Jersey family sues NFL in drunk crash after Giants game

I'm really not sure how I feel about this.


HACKENSACK, N.J. — The parents of a girl paralyzed in an accident caused by a drunk football fan have sued the National Football League, claiming it promotes the type of behavior that led the fan to drink 14 beers at a New York Giants game and then drive home.
Ronald and Fazila Verni, who live in Cliffside Park, initially filed their suit in 2001, but it was refiled Thursday in state Superior Court to include the NFL and its commissioner, Paul Tagliabue, as defendants. The Verni’s 2-year-old daughter, Antonia, was paralyzed from the neck down in the accident and is not expected to regain use of her arms and legs.

The family was headed home from a pumpkin-picking trip in 1999 when their car and a truck driven by Daniel Lanzaro, 34, of Cresskill, collided in Hasbrouck Heights. Lanzaro — whose blood-alcohol content was 0.26, nearly three times the legal limit in New Jersey — was sentenced this summer to five years in prison.

“What the NFL and the Giants are doing is saying is ’we’re having a party, so park your car in our back yard, drink as much as you want, come into the stadium and get more wasted, and then drive home,”’ said Rosemarie Arnold, the Verni family’s attorney. “They are directly responsible for Antonia’s injuries, and I think they should be held responsible.”

Besides the NFL, other defendants include Lanzaro, the Giants, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, Giants Stadium and Aramark, a company that sells concessions at the stadium.

Arnold said the NFL was not initially named as a defendant because the family had to wait for Lanzaro’s sentencing before their attorneys could interview him about his actions at the game. Greg Aiello, an NFL spokesman, said the league had not been served with a copy of the suit and therefore could not comment.

Paul Soderman, a lawyer for the Giants, said the case had no merit.

“It’s a tragic incident, but the team and sports authority have no responsibility here,” Soderman told The Record of Bergen County for Friday’s editions.

The NFL forbids beer sales after the third quarter, and the Giants go a step further by shutting down beer vendors at the start of the third quarter. The stadium also mandates that fans can only buy two beers at a time, but Arnold said Lanzaro sidestepped that rule by giving the vendor a $10 tip and was allowed to buy six beers.

BAH!

I know this is going to sound negative but Im in the Insurance Industry so Im forced to say this..

Someone is just looking for cash and felt they wanted to hit the bigger pockets of the NFL.

I hate these kind of lawsuits. Stupid in my opinion. The driver drank and is an adult and responsible for his own actions. Why not sue Bud while we're at it. BAH!!!

Lets face it. The Average Joe can't afford the pay for a child's welfare for the rest of it's life because he was liable for the injuries, so reasonably the parents look for a better solution. But the NFL? Come on!!!

*grumble*

I am sorry for the little girl, but I think the blame should be on the driver not the NFL. His actions should have the consequences not the NFL. He chose to go to a game, he chose to drink 14 beers, and he chose to get behind the wheel and drive. The NFL did not force beer down his throat, they did not strap him to a seat and put a funnel in his mouth. He made those decisions and he should pay for them, not the NFL.

Lets go after MLB, NHL, and the NBA as well. They have beers at their games too...

Some people are looking for a quick fix. To me this is blood money. I would rather have this little girl be able to go pumpkin picking again then money.

the person most at fault is definitely the driver. i, honestly, would also go after the vendor, who for a $10 tip, violated the rules. i don't think suing the NFL as a whole is correct, because they have rules in place to prevent these types of incidents. however - can you make a connection from the vendor to the NFL? is the vendor considered an employee of the NFL?? the vendor is also clearly at fault - there is a 2 beer rule for a reason!!!!!! giving someone 6 beers is just not right. would a bartender ever give you 6 drinks??? i thought once bartenders realized your were intoxicated, there were legally supposed to not serve you???

just my thoughts!!!

I agree with Karen in that I can see going after the concession company, but beyond that is getting carried away. There is no way to find the particular person who accepted the $10 tip to make them accountable.

I believe they are an indendent company from the NFL and may have a contract with the staduim, I am not too sure how that works.

I feel bad this family and particularly this little girl but I don't think the lawsuit is merited.

Wow...that poor little girl - that is so awful.

I guess the lawsuit is along the same lines as when you throw a party, you are responsible for your guests - if one of your guests drives off drunk and hits someone, you can be held responsible as well. I'm not sure suing the NFL is the right way to go about it - I think the concession stand would have been a better way to get the point across of people taking responsibility...but who knows. In any case, I hope it works out in the favor of the little girl...

The stupid part is it doesnt matter if this suit is relevant. Corporations are dragged into frivilous suits everyday. Suits that really have no merit, but still that corporation must have proper representation and so forth. Most insurance companies will pay to defend their clients even for things that they know will drop out of court later. In some cases insurance companies (along with their client) may even pay a small amount of money to avoid having to deal with legal matters. That costs tons of money when it adds up.

This family is looking for the deep pockets. They have a tragic loss and a child that will need life long care. Like I said the Average Joe can't cover that, nor his insurance policy (if it were covered). So these people are looking for someone to fill in the gap. It just pisses me off to see people abuse the system like this.

Bah.

I guess Im hypersenstive because my FH's boss's wife (got that?) who was 8 months pregnant was driving along when the car to her right front decided to make a U-ie on Jericho Turnpike. I guess the other vehicle didn't see her when it tried to run it's U-ie. It came across the front end of her Jeep and over her right front fender, flipped upside down and landed on it's top.

Now this is obviously their fault for making an illegal left turn from the right lane. But.. according to FH's boss, the family in the other vehicle took one look at his wife (yes, they're loaded) and the kid in the car seat (they're first) and the pregnant woman and though Chang-Ching. They're suing for 1million dollars. Just 1million. Most suits start at 5 to 10 million. These people just want money. Sad thing is they're gonna get it. It's cheaper for the insurance company to pay them a few grand than to take this to court. I feel so bad for them and so annoyed by leeching people.

Xelindrya you are so right.

I work for a clothing company that was sued several years ago because believe it or not a cotton t-shirt (not sleepwear) went up in flames after being doused with gasoline and lit with a match.

Sadly, it was 2 young children playing in their backyard and came across a can with some gasoline and somehow a match. One of the children was very badly burned. This was under the supervision of the grandfather I believe. The family sued everyone - us, the match company, the gasoline company, the gasoline can company, probably the water and garden hose companies for not having water automatically spring out of the faucet when this tragedy occurred.

My heart broke for the little boy, but who is really accountable here?

And yes we did settle out of court to avoid the tremendous legal fees we would have had to pay for defence.

If a bartender can be sued for serving a person who is already clearly intoxicated, then I would have to say that the vendor who sold him the beer and the company that he works for should probably be sued. The vendor has a responsibility to follow the rules and his employer has a responsibility to ensure that he is following the rules. That's about as far as I can see taking it. Suing the NFL, Giants, etc., etc., is going way too far and would set quite a precendent if they were ruled against.

However, I do think that there should be no alcohol allowed in the parking lot before the game. That's my opinion. You have people who spend the entire morning or afternoon drinking who are then going into the stadium and drinking more. Then they drive home. I don't want one of those people driving near me or anyone that I love.

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Posted by Wendy
However, I do think that there should be no alcohol allowed in the parking lot before the game. That's my opinion. You have people who spend the entire morning or afternoon drinking who are then going into the stadium and drinking more. Then they drive home. I don't want one of those people driving near me or anyone that I love.

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Are you really allowed to drink there or does authority look the other way?

I always thought it was one of those laws that will only be enforced if you are making trouble.

But you have to pay to get into the parking lot, so maybe that makes it private property.

Does anyone know? I could talk myself into circles figuring this out.

What if you are at a big stadium like that with a group of 10 people. Each one goes up to the concession stand and buys 1 round, how would anyone be able to keep track of how many drinks one person had. I think it is solely the drivers fault.
I feel very sorry for the little girl

Liz i agree with you

plus i am sure their is more then one concession stand. The one he went to round 1 and 2 may have a really long line so he goes to another concession stand to get round 3.

In a huge stadium its probably a lot harder to remember who you served beer to compared to a small bar where the person is right in front of you.

If the driver appeared sober there is no reason to not make the sale.

And there's ways around everything...Sure you can only buy 2 drinks at a time. You know what I do? Buy two from this guy then walk 30 feet down the corridor and buy two from that guy. He's not breaking any rules b/c I am purchasing 2 beers from him and I saved myself a trip downstairs.

Liz I agree with you and that's what happens most of the times. But I would also like to add that I was at a Yankee game once where the vendor at the stand wouldn't sell someone more than 4 beers at a time. The person wanted to buy 8 because they were with a group of people and they told him no. So I guess some vendors do listen to the rules. But you're right that's what most people do and it works. There's really no way to keep track of it.

There are 2 people at fault here, the person who drove drunk and the vendor who looked the other way. And even though the vendor broke the rules, how did he know that this person was going to be stupid enough to drive home drunk? It's a shame that this happened to the girl, but you really can't blame the NFL and the Giants. They have rules and people broke them. While you're at it why don't you sue the government for allowing this man to drive drunk. I mean it's essentially the same. This guy drove drunk. He broke the law. The same way that the vendor broke the rules about how many beers you can sell.

I hope the vendor that looked the other way is happy knowing that him making $10 cost a girl the use of her arms and legs.