The throw away lady

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About 20 years ago I did volunteer work at a soup kitchen in Sacramento.

One evening, between helping to serve and cleaning the dishes, I grabbed myself a juice and went down at sat a table with this lady, I think her name was Andrea, so I will call her that. Andrea lived out of an old 70s Toyota. I would see her come in all the time but had never talked to her. This is her story.

Andrea married young and on and off she would work to help pay the bills too. Her husband had some kind of a menial career and by the time he retired had a small pension. Part of the reason the pension was small may because of early retirement for health related reason, but that is an assumption on my part. Together they raised one son.

When Andrea’s husband passed away the best thing she had going for her was the fact that she and her husband had worked very hard to make sure they owned their own modest home straight out. Andrea was left with his small pension but had no mortgage and got along fine. Andrea made one mistake though, she was not well educated on insurance or could simply not afford it.

The son Andrea had was estranged from her. For some reason he was in and out of jail and prison. She lost contact with him for over two decades.

One evening Andrea was in the shower when she heard a pounding at her door. Alarmed she opened the bathroom door. The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Dept was at the door demanding to be let in with a warrant. Andrea was naked and scared. By her won admission she was also fat, the little towel she had would not cover her. She yelled for the cops to wait until she was dressed. The cops busted down doors and shoved her naked to the ground yelling and shouting questions and demands at the same time. They were looking for Andrea’s son.

Here comes the sad ending. One of the deputies was covering the side door on the garage and decided to kick it down. he broke his foot. soon Andrea learned she was getting sued because the cops had invaded her home looking for a person she had not seen in 20 years. She had no insurance and no money for an attorney. The cop and his insurance company won by default. He got 9 months of lost wages, his medical bills, and pain and suffering which equaled something like 4 times his lost earning and medical bills. Andrea was in shock and denial, they put a lien against her house, evicted her and sold it.
 
CrossBro said:
About 20 years ago I did volunteer work at a soup kitchen in Sacramento.

One evening, between helping to serve and cleaning the dishes, I grabbed myself a juice and went down and sat a table with this lady, I think her name was Andrea, so I will call her that. Andrea lived out of an old 70s Toyota. I would see her come in all the time but had never talked to her. This is her story.

Andrea married young and on and off she would work to help pay the bills too. Her husband had some kind of a menial career and by the time he retired had a small pension. Part of the reason the pension was small may because of early retirement for health related reason, but that is an assumption on my part. Together they raised one son.

When Andrea’s husband passed away the best thing she had going for her was the fact that she and her husband had worked very hard to make sure they owned their own modest home straight out. Andrea was left with his small pension but had no mortgage and got along fine. Andrea made one mistake though, she was not well educated on insurance or could simply not afford it.

The son Andrea had was estranged from her. For some reason he was in and out of jail and prison. She lost contact with him for over two decades.

One evening Andrea was in the shower when she heard a pounding at her door. The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Dept was at the door demanding to be let in with a warrant. Andrea was naked and scared and alarmed. By her won admission she was also fat, the little towel she had would not cover her. She yelled for the cops to wait until she was dressed. The cops busted down doors and shoved her naked to the ground yelling and shouting questions and demands at the same time. They were looking for Andrea’s son.

Here comes the sad ending. One of the deputies was covering the side door on the garage and decided to kick it down. he broke his foot. Soon Andrea learned she was getting sued because the cops had invaded her home looking for a person she had not seen in 20 years. She had no insurance and no money for an attorney. The cop and his insurance company won by default. He got 9 months of lost wages, his medical bills, and pain and suffering which equaled something like 4 times his lost earning and medical bills. Andrea was in shock and in denial, they put a lien against her house, evicted her and sold it.
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That just makes me sick at my stomach. What a sad story. If she is still alive I want to at least say some prayers for her. Maybe for others who find themselves in similar situations…
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
And do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host,
By the Power of God,
Cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits,
Who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.
 
That cops name and the insurance companys name should be made public.
 
As sorry as I feel for Andrea, I feel sorrier for the cop and whoever it was at that insurance company who decided to go after her. Can you imagine trying to explain this to God on Judgment Day? What they did to themselves is hundreds of times worse than what they did to her. Sounds like all involved could use our prayers.
 
Kay_Cee said:
As sorry as I feel for Andrea, I feel sorrier for the cop and whoever it was at that insurance company who decided to go after her. Can you imagine trying to explain this to God on Judgment Day? What they did to themselves is hundreds of times worse than what they did to her. Sounds like all involved could use our prayers.
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The cop probably had no choice but to sue. Otherwise, he would have been out the money for the health care and pay. 🤷

Just as an example, I shut my foot in a car door. My health insurance wouldn’t pay for the care I received. My car insurance ended up paying. Same thing if you injure yourself by falling off of your roof. Health insurance won’t pay. Homeowner’s does.

I am sure it wasn’t the cop’s choice to look for the bad guy there. He was ordered to do so. He probably had no idea the last time the son was at the house.

Think about it. How long can you live without pay? Did this guy have a family? Was he the sole breadwinner? Nine months is a long time to be out of work due to an injury, plus to have to pay the medical bills on top of it? I wouldn’t blame him for suing.
 
Couldn’t he have asked for a desk job until his foot healed? He was the one who decided to kick in that door, so why blame her? There was no need for his actions.
 
Christy_Beth said:
Couldn’t he have asked for a desk job until his foot healed? He was the one who decided to kick in that door, so why blame her? There was no need for his actions.
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Hind sight is 20/20. We know now that there was no reason to kick in the door. But did he know then? They went to that house because as far as they knew, the criminal was there.

In addition, when your doctor puts you out, your workplace, if they allow you to work is liable for your health. Any company that allows an employee to work against doctor’s orders is opening itself up to a lawsuit. So, no, he couldn’t have asked for a desk job.

Again, it wasn’t that he blamed her. The only pay to receive pay or covered health care, would have been to sue.

Suing someone doesn’t mean you blame them. It is just to determine who is liable.
 
Christy_Beth said:
Couldn’t he have asked for a desk job until his foot healed? He was the one who decided to kick in that door, so why blame her? There was no need for his actions.
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My husband is not a cop but he works in local government. This is usually what happens when an officer is injured on the job - a combination of assigning desk duty, worker’s comp, and using accrued sick leave/other PTO. If the way the injury happened isn’t good enough for worker’s comp, it surprises me that a jury would go for it.
 
It’s hard to imagine the cop didn’t have workers comp insurance and/or short te disability benefits. Insurance companies don’t normally sue individuals who don’t have coverage. Around her, homes are protected against lawsuits, have been for decades, but I suppose that varies by state. Settlement sounds rather unusual also.
 
tafan said:
It’s hard to imagine the cop didn’t have workers comp insurance and/or short te disability benefits. Insurance companies don’t normally sue individuals who don’t have coverage. Around her, homes are protected against lawsuits, have been for decades, but I suppose that varies by state. Settlement sounds rather unusual also.
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The entire story sounds unusual. 🤷
 
pensmama87 said:
My husband is not a cop but he works in local government. This is usually what happens when an officer is injured on the job - a combination of assigning desk duty, worker’s comp, and using accrued sick leave/other PTO. If the way the injury happened isn’t good enough for worker’s comp, it surprises me that a jury would go for it.
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It surprises me too. :confused: The Paul Harvey in me asks, “What’s the rest of the story?”.
 
Catholic1954 said:
It surprises me too. :confused: The Paul Harvey in me asks, “What’s the rest of the story?”.
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There is no rest of the story, talked to her that one time for about 20 minutes and never spoke to her again.

I am no attorney, but I do know that in California and probably everywhere else pain and suffering is generally 4 times the medical bills.

She probably got worse than that because she never even appeared in court, the attorney and cop would have gotten whatever they asked for.

I know too that when you buy an insurance policy you agree to sue at the company’s behest. My grandmother when she was 75 fell when a bus driver accelerated before she could sit down and she broke her hip. She was not interested in suing, but her provider made her sue or told her to pay all her expenses herself. She would have been out on the street.

If Andrea could have gotten some help from a public advocate or a good Samaritan lawyer she may have beat it or gotten away with paying less expenses, cops break down doors all the time, how come this one broke his foot ?

This elderly woman was in denial though, could not believe anyone could just come on her property uninvited and sue her because he got injured in what she felt was an act of vandalism. She brushed the whole thing off until they carried her out of her home.
 
I don’t want to be, but I am suspicious of the story.

There just seem to be huge gaps.

I do not doubt it possible to lose everything in some kind of mismanaged police action, but there seems more going on here.
 
Reep said:
What? He didn’t have Worker’s Comp? He had a choice and made his.
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Oh, great, you know this guy? You know that he had Worker’s Comp and they were willing to pay? That he turned them down so he could sue?

Since you know all about it: How long was he out of work? Was he able to go back part time?

Please tell us.
 
maryjk said:
The cop probably had no choice but to sue. Otherwise, he would have been out the money for the health care and pay. 🤷

Just as an example, I shut my foot in a car door. My health insurance wouldn’t pay for the care I received. My car insurance ended up paying. Same thing if you injure yourself by falling off of your roof. Health insurance won’t pay. Homeowner’s does.

I am sure it wasn’t the cop’s choice to look for the bad guy there. He was ordered to do so. He probably had no idea the last time the son was at the house.

Think about it. How long can you live without pay? Did this guy have a family? Was he the sole breadwinner? Nine months is a long time to be out of work due to an injury, plus to have to pay the medical bills on top of it? I wouldn’t blame him for suing.
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I’ve given this a lot of thought, and if the story is true, the cop still is to blame. He chose to kick in the door. He broke his foot because of his own actions, yet, instead of taking responsibility for what he did (which is what a person with any integrity would do), he sues an innocent person. If an incident occurred because of my actions, I would rather lose my own home and end up on the street than cause an innocent person to lose her home.
 
Kay_Cee said:
I’ve given this a lot of thought, and if the story is true, the cop still is to blame. He chose to kick in the door. He broke his foot because of his own actions, yet, instead of taking responsibility for what he did (which is what a person with any integrity would do), he sues an innocent person. If an incident occurred because of my actions, I would rather lose my own home and end up on the street than cause an innocent person to lose her home.
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But you are assuming that he knew she would be out on the street.

Since, according to the story, she never showed up at any hearing or trail, how would he know that?
 
maryjk said:
Oh, great, you know this guy? You know that he had Worker’s Comp and they were willing to pay? That he turned them down so he could sue?

Since you know all about it: How long was he out of work? Was he able to go back part time?

Please tell us.
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Please calm down. I apologize if I mistakenly thought that most people understood Worker’s Compensation. It really is a valid point to raise as to whether someone needs (or even can) sue for a job-related tort. As wikipedia notes:

“In the United States, most employees who are injured on the job have an absolute right to medical care for any injury, and in many cases, monetary payments to compensate for resulting temporary or permanent disabilities.Most employers are required to subscribe to insurance for workers’ compensation, and an employer who does not may have financial penalties imposed”
 
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