Court Rules 7-Year-Old Can Sue Mother for Injury While a Fetus
A 7-year-old girl who was permanently injured in a car accident while still a fetus can sue her mother for negligence, a Florida appeals court ruled Wednesday.
Barbara Goodman has been fighting for her daughter Kara’s right to sue her for severe injuries suffered in a traffic accident in 1994, the day before Kara was born two months’ premature.
If her daughter wins the suit, Goodman’s insurer, National Casualty, would have to pay for Kara’s care.
The company had countersued to have the case thrown out as legally unjustified, but a three-judge panel of the 3rd District Court of Appeal agreed Wednesday with a lower court’s ruling that Kara can sue her mother.
“We’ve been dealing with a situation where an insurance company has been trying to weasel out of paying for policies for which a premium had been paid for, and that certainly is not just,” Goodman said.
The insurance company said it plans to ask for a rehearing or review by the state Supreme Court.
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