Teen passenger in speeding car sues driver who was hit

SALEM — The driver of a minivan who was seriously injured when she was struck head-on by a drag-racing teenager doing 81 mph is now being sued by the teenager's passenger, who was also injured.

A lawsuit filed yesterday in Salem Superior Court suggests that Christine Speliotis "carelessly and negligent (sic) failed to avoid the collision with the other vehicle head on."

The lawsuit was filed by the father of Brandon Pereira, 17, of Peabody, the cousin of Timothy Pereira, the driver of the speeding Ford Mustang.

Timothy Pereira, 19, of Salem is out on bail awaiting trial on charges that include racing, speeding, driving to endanger and failing to stay within marked lanes.

Investigators from the Salem and state police concluded that Timothy Pereira was going 81 mph on Fort Avenue, a road with a 30 mph speed limit, when he lost control, veering across the center lines and into the path of a Honda Odyssey minivan.

Speliotis, 42, of Salem, and her passenger, Stanley Swaczyk, 50, of Marblehead, suffered broken bones and other injuries. Police said Speliotis was traveling at a reasonable speed for the road, and she was not charged with any wrongdoing.

http://www.salemnews.com/punews/local_story_212205251.html

I hope this is thrown so far out of court that it will never see the light of day again. I have the feeling this lawyer may be someone who will appeal at every turn if possible.

It is obvious his father (parents) think he can never be responsible for his own actions. Granted, he wasn't driving, but he apparently knew what the driver of his vehicle was doing and did nothing to stop it.

Parents who blame others for their child's actions are not raising the child, they are over-protecting and smothering that child. I've seen it happen many times and it is seldom that child turns out to be a well-rounded adult.

Since this is a political forum, I would use some political types as an example:

Dick Cheney, Sarah Palin, Carl Rove, George W. Bush...the list goes on, but I need a cuppa before the names come to mind.

Surely it should've been his buddy, the driver!

Everyone sues everyone in these cases for insurance money.

so they'll have at least one chip to bargain with as they loose every thing they own because of their out of control kid.

These things typically don't go past available insurance money.

It's a part of a process.

Speliotis was following all traffic rules, regulations, and statutes. She had the right to be where she was, was operating her motor vehicle in a reasonably prudent manner. She could not have avoided the collision under the facts.

Pereira was operating his vehicle recklessly, violating several rules, regulations, and statutes when their vehicles collided. Speliotis should be counterclaiming and suing Pereira for her injuries and damages. I can't see him providing evidence to a jury or a judge that he was CAREFULLY drag-racing at 81 mph on a public road.

I can, however, imagine a teenager (many, not all) twisting the facts to make everybody else wrong, feeling that thye are simply helpless in the face of other people's malice. The mere hint that the woman could have avoided the collision quickly morphs into it being her fault, and in fact she did it on purpose!

But for an adult lawyer to exploit this and sue this poor woman; it's unconscionable.

hit an agway truck that was sitting on the other side of the road in front of a house delivering oil or something sued the agway driver and the company AND my husband who was driving the other way and saw the woman sliding sideways past him and under the front of the agway truck. Bob had gone back to check and see if she was alright. She sued bob and the other guy (who's truck bob said had been raised enough to change a tire.) Bob insisted that the insurance company NOT settle as this woman caused an accident and then sued the person she hit AND a witness. I went with him to the deposition like a year and a half later and the woman came in in a wheelchair with a neckbrace. uggh. they ended up settling even though bob said not to... not sure how much she got, but i can tell you bob thinks twice about stopping to help anyone after that. so i question whether the case will be thrown out.... i hope so, but something that seems a no brainer doesn't always end up the way it should be.

on the side of the road he scared her and caused her to lose control of her vehicle... but she was no where near them when she lost control. bob said he passed around the truck and was well past him when he saw the woman sliding sideways... he pulled to the side to stay out of her way and she slid past him and went up the hill and under the truck on the opposite side of the road from the way she was heading. bob said she had to have been driving pretty fast considering how far she slid. bob was not involved in the accident no matter what she tried to say.... he was a witness, and was listed as a witness on the police report. he didn't ahve to go back to help her.... that is just who he is. he could have just kept going, which i believe his brother told him to do since his brother was with him. but bob wanted to make sure the woman was ok. i know that the police report listed bob as a witness, not a cause of the accident.

Outright Fraud!

was settled out of court. bob says it didn't affect him at all as far as insurance.... i guess the insurance compnay tried to double his premiums, but bob fought it.

...Investigators from the Salem and state police concluded that Timothy Pereira was going 81 mph on Fort Avenue, a road with a 30 mph speed limit, when he lost control, veering across the center lines and into the path of a Honda Odyssey minivan...(which)...was traveling at a reasonable speed for the road...(The driver)...was not charged with any wrongdoing.

Hughes defended the filing of the lawsuit..."Basically, under Massachusetts law I'm trying to get compensation for my client anywhere I can," Hughes said yesterday. He said he has also pursued a claim against Timothy Pereira's insurer...

I would think the mere fact that Hughes' client was in a car GOING 80MPH IN A 30MPH ZONE IN THE WRONG DIRECTION puts the driver COMPLETELY at fault for the accident because HE had an obligation to "avoid the collision with the other vehicle head on," too. The only legitimate claim the passenger has is against the driver. Throwing a bunch of lawsuits against the wall and hoping one will stick--some legal strategy!!!

:banghead:
rocktivity

he would have better ways to spend his time. Like picking out a casket.

Dont give stupid kids high horsepower cars. That proves they are stupid parents.

"loser pays"?

n/t

Too many posters are assuming that the negligence of the speeder is somehow imputed to his passenger. That's never true, unless the passenger can be shown to have played some role in it. Was he encouraging the driver to speed, for example? Was he the adult who allowed the driver to drive the car?

If a passenger is simply sitting in a car and has no control over the driver, and is not encouraging the driver to speed, the negligence of such driver cannot be imputed to the passenger.

In this matter, the passenger will certainly sue his cousin, the speeder, but he will also sue the driver of the other car. Why? Because the other driver may have committed some act of negligence that is not yet known.

The passenger's attorney almost has to sue the other driver as well as the speeding driver, because he's faced with two legal principles that compel it: (1) a two year statute of limitations will bar the suit unless instituted, and unless he sues in that two year window, he will end up being sued for malpractice himself, and (2) he's required to sue all potential parties in the same lawsuit, so suing the other driver makes sense in the suit against the speeding cousin.

Not true

from the story

Hughes defended the filing of the lawsuit yesterday, saying it's his obligation to recover as much as possible in damages for his client. The complaint lists $350,000 in medical bills to date and another $100,000 in anticipated expenses.

"Basically, under Massachusetts law I'm trying to get compensation for my client anywhere I can," Hughes said yesterday.

He said he has also pursued a claim against Timothy Pereira's insurer, which is expected to lead to a settlement. "I'm pursuing all avenues," Hughes said.

Hughes said he is still awaiting the final accident reconstruction report and did not want to comment on exactly how he would show that Speliotis could have done something to avoid the accident.



You have simply ignored that statement where the passenger's attorney says he has ALSO pursued a claim against the driver's insurer.

I've explained to you what is happening. If you want to substitute your layman's misunderstanding, that's up to you.

It is not the same as cetainly.

Didn't you understand ANY of the article?

The lawyer has a client who was in a coma. His medical bills are off the chart. There's no question about liability of his cousin, the driver of the car this badly injured passenger was in. His policy limits will be gone quickly. The lawyer for the kid is trying to assure that if there's any chance of getting money from the other lady's insurer, he nails it down. By suing the lady, he puts her in the position of telling her insurer "get this over with and settle it, if you can."

We do not know if she has any exposure to liability, but she might. Suppose phone records prove she was talking on the phone or texting at the moment the accident occurred? That is negligence, and while not the primary cause of the accident, it can be the secondary cause.

You cling to ancient concepts of what ought to be the law. In American Jurisprudence, we not have the medieval principle known as "corruption of the blood," a principle that allowed one to be held accountable merely because they're kin to another person. Thankfully, your kind of thinking is buried in ancient history.

or else it was negated by the drag racing. the woman driving the van's insurance may be the only hope the kid has for a payout...and i hope he has ZERO luck.

They're just fishing for an out of court settlement. Let's hope the injured parties are too angry to allow one.

Only that sentence will serve as a deterrent to such asshattery

And the attorney he has hired is duty bound.

frivolous lawsuits...