Comments on: When You Look Up “Ungrateful” In the Dictionary, You Will Find This Lady

By: mjh

mjh — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:48:05 +0000

I also am a former skydiver w/850(ish) jumps. I quit right before my first child was born. I agree with Peter. I see no way for communication to have taken place, nor do I understand why she would stand on anyone’s knees. Nor why that instruction, impossible to hear, would even be given. I also don’t see any way, unless she was a contortionist, that her hands could have been anywhere near the reserve ripcord. Take a look at this picture:

http://www.liverpoolmilitaryshow.com/USERIMAGES/4.%20RED%20DEVILS%20Tandem%20Skydive.JPG

The guy is the instructor, the woman is the passenger. The yellow handle on the instructor’s harness, just below hiss left shoulder, is the reserve ripcord. If the main were partially deployed, the passenger would be hanging even *lower* than this one is and even further away from the ripcord. I don’t get it.

Apart from the fact that this was a tandem reserve ride, there is a ton of things in the story that I am unable to fathom.

By: Noah D

Noah D — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:34:08 +0000

“Ms. Nutley has a bad attorney who should have…”

…said something along the lines of “Lady, you walked away from a chute failure on a tandem jump with two broken fingers? You shouldn’t be in my office, you should be in church! Now get out.”

By: Peter

Peter — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 03:51:59 +0000

Having been a skydiver I am familiar with the waiver she signed which generally includes everything up to and including gross negligence (if that can be waived). The one I signed said that the skydiving company wasn’t responsible for anything that occurred on the premises, on the plane or in the air regardless wether or not it had anything to do with skydiving.
What I don’t understand is how the instructor was able to give her any sort of instruction while in freefall as verbal communication is impossible. Secondly in the tandem rig the student is in front of the instructor and usually lower down. So I can’t see how she was able to stand on the instructors knees or hold anything other than her own harness.
On the bright side she probably will never go skydiving again which will generally make the sport more enjoyable for those continuing to do so.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:18:00 +0000

Sort of related.

We know a woman who participated in a tandem jump, but in her case both chutes failed, so she and the instructor crashed into the ground. By some miracle, neither was killed, but both were hospitalized for a LONG time with multiple fractures and internal injuries.

They are now married and have two children.

By: elambend

elambend — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:51:16 +0000

Ms. Nutley has a bad attorney who should have a) known the limits to the case and b) read her contract and known the dangers of having to pay if they lost.

They did lose and now:
“So that’s the end of this case, right? Wrong. The waivers that Nutley signed included language that, in a lawsuit such as the one Nutley started here, she’d have to pay SkyDive’s attorneys fees and litigation costs. While this type of contractual provision is generally disfavored in New York, Nutley failed to defend against it (her lawyer neglected to serve a so called reply to defendant’s counterclaim asserting its right to legal fees and costs) so this issue is still alive.

Inside Information:

* SkyDive offered $5,000 to settle several times
* SkyDive intends to pursue its claim for legal fees and costs which by my estimate could exceed $50,000″

So there is some justice.

On a side note, it has seemed to me, that people are much quicker to sue in the northeast, particularly the greater NY area for smallest of offenses. I seem to recall the woman who sued the little leaguer for an errant pitch, among others. Having lived out there for college, I always felt that this was a major downside of the more aggressive culture out east. (there are upsides I believe).

By: HS

HS — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:44:56 +0000

Heh. Maybe it was done on purpose to get money into the company as well as provide publicity. If not, wow, that’s pretty idiotic of someone to sue after signing those papers. Oh yeah, not to mention, ungrateful.

By: Roy

Roy — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:37:51 +0000

“lawyered up”? Gotta add that to my vocabulary. I love it. That phrase (term?) captures so much.

By: happyjuggler0

happyjuggler0 — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 04:05:14 +0000

This is a great example of why “loser pays” would be a great reform.

If you lose your lawsuit, you pay the other party’s legal costs, or “reasonable” legal costs. If you can’t afford to pay, your lawyer pays.

Under such a system, guess what happens to ridiculous lawsuits such as this? Yes, they don’t happen in the first place, and society is better off for it.

By: Cloudesley Shovell

Cloudesley Shovell — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:50:01 +0000

The case already has been tossed. A NY appellate court affirmed summary judgment in favor of the skydiving company.

Follow the link provided by Coyote (the one that goes to newyorkinjurycaseblog). Lots more interesting information there about the case.

By: me

me — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:19:06 +0000

Sorry to show my foreigners lack of understanding of the American judical system – can a judge order the appellant spanked?