I would say that one also has to consider that as an adult, John made the conscious decision of getting into that car with Nick on that night. There's plenty of fault to go around and certainly Nick is fucked in a major way on this one. But don't forget about the fact that nobody forced John G to get into that car.
I think he knew what was going on. He was probably laughing his ass off, right up until impact. Sometimes stupid choices have tragic consequences.
Nick Hogan is for sure one of the biggest douchebags on the planet. But then again, when you buy your 15/16 year old son a huge diamond watch and give him bad ass cars odds are he will always be a douche. The reason, he thinks he is special because of the way he is treated, because of what he has, but in all reality he is just another stupid teenager...an ugly one too.
But you are right about the passenger. It was his choice. I didn't bother reading up, but I am almost positive that he was not wearing a seatbelt. To me, just the seatbelt alone is enough to remove all blame. I am sure the passenger was just as excited about racing and more than likely encouraged it.
It is a tragedy and I don't really see anything good coming out of it. Maybe learn to wear a seatbelt and if you have money, don't buy your sons bad ass cars, because more than likely your son might take someones life or his own...and if you are a parent that does this, odds are you and your son are both douchebags.
Thoughts and prayers with the family.
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From the lawsuits I went through in the past, what was presented to me on paper the first time vs what happened afterwords, very different. Not saying that is the case here, but I could easily see a lot of these things being dropped in a strawman style.
Really? How is 30% of the awarded verdict going to do anything to heal heartache? That is if they even get to see a cent of the money.
Assuming the jury finds against the Hogans, and the family is awarded a "sustainable" sum - i.e. no $100mmmm award - they are going to lose expenses (which will be substantial in a case like this with all the "expert witness" testimony), probably 25-35% to the lawyers, and then another 30% in taxes since the award would be punative (well, the amount over the compensatory damaged would be taxed, and that will be the bulk of the money).
Assuming they get a $1,000,000. They will probably only gross out $350,000 of it, less 35% - they are looking at, what, $200k? I dont know about you, but if it was my loved one performing all his bodily functions through a straw, I dont think I would be willing to rehash it all in front of national media for a piddling 200 grand.
My point was that most victims don't get shit, not that Graz was gonna have everything covered.
I happened to be at redneck riviera last week and at club la vela they announced that Terry (Hulk) and Brook will be at the pool party Mon & Tue this week.
Since the lawyers are reading, I am curious about this: They announced during the bikini and wet t-shirt contests that the camera crew was from the tonight show with Jay Leno. With one of the crew wearing a girls gone wild shirt, I doubt that they had anything to do with Jay. One girl did a no underwear dance about one foot above a HD video camera. Does she have a case when her beaver appers on girls gone wild website/DVDs? (The girls signed something).
Boplaw, I take it from your comment that you noticed the two different law firms that signed the complaint.
A few other people mentioned damages and although I no longer practice that kind of law, I can tell you that the $5-10 million range sounds right. Boplaw would be way more qualified to comment on what the range may end up being, but it certainly would have been cheaper if the boy died.
This should be a wake-up call to anyone who talks about their street racing exploits on the internet and especially to those who post pictures or videos. That shit doesn't go away and a hardcore PI lawyer may be able to find it and link it to you. And if you think those comments are damaging now---in the criminal trial they would be devastating if admitted. I think Nick still has pending criminal charges stemming from this incident.
As for the other driver being named---I think that's only because he was driving Hulk's car. They don't give a shit about that pissant, what they want is another set of policy limits to go after. I'm not sure how it works in Florida, but they could conceivably get the policy on the Supra and on the Viper.
It's just fucking sad all the way around. Don't let your kids act like assholes.
I'll respond more later but right now I'm working the EMS drive-through at my office.
I would say that one also has to consider that as an adult, John made the conscious decision of getting into that car with Nick on that night. There's plenty of fault to go around and certainly Nick is fucked in a major way on this one. But don't forget about the fact that nobody forced John G to get into that car.
I think he knew what was going on. He was probably laughing his ass off, right up until impact. Sometimes stupid choices have tragic consequences.
I couldn't agree more! Everyone here has raced on the street and enjoyed it along with other friends. This race just ended differently and somebody got hurt. I am sure John was egging it on as he was riding passenger. It is a shame somebody had to get hurt in the fun but it was his decision to get in the car. Makes me wish their was a voice recorder in that car to hear what was going on.
I'll respond more later but right now I'm working the EMS drive-through at my office.
You still have a drive through at your place? That is so 90's; we have the tow truck drivers and EMS folks fill out the paper work/lawsuit for us at the scene (if the victim is incoherent, unconscious or deceased they go ahead & sign the release. We just back date the DOD so it post-dates the release). Having the tow truck drivers & EMS folks fill out this paperwork also alleviates the need for paralegals, we just cut & paste the new victim's name, etc, then after that, the Tow truck drivers file the lawsuit while taking the car to the body repair shop(which we own as well). Shit, we even have the driver's sign the petition. This is cookie cutter work, kinda like working on motor, any grease monkey can do it.
We all know how quick the insurance companies pay up on the policies they issue, most of them just do a direct pay to our account within 48 hours, no questions asked. It helps to have a back cracker on your payroll to fill out all the insurance forms as well, they do a better job at that than the tow truck drivers. If you can combine the EMS and back cracker into one company, that is big money.
You need to run some ads on daytime TV, when the lazy, conniving out of work people are watching so that you can maximize your rate of return. These folks will do anything for an easy buck. I will even go buy a couple junkers, sell them to my regulars and have them get rear-ended. Here's how this works: you have two cars, one in front, the other in back of a car. Then the one in back flashes his lights and while the driver looks in the rearview mirror, BAM he/she runs right into the back of car #1. Make sure they get a Benzo, BMW, etc. to run into your "victims".
Get some semi-famous person to be your spokesman about all the big money you are getting your "victims" for your ads.
Also, need to get you a catchy slogan for yourself like "The Texas Hammer", you could be "The Charleston Hammer".
Last edited by Shotgun Willie : March 25th, 2008 at 01:31 PM.
Kids are how you raise them. I have mentioned this before, I can take any of my kids in any of your houses, the nicest houses here, and not worry for a second. They were always raised to respect others and other people's stuff, and they follow that.
Ive always said that punkass kid was nothing but an idiot. Anyone think he'll eat a bullet or jump off a bridge after all this? I predict drug use will come around after all of it is said and done. He is definately going on my ghoul-pool list for next year.
You still have a drive through at your place? That is so 90's; we have the tow truck drivers and EMS folks fill out the paper work/lawsuit for us at the scene (if the victim is incoherent, unconscious or deceased they go ahead & sign the release. We just back date the DOD so it post-dates the release). Having the tow truck drivers & EMS folks fill out this paperwork also alleviates the need for paralegals, we just cut & paste the new victim's name, etc, then after that, the Tow truck drivers file the lawsuit while taking the car to the body repair shop(which we own as well). Shit, we even have the driver's sign the petition. This is cookie cutter work, kinda like working on motor, any grease monkey can do it.
We all know how quick the insurance companies pay up on the policies they issue, most of them just do a direct pay to our account within 48 hours, no questions asked. It helps to have a back cracker on your payroll to fill out all the insurance forms as well, they do a better job at that than the tow truck drivers. If you can combine the EMS and back cracker into one company, that is big money.
You need to run some ads on daytime TV, when the lazy, conniving out of work people are watching so that you can maximize your rate of return. These folks will do anything for an easy buck. I will even go buy a couple junkers, sell them to my regulars and have them get rear-ended. Here's how this works: you have two cars, one in front, the other in back of a car. Then the one in back flashes his lights and while the driver looks in the rearview mirror, BAM he/she runs right into the back of car #1. Make sure they get a Benzo, BMW, etc. to run into your "victims".
Get some semi-famous person to be your spokesman about all the big money you are getting your "victims" for your ads.
Also, need to get you a catchy slogan for yourself like "The Texas Hammer", you could be "The Charleston Hammer".
Willie, I need a gameplan. I have a '97 VW Golf with 140k miles and a bad transmission. I'm surrounded by Asians who drive like Stevie Wonder and I have a stomach ulcer from shitty California traffic that makes me snappish and prone to fits of rage at the motherfucking gook drivers!!!! See? It happened again right there. Could I be impaired?
I lay these puzzle pieces at your feet. Can you work your magic on a V-dub fireball, a spilled bottle of Malox in my lap, a dead Chinese neighbor and then Bob Ross me a beautiful painting of a brand new BMW M3 in my driveway?
Few VERY important things, things that will determine how this plays out: *haven't read the whole thing*
Two scenarios that will determine the outcome.
1. Passenger gets in a car to the store and the driver INITIATES the race against the objections of the passenger.
2. Passenger gets in the car, KNOWING the race will happen and supports it or encourages it.
Also, the shape the passenger is in, HE might not be able to testify, WHICH will set the plaintiff up for a huge "bump" on the road in this trial.
To add, playing a devils advocate, the fact he didn't wear the seatbelt will GREATLY influence the AMOUNT of the settlement imo, since Nick was in the same collision but wore a setbelt and walked away from it pretty much.
There is so much that is NOT known to us that I don't really care to speculate on it any further.
Willie, I need a gameplan. I have a '97 VW Golf with 140k miles and a bad transmission. I'm surrounded by Asians who drive like Stevie Wonder and I have a stomach ulcer from shitty California traffic that makes me snappish and prone to fits of rage at the motherfucking gook drivers!!!! See? It happened again right there. Could I be impaired?
I lay these puzzle pieces at your feet. Can you work your magic on a V-dub fireball, a spilled bottle of Malox in my lap, a dead Chinese neighbor and then Bob Ross me a beautiful painting of a brand new BMW M3 in my driveway?
Psssht. If you are after a new M3, all you gotta do is bid on BMW of Lincoln, NE's eBay auctions and hire a lawyer. New M3 at 8grrrrr off invoice.
