The world asked how Connell thought suing her young nephew could be a good idea, so Guthrie wondered the same.
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On March 18, 2011, Connell, who is unmarried and has no children of her own, arrived at the Tarala home for Sean’s birthday party. The “forceful” hug came after the nephew was riding a new bike around the house and spotted his aunt.
“I am just confused”, the 54-year-old said.
Connell called the media coverage of her lawsuit “a complete shock”.
Although she said she feels that Sean has always been “very loving [and] sensitive” toward her, she said she still believes he is responsible for her injury.
A court Tuesday found that the boy wasn’t liable.
Her sweet nephew wanted us all to know, “I love her and she loves me”.
“She would never do anything to hurt the family or myself”.
Despite headlines slamming Connell for her decision, dubbing her the “worst aunt ever”, she explained that she and her nephew are completely fine. She said the firestorm of negative comments she’s received have been “heartbreaking and painful”.
“Everybody was saying stuff that they didn’t know”. I would never want to hurt him.
“This was meant to be a simple homeowners insurance case”, Connell affirmed to CNN.
“From the start, this was a case was about one thing: getting medical bills paid by homeowner’s insurance”.
Should’ve taken that $1 from the insurance company.
The complaint stated that “The minor defendant negligently and carelessly caused the plaintiff to fall by knocking her to the ground, resulting in the severe personal injuries, damages, and losses”. She had two surgeries and is potentially facing a third.
“Prior to the trial, the insurance company offered her one dollar”, a statement from her lawyer’s firm read.
Peter Kochenburger is an insurance law specialist at the University of Connecticut School of Law. “She didn’t want to do this anymore than anyone else would”. Apparently, her insurance company left her “no choice”.
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They said although they were disappointed by the outcome, they understood the verdict and added: “Our client is being attacked on social media”.
