The New York woman who sued her nephew for $127,000 has spoken publicly about the case for the first time.
Jennifer Connell failed to get a penny from pursuing legal action after a jury took just 25 minutes to dismiss her claim.
But Connell, 54, has now released a statement in which she says that suing was the only possible option after her medical insurance failed to pay out on the wrist injury sustained when her eight-year-old nephew jumped on her at a birthday party in 2011.
‘From the start, this was a case… about one thing: getting medical bills paid by homeowner’s insurance,’ said Connell’s lawyers.
‘Our client was never looking for money from her nephew or his family. It was about the insurance industry and being forced to sue to get medical bills paid.
‘Prior to the trial, the insurance company offered her one dollar. Unfortunately, due to Connecticut law, the homeowner’s insurance company could not be identified as the defendant.
‘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.’
Connell also told CNN that she her nephew had to be named as the defendant because of the nature of legal proceedings.
“This was meant to be a simple homeowners insurance case,” she said. “Connecticut law is such that I was advised by counsel that this is the way a suit is meant to be worded. I adore this child. I would never want to hurt him. He would never want to hurt me.
“It’s amazing the power that the Internet has that something can go viral, completely out of context. I’m certainly not trying to retire to some villa in the south of France. I’m simply trying to pay off my medical bills.”
