about walking! :)

These parents are oblivious and have a strong sense of entitlement. They believe they own the streets and no one other than themselves and their little narcissitic extensions of themselves have rights. They believe in their permissive stance towards their children but don’t understand that when permissiveness becomes extreme permissiveness it actually has morphed into neglect.

I think this may be more along the lines of negligent children of the woman who fell. At her age she should have been accompanied by a responsible adult. Too many old people fall and break their hips; why, because they fail to acknowledge their own limitations and lazy children that won’t pursue the legal system to gain guardianship of their parents.

Reading the comments above really highlights how sad our society has become. Nobody has really said what we hope to learn by suing the child and her parents. Will it make parents more responsible with their kids when they go outside? Will it protect the aged when they are out on the streets? Will the money they “win” from the case help the old lady’s family? I don’t think so. When I was a kid, if I injured in myself in accident playing in my school playground, I was treated by the school nurse. These days, if that happens the school can be sued for being negligent and not providing a safe playing ground. All we want to do now is sue for everything(probably be sued for writing this). Again I say what happened was a bad accident and could happen to anyone. Rather than looking for a pound of flesh by suing each other, we can put our heads together to find a constructive way of preventing this from happening in the future.

If bikes don’t belong on sidewalks, as several people have said, then where do little kids ride? I am not ready to let my 3 year old ride in the street, even our quiet suburban street. Many cars pay very little attention to the small child riding a bike. And yes, I stay right behind her when she is riding.

Who’s to say that the 87 year old didn’t run into the bicycle? Perhaps supervision of a senior citizen of that age should also be a requirement. A four year old and an 87 year old are pretty equal liabilities on the sidewalk in my opinion! You take your chances! Absolute nonsense for a lawsuit!!!

I have seen a number of comments throwing stones at the parents, and I for one, am appalled. Were you there? Did you see these children ripping up and down the street and targeting that poor woman? Do you think that they deliberately rode her down and then rode off laughing maniacally? If that had been the case, do you think anyone would have known who the children were? Of course not. It sounds more like the kids stopped and helped her. If she was out walking the streets and able to get hurt by little kids on bikes, she was obviously ALONE (children that age and their bikes can’t really go THAT fast), and just as obviously, the kids didn’t leave her that way when she got hurt.
How is allowing your children the right to go play outside being “entitled?” What kind of parent are you that you keep your children locked up in the house all day and night long? And how dare you, who can obviously afford to “make sacrifices” to live in the suburbs, pass judgment on anyone who can’t afford to do the same as you? Not everyone has a good-paying job that can get them a home in a residential area and pay for daycare at the same time. Shame on you for condemning anyone. When you have to live in the city, you play where you can, and the sidewalk in front of your house may very well be the ONLY place that is safe enough to do so. For Heaven’s sake, do you really expect them to keep their children in the house and hooked up to the Television, computer or game console? You offer all kinds of condemnation and not a single suggestion for something better.

Yes, the children should have been more careful, but if you read almost any developmental texts, you’ll see that at their age, they are focused on the now, and are almost unable to think ahead for possible consequences. I seriously doubt that this was some deliberate effort on the part of these little kids to hurt anyone. Perhaps they should have been made to offer service to the elderly lady they hurt. Maybe the family should have come help with shopping, cleaning and keeping her company during her convalescence. But to SUE children?? What do they hope to accomplish? If you want to talk about entitlement, look to those who seek to profit unfairly from accident and tragedy.

STFU: People who don’t have kids, but spend time obsessing about the bvieahors of parents, and the children who have the audacity to exist in your presence. This article is mean and stupid. Facebook exists to share. We share stuff about our kids so people who love them, but don’t get to see them as much, get to share in their lives. Why don’t you just block these posts, if you have so many friends’ you want them to STFU about their children, and write articles to make fun of their chat transcripts, which they thought they were sharing with people who cared. The response to the woman’s post about her plane trip is just nasty. Who cares if kids annoy you? They have exactly as much right to exist in the world, be on planes, and sing songs as you do. I truly hope the people you are writing about realize you’re using their posts as a source for nasty articles and that they unfriend you. It’s one thing to be annoyed it’s another to write hateful public rants about children.