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Mylittlesunshyne · Nov 12, 2007, 08:20 PM

Has there ever been a trial in which a burgler has actually SUED someone, because while they were breaking in, they hurt themselves?

Gernald · Nov 12, 2007, 08:23 PM

I haven't heard of any... but that'd be funny wouldn't it?
:-)

Mylittlesunshyne · Nov 12, 2007, 08:27 PM

Yes lol, Im not sure if it's true, but Ive heard of it

Mylittlesunshyne · Nov 12, 2007, 08:28 PM

Fine

JudyKayTee · Nov 13, 2007, 08:51 AM

Originally Posted by Mylittlesunshyne

Has there ever been a trial in which a burgler has actually SUED someone, because while they were breaking in, they hurt themselves?

I think this is folklore - I'm an accident investigator and have never heard of such a thing. You also can have a problem with injuries on property if you are an UNinvited guest, such as a door to door salesperson.

In some States you cannot collect if injured while committing a crime, such as being shot by the homeowner or a Police officer.

ScottGem · Nov 13, 2007, 09:10 AM

I have heard of two similar lawsuits I believe they actually occurred.

In one lawsuit a bank robber was wounded by almost 2 dozen bullets in a police shootout, but survived. He then sued the police department for incompetence for not killing him.

In a different one, a driver wrapped his Corvette around a tree when doing in excess of 90 mph. He then sued GM because he felt a car built like that should be able to go that fast.

JudyKayTee · Nov 13, 2007, 09:35 AM

Originally Posted by ScottGem

I have heard of two similar lawsuits I believe they actually occured.

In one lawsuit a bank robber was wounded by almost 2 dozen bullets in a police shootout, but survived. He then sued the police department for incompetence for not killing him.

In a different one, a driver wrapped his Corvette around a tree when doing in excess of 90 mph. He then sued GM because he felt a car built like that should be able to go that fast.

Oh, Scott - true or not these are gems! Why do I always get assigned parking lot accidents and the like and never anything like this - life is not fair!

Mylittlesunshyne · Nov 13, 2007, 03:56 PM

Thanks

Mylittlesunshyne · Nov 13, 2007, 03:57 PM

Thanks

Mylittlesunshyne · Nov 13, 2007, 03:57 PM

OK

shygrneyzs · Nov 13, 2007, 04:08 PM

This did happen when I lived in Spokane. There were two separate incidents. The first one - a burglar broke into the home and did not realize there was a dog there, a dog who attacked him and bit off the tips of the first three fingers of the left hand. The burglar tried to get away and got into the hall closet and covered himself up with whatever was in there. The couple came home and found the dog gagging. The husband took the dog to the emergency vet while the wife stayed home and looked for what the dog might have eaten. The wife noticed some blood in the hallway but first thought it was the dog. She heard some muffles in the closet but before opening the door she went and got a baseball bat. Opening the door with one hand and bat in the other, she found the burglar. She called the sheriff. Meanwhile the vet found the three fingertips. To shorten the story, the guy was charged with unlawful entry and attempted burglary. He got an attorney to sue the couple - for endangering his life by having the dog in the home. He did not win his case.

The second case involved another burglar. He entered the home of an elderly woman, hit her over the head and stole some jewlery. He was leaving the house and was still on the grounds but not in the house when she caught up with him and hit his knee cap with her cane, breaking his knee cap. He turned around and sued her for injuries and won!

BUT this guy thought he was pretty slick with what he got over on this woman so he went back a month later. He got in the house but she heard him and met him with a shotgun. She just had buckshot in it. At first he went for the gun but she shot and hit his previously injured knee cap. He turned to get out the door and she took the end of the gun and knocked him out. Called the sheriff and the guy was arrested and charged and went to prison.

JudyKayTee · Nov 13, 2007, 04:54 PM

Originally Posted by shygrneyzs

This did happen when I lived in Spokane. There were two separate incidents. The first one - a burglar broke into the home and did not realize there was a dog there, a dog who attacked him and bit off the tips of the first three fingers of the left hand. The burglar tried to get away and got into the hall closet and covered himself up with whatever was in there. The couple came home and found the dog gagging. The husband took the dog to the emergency vet while the wife stayed home and looked for what the dog might have eaten. The wife noticed some blood in the hallway but first thought it was the dog. She heard some muffles in the closet but before opening the door she went and got a baseball bat. Opening the door with one hand and bat in the other, she found the burglar. She called the sheriff. Meanwhile the vet found the three fingertips. To shorten the story, the guy was charged with unlawful entry and attempted burglary. He got an attorney to sue the couple - for endangering his life by having the dog in the home. He did not win his case.

The second case involved another burglar. He entered the home of an elderly woman, hit her over the head and stole some jewlery. He was leaving the house and was still on the grounds but not in the house when she caught up with him and hit his knee cap with her cane, breaking his knee cap. He turned around and sued her for injuries and won!

BUT this guy thought he was pretty slick with what he got over on this woman so he went back a month later. He got in the house but she heard him and met him with a shotgun. She just had buckshot in it. At first he went for the gun but she shot and hit his previously injured knee cap. He turned to get out the door and she took the end of the gun and knocked him out. Called the sheriff and the guy was arrested and charged and went to prison.

Not cross examining you and if you read about it I'm sure it's true; however, there is an Internet "legend" very similar to this. In that story the dog was a Doberman. I also heard this at a convention a couple of years ago - never knew it ever happened.

shygrneyzs · Nov 14, 2007, 06:39 AM

It happened in the fall/early winter of 1978. I remember it because we had just bought our house and that was in October of 1978. I don't remember if the dog was a Doberman or a German Shepherd, but it did happen. There was a rash of burglaries at that time, some all by the same people. One of the schemes was to send tickets to a Seattle Seahawks game. How they knew who would go and who would not, I cannot remember. When the home owner would come back home, he would find his home emptied out.