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A Bridgeport,
Connecticut, jury on Tuesday denied 54-year-old Jennifer
Connell's claim that her nephew owed her $127,000 for an injury
sustained when he jumped into her arms at his 8th birthday party
in March 2011.
News of the lawsuit drew extensive criticism on social media,
with some Twitter users describing her with vulgar language and
calling her "despicable." Connell's attorneys said filing the
lawsuit was her only avenue to collect the cost of her medical
bills from the homeowners' insurance policy of the child's
parents.
"This was a case was about one thing: getting medical bills paid
by homeowner’s insurance," Connell's attorneys, Jainchill and
Beckert of Plainville, Connecticut, said in a statement. "Our
client was very reluctant to pursue this case, but in the end
she had no choice but to sue the minor defendant directly to get
her bills paid."
The New York Daily News called the Manhattan resident "the
auntie Christ" while several social media users criticized her
testimony that her suffering included difficulty in holding an
hors d'oeuvre plate at a recent cocktail party.
"Her hand was forced by the insurance company," Connell's
lawyers said in the statement. "Our client is being attacked on
social media. Our client has been through enough."
The six-member jury deliberated for less than half an hour in
Superior Court in Bridgeport on Tuesday before determining the
Westport boy was not responsible for breaking his aunt's wrist
when he greeted her by jumping into her arms.
Connell testified that when the child jumped on her they fell to
the ground as she tried to catch him. She testified that the
injury has made it difficult to walk up the stairs in her
Manhattan apartment building, and that her social life has been
negatively impacted.
The boy's mother died last year. His father, Michael Tarala,
could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
(Editing by Scott Malone and Lisa Lambert)
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