Post by Linalin on Mar 23, 2005 19:34:48 GMT -5
Brothers win payout for being forced to watch sister die in crash
NINOHE, Iwate -- Two brothers who lay in agony and watched their little sister die after being hit by a truck driven by a drunken man have been awarded compensation by a court here for the emotional duress they suffered.
Mikako Yoshimura, judge of the Ninohe Branch of the Morioka District Court, awarded each of the brothers 1.5 million yen for their suffering following the November 2000 accident that claimed the life of 7-year-old Ryoka Osaki.
"They may have no medical or psychological data to support them, but there is no doubt they have been left with darkness deep in their hearts," Yoshimura said as she ordered a 67-year-old man to pay a total compensation package of 38.5 million yen from which the boys' payments will be made. The rest of the money was a calculation of what Ryoka could have expected to have earned throughout her working life and was awarded to her parents, Masayuki and Reiko Osaki.
The court said that Ryoka and her two older brothers were among a group of nine elementary school children walking to school in November 2000 when the old man driving the truck under the influence of alcohol careened off the road and slammed into them. Two children, including Ryoka, were killed in the accident.
Her brothers, one then in sixth grade and the other a fourth grader, were also injured after the truck crashed into them. Both lay on the ground in a pool of blood and watched as their sister died.
They were overcome by remorse and became terrified by loud noises and the mere prospect of walking to school.
I think that's total bull from the brothers. If they were really sorry about their sister's life, they wouldn't have a price put on it.
NINOHE, Iwate -- Two brothers who lay in agony and watched their little sister die after being hit by a truck driven by a drunken man have been awarded compensation by a court here for the emotional duress they suffered.
Mikako Yoshimura, judge of the Ninohe Branch of the Morioka District Court, awarded each of the brothers 1.5 million yen for their suffering following the November 2000 accident that claimed the life of 7-year-old Ryoka Osaki.
"They may have no medical or psychological data to support them, but there is no doubt they have been left with darkness deep in their hearts," Yoshimura said as she ordered a 67-year-old man to pay a total compensation package of 38.5 million yen from which the boys' payments will be made. The rest of the money was a calculation of what Ryoka could have expected to have earned throughout her working life and was awarded to her parents, Masayuki and Reiko Osaki.
The court said that Ryoka and her two older brothers were among a group of nine elementary school children walking to school in November 2000 when the old man driving the truck under the influence of alcohol careened off the road and slammed into them. Two children, including Ryoka, were killed in the accident.
Her brothers, one then in sixth grade and the other a fourth grader, were also injured after the truck crashed into them. Both lay on the ground in a pool of blood and watched as their sister died.
They were overcome by remorse and became terrified by loud noises and the mere prospect of walking to school.
I think that's total bull from the brothers. If they were really sorry about their sister's life, they wouldn't have a price put on it.
