A while back I was sued for a couple of million dollars because of a car accident where I was 110% at fault. The lawyers and insurance company both told me I was going to lose.
It turned out the lady who was suing me was a bitch to her neighbors who were more than happy to send photos of her shoveling her driveway to my lawyers.
I didn’t even know the neighbors.
I'm guessing her neighbors had been screwed over by her in the past and they figured it was payback time. You have to *really* hate someone to go to the trouble they did.
Be nice to people. If not for reciprocity. then for non-aggression. Even then, be nice because it is the nice thing to do and it will make you a happier person.
I was working on someone's property, old woman came out and told us we needed to make sure not to damage her property, shared driveway, and said how her husband is a lawyer and she doesn't like to sue anyone and listed off a bunch of companies they sued.
My neighbour was in a car accident and a private investigator arrived from the insurance company to ask me questions. He was straightforward, which made my life simple as I could say "nothing which concerns you".
My grandma died when I was a little over 1. Apparently, a year or so before her death she got in a minor car accident that got a ruled as a 50/50. Well this dumb cunt saw her in the obituary and decided to sue her estate (if I’m using the right words). Anyways, her insurance company told my dad and uncle to not worry about it and proceeded to fuck the lady over in court. Idk this is a vague story I might need to ask my dad how exactly this all went down. But, yeah that is the summary.
> Well this dumb cunt saw her in the obituary and decided to sue her estate (if I’m using the right words)
Yes, 'Dumb' and 'Cunt' appear to be the perfect words.
I’ll have to ask for details but it had to do that she had “long lasting injuries” or some shit. I’m talking like a 5 mph fender bender. I think her “logic” was that since my grandma was dead it would be an easy money grab. Also, if iirc this was shortly after she died. My family was still grieving. So yeah, just one fucked up stupid human.
Edit: again I’ll have to ask my parents, but I’m pretty sure this bullshit didn’t even make it to a court room haha
I assume from the post it means she faked disability after the accident for the money, saying she got injured so badly she didn’t have the strength to even shovel her own driveway, so her neighbours ratted her out
The actual story is pretty fucking great too.
>The constant pain in her back, neck and thoracic spine left her unable to lift groceries, do chores or play with her two children, the newspaper reported the disclosures, made to the court sitting in Limerick, as saying.
Can't play with the kids, but here let me throw this fucking tree.
>The picture, taken in January 2018, shows Grabska, wearing a yellow jacket, forcefully throwing the tree in the town of Ennis in western Ireland, where the championship, based on an old lumberjack competition, takes place. The winner is the person who throws it the farthest.
A second picture published the day shows her smiling as she holds a mounted certificate declaring her the champion.
She even beat the competition while suffering from her condition.
>She also took into consideration video from last November, played to the court, showing Grabska play-wrestling with a big Dalmatian dog for up to 1.5 hours, according to the paper.
It's not even just this photo.
This is why you listen to your lawyers people, and ideally don't commit fraud.
Wait! Keep recording! If we only have an 40 minutes of her wrestling the dog the court might still decide she’s disabled - best make sure we get at least double.
Yeah this woman seems to have meth for a personality. She wrestles dogs for hours and she’s straight up the crowned champion of throwing *trees* around.
Maybe her case wasn't even intentional fraud!
"Can't play with her kids any more" - they share her genes, they're probably tossing her around now!
"Can't lift the grocery's" - previously she had no trouble carrying the two tonnes of shopping to feed her explosive family from the car in one trip
"Throws trees around" - yes, I have recovered enough to do light gardening. I don't know why everyone else makes such a fuss of it!
As a freaking guy who once chased down and hit my brother with a tree after being hit in the nuts by him, I don't think I could throw that tree that far.
Pain is a difficult thing to prove, disprove, or quantify in a court room, so going this far really just hands them what is a difficult case on a platter. Lmao
I just don’t understand. I’ve gone my whole life not ever being in a tree throwing competition or wrestled with a dog in a public park for hours.
How hard is it just to not do that? Especially with 800k in the line.
It astounds me that people don't think companies will use all of their resources to makes sure that the person suing for disabilities is really disabled.
Especially since the cost of someone investigating you is much lower than the 800k+ spent. While it is expensive for you as a private person to employ an investigator, it is peanuts for a company. More so if that leads to the company getting their money back (or at least some of it).
I get paranoid about stuff I put on social media that shows me having any fun or suggests I live a “normal” life.
My disabilities are primarily mental illnesses and I can go through periods where it seems under control (but would not be if I had to balance self care with a job), but even at my worst, I’m not super open with even my closest family/friends about what I struggle with - so my social media is pretty curated to just show the positive stuff.
I can’t fathom partaking in a public, physically taxing event while collecting benefits for something that affects me physically.
(We had a receptionist file for disability claiming the chair she sat on messed up her back. Someone saw her dancing at some polka event and she lost her case 😄)
There was a woman a few years ago who took leave from work after being diagnosed with a severe case of depression. Her doctor suggested she tried to go to out and try to have fun, so she went to the beach and a bar and a couple other places.
Pictures of her smiling were posted online, and her insurance company used that evidence that she was no longer depressed and therefore no longer qualified for benefits.
I think I read about that!
I’d like to hope that there’s been increased understanding about how mental illnesses affect people and that social media isn’t a great indicator of someone’s state of mind, but I wouldn’t be surprised if nothing’s changed.
Plus, I know federal disabilities are approved based on how you are unmedicated, because they can’t force people to take medication - I don’t know if private policies are the same.
ergonomics is weird. never had any pains people usually complain about from office work even after spending almost all day at a computer since the 90s. then about a decade ago they redid the interior at the office I was working at and decided everyone needed to get a new matching chair.
it might've been sleeker looking but had flatter seat, less lumbar support and less controls, not sure what the issue was exactly but within days I couldn't walk properly or lean forward due to lower back pain while nobody else said anything. adjustments didn't help but switching back to old chair made it instantly better, same happened later after sitting at someone else's desk for a while.
when the office moved took one of the old chairs home and have been using it daily since, I can literally lounge on it sideways for the entire day and everything's fine but just few hours sitting up straight on that damned replacement chair made me beg for sweet release of death.
Someone who *actually* is disabled, even just long-term temporary, would probably give up the $800k in a heartbeat to just be able to move like they used to.
I was thinking the other day if someone said I could pay a million pounds and I'd be healthy, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I don't have a million or anything really but I'd damn sure find it and pay it if it would make me well.
I'm disabled and some of the things I do make people think I'm lying - for instance every now and then I go for hikes in the hills, or I do physical work for my job, but that's because what they don't see is the payback from doing those things or the fact I have maybe one day a month I can be active. Even the fact I can do those things once in a while disqualifies me for benefits, so I get nothing, but this just takes the piss.
I was thinking about that earlier today - how much would someone have to pay me for me to accept chronic pain? Flipping it around is a much more interesting and perhaps revealing question - how much would you pay for your chronic pain to go away?
I think the average answer to the first would be shy of a million for those who aren't disabled. I'd put money on the answer to the second ending up in the billions.
Once you have an extra 800k lying around and you ain't busy working you find yourself doing all kinds of different activities that you would have never done
Those are incredibly “showy” instances. But when you’re in the illusion for so long, you think you’ll never be caught. I’ve seen many feign their back problems or leg problems but play soccer regularly.
Dude I work in insurance and the amount of this shit that happens would blow your mind. The only incredible thing with this story was the fact they actually followed up on it with legal action.
My favorite part of the story was that this picture was published in the same newspaper that published a story about her disability stuff like a year before. They knew that they were doing!
My brother is a private investigator in Las Vegas, when he told me I was like damn so you’re gonna have all this wild Las Vegas cases, well turns out mostly no. Mostly they just get hired by insurance companies to make sure people are actually disabled or by companies to spy on their employees to make sure they aren’t on their phone at work or sitting down and shit.
But lady, nobody had to follow you around to catch you doing this, why would you do this?
What an idiot. I’m sure her lawyer only told her 1,000 times not to do anything contradictory to the disability in public. I just spent 2 years in arbitration over a shoulder and I wouldn’t even take the garbage out in that hand.
"Your honor, this is a picture of a tree leaping out at my client while the random crowd behind her reacts in terror. The Happening tried to warn us and we didn't listen."
>What an idiot. I’m sure her lawyer only told her 1,000 times not to do anything contradictory to the disability in public. I just spent 2 years in arbitration over a shoulder and I wouldn’t even take the garbage out in that hand.
There's a really similar case with a veteran having collected millions in VA Disability. He was also posting pictures of himself on social media literally power-lifting while claiming a debilitating physical injury.
He ended up having to pay it all back.
>There's a really similar case with a veteran having collected millions in VA Disability. He was also posting pictures of himself on social media literally power-lifting while claiming a debilitating physical injury.
>He ended up having to pay it all back.
His case was around $106k in benefits defrauded from the government, but yea there are others who have gotten much more.
In his case, it was recoupment of the benefits paid out, in addition to a $250k fine and/or up to 10 years in federal prison. Sentencing was supposed to have been in October but I don't see that sentencing info has been published online.
Dude was claiming he had difficulty getting out of bed, and had to walk with a cane. Meanwhile he was running a personal trainer gig and posting vids on Instagram of him leg pressing 800lbs.
Not the sharpest crayon in the box.
Lawyers warn people about all sorts of things that get ignored. Ask any lawyer and they’ll have some really fun stories about people who just can’t help themselves but make their problem so much worse.
A nice example a former law professor told us was about someone who had been arrested for drinking and driving, who drove themselves to the courthouse visibly drunk.
I’ve never sued anyone I still do all the normal stuff when I’m injured, it just hurts like hell. For sure they’d make a case that I was lying about my injuries when they saw me installing the window air conditioner or cutting down a tree or wrestling in the yard or something idiotic.
I remember a friend asking if she could put her crutches to the side to take a picture, and someone else asked if she was going to post it on social media. When she said yes, they said to keep the crutches so no one would accuse them of faking later.
I was astounded anyone would ever accuse someone of faking, but clearly some people are out here doing a little _too much_.
Their insurance company will absolutely send investigators out to your address just to catch you doing something like standing without crutches. And they absolutely go through your social media. If they had truly already set a settlement amount of $800,000 then this lady fucked up in the final week or two of presumably years of arbitration.
I would've loved an Office spinoff where Dwight and Toby work together as private eyes specializing in insurance fraud like that time they told Darryl's sister to eat dog food.
She was more concerned about her employer going through her social media. It just felt like “I wanted a picture without the crutches because they’re temporary and the photo is forever” was a very simple explanation.
My friends scheduled a golf trip for my birthday, months after I was projected to be 100%. By the time it came around, I was cleared to play by my doctor, but still in arbitration. Asked my lawyer. He said “do not even hold a golf club in your hands.” as there was a possibility of it showing up on social media or even an investigator following me 3 hours from home to the resort. So I didn’t, I ate hot dogs and drove the cart all weekend.
The problem is that, to a lawsuit, an injury that causes pain is worth a *lot* less than an injury that debilitates you.
If your shoulder hurts when you lift things, that's inconvenient and you may get pain and suffering damages. If you're (ex:) a construction worker and you can't lift things anymore, you basically just lost your career, which means potentially years of lost income, which is why these awards get so high.
private investigators tried to catch my dad carrying/dragging heavy stuff after his back was broken on the job. One day he fell out in the yard and the investigator let him lie there for 6 hours before calling the paramedics to come get him up. That started a whole other lawsuit.
depends on the state.
they definitely don't have an obligation to personally help them. But they may very well have some basic obligation to call the authorities for help. They might not have to help if they are passing by and see somebody hurt but don't think they can help, but sitting there and watching for 6 hours crosses a line.
It would be similar to if somebody left a child at your front door and left. you can't just let that child die because "it isn't your responsibility" you have to at least call the police and cps to come take care of the child.
this case is a legal grey area, I could see it going either way depending on the state laws or Jury, and I doubt a Jury will be too sympathetic to a private investigator.
Watching but taking no action for six hours because you suspect the person is "faking" definitely crosses the line past *well no random person is obligated to save you but they probably ought to call the damnbulance when they see you on the ground*
I went grocery shopping with my back issue disabled mum and a week later she was accosted at work over her doing labor. Turns out a PI was following us and took a nice snapshot of her carrying two grocery bags and claimed it was Malingering.
Yep, broke my shoulder a few years back and had to wear a sling for about 2 months. Made it harder to type and I asked Facilities to install a keyboard tray at my desk to make it easier.
My boss then told a story about how they saw someone on the train in a sling who took it off so they could play on their Nintendo switch.
The implication was obvious: my boss thought I was faking my injury for special treatment, but was too cowardly to accuse me openly.
Ooh, I've got one for this. When I was a wee one, I broke my collar bone!
I had to wear a sling for quite a while. And when I wasn't, I was told to wear this like...harness dealio.
I could take off my sling just fine. My arm functioned perfectly fine once the bone got reset and a small amount of time passed- it was just better to tell me, "Leave it the hell alone," so I don't exert myself into a worse injury. Short breaks without it were pretty common - showering is the biggest example.
Tell your boss to sit on a railroad spike.
How much money are they blowing to pay someone full time to stalk and catch victims of worker’s comp? I can understand if it’s a huge settlement they want to prove/disprove.
I got this type of pushback when I got whiplash working at a school and all I need was a few weeks pay on a modified work schedule - which they didn't have prepared and somehow it was my fault when the office just told me to go home.
People turn into some kind of psychos at the thought of someone getting paid without working.
Its always been this way. 33 years ago my father fell at work and got 2 herniated discs in his back and one in his neck. Couldnt get off the couch for a solid year. For years after that there were PIs following him, watching every move he made. Even after he healed up to the point he could he wouldnt pick up a basketball outside of the house. 14 year old me had to do so much fucking work outside the house by myself because of those motherfuckers.
My uncle was on workman's comp for about 4 months for a badly sprained back and slipped disk after a slip and fall, went through PT to the point he was feeling about 80% better, doctor told him to resume his normal life during the last part of the healing, can lift whatever, just don't overdo it, and he was cleared to go back to work in about 2 weeks.
The fucking company (US Post Office btw) sent someone to shadow him after he was almost fully healed, and saw him lifting 2 cases of water bottles from his cart to the car so they threatened to sue for fraud and put him on suspension.
Worst part is the bastard doctor refused to write a statement saying he had told him to resume normal activity within reason.
Company eventually caved and let him resume his normal position, probably because they were afraid of getting sued... honestly if we had actually gotten a lawyer involved we probably could have gotten them to settle considering the pain and suffering he went through.
My father has a cyst in his spinal cavity almost a foot long that is compressing his spinal cord, making him lose feeling in his left side as well as constant pain. He’s already had 2 bone spurs removed from the vertebrae on his neck.
Insurance has denied every different solution available to him because “it’s not needed for his QoL”. So he can’t fix the problem and can’t work. So he applied for disability to pay the bills and was denied saying his condition can be treated with surgery and fixable, and that since he can still stand up for an hour or two day, he doesn’t qualify.
Help me make it make sense.
If you're in the U.S. and that disability denial was for SSDI, tell him to get a lawyer and apply again, or appeal if it was recent. Everybody gets denied initially unless they're actively dying (and sometimes even then), it's something you have to actually fight for, terrible as that is.
It makes sense because insurance said fuck him in particular. Paying for insurance only for them to not help you in your time of need is peak dystopia.
I still can't believe insurance can just say no to major surgeries or procedures.
Where I’m from, if you have a disability check and you make any other money they start to discount it off your disability check the moment they notice. It’s crazy, theyre absolutely against the concept of being disabled and also striving to make progress in life. God forbid you start making and selling little scarves, you no longer deserve to have a home! Hippity hoppity, this is government property now.
My wife is a workers comp defense attorney and had a case that just recently concluded in which a claimant was hurt while at work(duh) and had become paralyzed from the waist down. After a few years of paying for rehab and various surgeries et cetera, she convinced the insurance company to settle with the guy and offered him $1.5 million in cash and a complete retrofit of his current home and vehicles and whatever the next home and vehicle he bought would be. He declined and demanded $4million. While waiting to go to court over the matter she decided to send an investigator out to surveil him one last time before trial, and what does he find? The guy pulling up to his home in his classic pickup truck that he claimed he could no longer drive as it was a stick shift and he couldn’t use his feet/legs due to the paralysis, he then gets out of the truck and walks into his house unassisted.
My wife, being the vindictive person she is doesn’t disclose this information to the opposing counsel or the claimant(the rules of discovery are different in workers comp), and just presented the photos and videos in court a few weeks later after asking him numerous times about his condition and limitations. Needless to say his claim was tossed and he had to pay back quite a bit of money for the accommodations they already had made.
tl/dr be extra careful when committing insurance fraud because they do send PI’s out to watch you.
Likewise here. I was my wife's assistant and got to see a bunch of the videos.
What state are you in?
"Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup"
I have a condition where I go blind randomly for hours on end. Nobody can hire me because once again I randomly go blind. The judge told me to come back when I'm 50. That i'm just way too young to collect benefits yet.
Congrats you have a condition that can't be easily diagnosed. My wife has one as well. If you do have this issue, get a lawyer and appeal. Judges are not medical experts but will listen to them. Getting disability for this type of condition requires a lot of action on your part and probably more work than actually working a job unfortunately.
[Cerebral visual impairment](https://old.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1b2mxx2/mother_loses_800000_disability_case_after_photos/ksndxq2/) per their other post.
My uncle almost lost his work comp claim after a PI took a photo of him sitting in a golf cart while a friend was golfing. He had to pull course security footage to prove he didn’t golf. He was just there to hang with a friend.
Couldnt they just say that he wasnt playing? Like if someone has a photo of him sitting in a cart they surely have one of him where he is also playing?
My dad legitimately became blind in his 50s which forced him to go in disability. We went out bowling one night and he bowled a couple 200 games, strike after strike. It was his favourite pastime before being blind and we attribute it to muscle memory. But we were all paranoid a private investigator was around.
The Price is Right had a contestant on that was a postal worker who was on disability spinning the wheel… she got in deep shit, esp being a federal worker
I knew a guy that was on state disability and was receiving benefits. His lawyer told him several times to not play basketball. Sure enough a private investigator caught him on video doing slam dunks during a pick up basketball game at his local gym. He was cut off and is working again.
If you are faking injury you’d better become Daniel Day Lewis and make your fake injury a part of your everyday life.
I had a PI ask if they could park in my driveway to investigate my neighbor. I asked for details and he just told me who. We live in a private lake association, I declined and told him to leave the entire community. He argued he could legally drive there. Called my other neighbor a county cop... guy got the boot, neighbor got his workers comp settlement. (Neighbor was legit injured too, I had to help him a lot)
Some people will always try it on.
I was in a crash a few years back, the other party was found fully at fault and his insurance paid out 100%. (He cut a blind corner and was on my side of the road as I went round the corner)
About 6 months later I was contacted by a solicitor as he was claiming for whiplash caused by the crash.
I laughed and pointed out I was driving one of [these](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ml0O_BuR0Vk/WnRVpzQsIEI/AAAAAAAADrE/dVU-E-xIIogvLc4gMJFbzMvlHFGRMtRnwCLcBGAs/s1600/triumph-speed-triple-caferacer-2.jpg), and he was driving one of [these](https://cdn.agriland.ie/uploads/2019/10/MF7726S-Red-Black-Next-HR-EDITED_163249.jpg).
The solicitor just went "Oh, right. thanks for your time" and hung up.
Currently dealing with so much back pain from being rear ended a month ago. I’m constantly in pain unless I’m laying down and even then still not the best. To see someone pull this shit is so frustrating it’s ridiculous. Like I’m here struggling to get work accommodations and she’s throwing a fucking tree.
Looks to me like this is a photo from before her accident.
And it looks less like a tree throwing competition and more like a tree catching competition.
That explains her subsequent injuries.
I rest my case, your Honor.
As someone who's about a year out from a major accident caused by another driver, idk how I feel about this. My driver is poor (not a collectible debt if I sue her) so I'm only getting the pittance she was insured for, no matter what. So I'm not going through a lawsuit.
But I worked pretty hard for the last year to get through PT and rebuild my fitness on my own. I *can* do lots of things, and by some metrics I'm almost as strong/fast/fit as I was before. But I also have pains where the bones and ligaments were damaged, that are just there and probably never going away. Certain specific tasks are more difficult or impossible just because of the weird angle or some other issue. It hurts to type on a typical keyboard now. And my brain injuries are hard to pin down but I still have issues with sleep that I never had before, and even when I manage to get good sleep I have less mental energy during the day and slightly but noticeably worse memory than before.
What I'm saying is, I could throw a tree, and would. Wrestle with a dog, all those things. But the accident still profoundly impacted my life, cost me many months of work, destroyed my school plans and caused me to drop classes I had already paid for, etc. The physical, mental, and financial impact is hard to estimate going forward but it has certainly changed my life for the worse. The capabilities that I pushed myself hard to reclaim do not mean the damage isn't there.
So, idk. Maybe she's a bitch in general like people are saying and there's more to the story, but I don't like the idea that photos like these would lose a case entirely. Maybe a reduction in the amount, but that would be all. Damage can be catastrophic without being especially visible months later, and the mental/neurological side, if there is any for her, can be impossible to define clearly.
A while back I was sued for a couple of million dollars because of a car accident where I was 110% at fault. The lawyers and insurance company both told me I was going to lose. It turned out the lady who was suing me was a bitch to her neighbors who were more than happy to send photos of her shoveling her driveway to my lawyers. I didn’t even know the neighbors.
LOL imagine being such a cunt to people that even being a victim is going to screw you over. maybe treat people better lady
I'm guessing her neighbors had been screwed over by her in the past and they figured it was payback time. You have to *really* hate someone to go to the trouble they did.
They just acted in their own interests. Nothing worse then a bad neighbour that now doesn't need to work and has all the time to get bored with life.
I think the self interests is mostly they get to fuck over a hated neighbor lol
A neighborhood collectively planning something to fuck over that one hated neighbor is the most satisfyingly tribal outcome here.
She was trying to scam both the justice system and an innocent civilian. Any good person should do the same, regardless of how she has treated them.
Be nice to people. If not for reciprocity. then for non-aggression. Even then, be nice because it is the nice thing to do and it will make you a happier person.
You don't even have to be nice. Just don't be a dick.
How did her neighbors know about the lawsuit?
[удалено]
I was working on someone's property, old woman came out and told us we needed to make sure not to damage her property, shared driveway, and said how her husband is a lawyer and she doesn't like to sue anyone and listed off a bunch of companies they sued.
How brave of her since she doesn’t like doing it /s 🙄
She doesn't, but her husband fucking loves it.
She probably bragged about the fat payday coming up
Lawyers probably asked, or sent someone to ask , the neighbors
My neighbour was in a car accident and a private investigator arrived from the insurance company to ask me questions. He was straightforward, which made my life simple as I could say "nothing which concerns you".
My grandma died when I was a little over 1. Apparently, a year or so before her death she got in a minor car accident that got a ruled as a 50/50. Well this dumb cunt saw her in the obituary and decided to sue her estate (if I’m using the right words). Anyways, her insurance company told my dad and uncle to not worry about it and proceeded to fuck the lady over in court. Idk this is a vague story I might need to ask my dad how exactly this all went down. But, yeah that is the summary.
> Well this dumb cunt saw her in the obituary and decided to sue her estate (if I’m using the right words) Yes, 'Dumb' and 'Cunt' appear to be the perfect words.
I concur
I need to know why grounds this was on, what reasoning did the other person have to sue
I’ll have to ask for details but it had to do that she had “long lasting injuries” or some shit. I’m talking like a 5 mph fender bender. I think her “logic” was that since my grandma was dead it would be an easy money grab. Also, if iirc this was shortly after she died. My family was still grieving. So yeah, just one fucked up stupid human. Edit: again I’ll have to ask my parents, but I’m pretty sure this bullshit didn’t even make it to a court room haha
That’s absolutely fucked up
It is! But, thankfully the right thing happened, and she got the book thrown at her.
Thank god
Sorry. What does shoveling her driveway have to do with anything? Now I'm scared that there is something I really should know that I don't.
I assume from the post it means she faked disability after the accident for the money, saying she got injured so badly she didn’t have the strength to even shovel her own driveway, so her neighbours ratted her out
Thank you.
The leggings that say "I just can't" really make this.
The leggings testified on her behalf but were not deemed a credible witness given the circumstances.
They tried to stretch the truth, but the story was a bit see through.
Now you're just legging me on... +1 for the chuckle, by the by.
And the pants proved to be a lie
Pants ought to spontaneously combust.
Liar liar pants on fire?
I'm on tonight, my pants do lie and I'm starting to feel all right Let's go, real slow See Baby, this is my tree throw
The actual story is pretty fucking great too. >The constant pain in her back, neck and thoracic spine left her unable to lift groceries, do chores or play with her two children, the newspaper reported the disclosures, made to the court sitting in Limerick, as saying. Can't play with the kids, but here let me throw this fucking tree. >The picture, taken in January 2018, shows Grabska, wearing a yellow jacket, forcefully throwing the tree in the town of Ennis in western Ireland, where the championship, based on an old lumberjack competition, takes place. The winner is the person who throws it the farthest. A second picture published the day shows her smiling as she holds a mounted certificate declaring her the champion. She even beat the competition while suffering from her condition. >She also took into consideration video from last November, played to the court, showing Grabska play-wrestling with a big Dalmatian dog for up to 1.5 hours, according to the paper. It's not even just this photo. This is why you listen to your lawyers people, and ideally don't commit fraud.
I respect the commitment required to wrestle a dalmatian for that long
I'm just imagining the private investigator recording her. "It's been an hour already, wrap it up! I want to go to lunch!"
Wait! Keep recording! If we only have an 40 minutes of her wrestling the dog the court might still decide she’s disabled - best make sure we get at least double.
"Wrestling a dog isn't that... for an hour and a half!? Yeah, that's a bit excessive".
This woman is the opposite of disabled and needs to share whatever orphan sacrificing ritual she's using to have this much energy.
Turns out not having to work for a living can leave a person with plenty of energy to do things they enjoy (whatever those may be).
Like hucking trees apparently.
she just needs to find a job in Tree Hucking and Dalmatian Wrestling and she's set
Yeah this woman seems to have meth for a personality. She wrestles dogs for hours and she’s straight up the crowned champion of throwing *trees* around.
Just imagine what she could do if she wasn't severely disabled.
No Dalmatian would be safe.
Even the 1.5-hour Dalmatian testified that he was completely traumatized.
He was caught for fraud after his neighbours sent the court photos of him skipping therapy
Maybe her case wasn't even intentional fraud! "Can't play with her kids any more" - they share her genes, they're probably tossing her around now! "Can't lift the grocery's" - previously she had no trouble carrying the two tonnes of shopping to feed her explosive family from the car in one trip "Throws trees around" - yes, I have recovered enough to do light gardening. I don't know why everyone else makes such a fuss of it!
Imagine what we could do if we didn't have draining 9-5 jobs every single day of our lives...
As a freaking guy who once chased down and hit my brother with a tree after being hit in the nuts by him, I don't think I could throw that tree that far. Pain is a difficult thing to prove, disprove, or quantify in a court room, so going this far really just hands them what is a difficult case on a platter. Lmao
>chased down and hit my brother with a tree I need details
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Can't play with her own kids.
Ain't got time for that. Who's gonna wrestle this dalmatian?
Can't lift groceries, only trees!
To be fair, winning a tree throwing competition is the funniest way to get caught committing disability fraud
Just try to eat a tree! That's right you can't.
Whispers in MatPat… but what if you [could](https://youtu.be/O1X0-bQpXvw?si=Nuj8a7wgs0dRasIN)?
Unless it’s broccoli, then it’s like lifting a bag full of little trees.
I just don’t understand. I’ve gone my whole life not ever being in a tree throwing competition or wrestled with a dog in a public park for hours. How hard is it just to not do that? Especially with 800k in the line.
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It astounds me that people don't think companies will use all of their resources to makes sure that the person suing for disabilities is really disabled.
Especially since the cost of someone investigating you is much lower than the 800k+ spent. While it is expensive for you as a private person to employ an investigator, it is peanuts for a company. More so if that leads to the company getting their money back (or at least some of it).
It also prevents future spurious payouts
You made that sound like they hire hitmen, "to make sure the person is really disabled".
That’s plan C for if the lawsuit fails.
I get paranoid about stuff I put on social media that shows me having any fun or suggests I live a “normal” life. My disabilities are primarily mental illnesses and I can go through periods where it seems under control (but would not be if I had to balance self care with a job), but even at my worst, I’m not super open with even my closest family/friends about what I struggle with - so my social media is pretty curated to just show the positive stuff. I can’t fathom partaking in a public, physically taxing event while collecting benefits for something that affects me physically. (We had a receptionist file for disability claiming the chair she sat on messed up her back. Someone saw her dancing at some polka event and she lost her case 😄)
There was a woman a few years ago who took leave from work after being diagnosed with a severe case of depression. Her doctor suggested she tried to go to out and try to have fun, so she went to the beach and a bar and a couple other places. Pictures of her smiling were posted online, and her insurance company used that evidence that she was no longer depressed and therefore no longer qualified for benefits.
I think I read about that! I’d like to hope that there’s been increased understanding about how mental illnesses affect people and that social media isn’t a great indicator of someone’s state of mind, but I wouldn’t be surprised if nothing’s changed. Plus, I know federal disabilities are approved based on how you are unmedicated, because they can’t force people to take medication - I don’t know if private policies are the same.
ergonomics is weird. never had any pains people usually complain about from office work even after spending almost all day at a computer since the 90s. then about a decade ago they redid the interior at the office I was working at and decided everyone needed to get a new matching chair. it might've been sleeker looking but had flatter seat, less lumbar support and less controls, not sure what the issue was exactly but within days I couldn't walk properly or lean forward due to lower back pain while nobody else said anything. adjustments didn't help but switching back to old chair made it instantly better, same happened later after sitting at someone else's desk for a while. when the office moved took one of the old chairs home and have been using it daily since, I can literally lounge on it sideways for the entire day and everything's fine but just few hours sitting up straight on that damned replacement chair made me beg for sweet release of death.
Yeah she is weird...i only attend dog throwing competitions and tree wrestling in public parks
Do you try to [teach poodles how to fly](https://youtu.be/3O5t0IwL5Mw?si=x9Ri4CiujCmYgoEM)?
Someone who *actually* is disabled, even just long-term temporary, would probably give up the $800k in a heartbeat to just be able to move like they used to.
I was thinking the other day if someone said I could pay a million pounds and I'd be healthy, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I don't have a million or anything really but I'd damn sure find it and pay it if it would make me well. I'm disabled and some of the things I do make people think I'm lying - for instance every now and then I go for hikes in the hills, or I do physical work for my job, but that's because what they don't see is the payback from doing those things or the fact I have maybe one day a month I can be active. Even the fact I can do those things once in a while disqualifies me for benefits, so I get nothing, but this just takes the piss.
I was thinking about that earlier today - how much would someone have to pay me for me to accept chronic pain? Flipping it around is a much more interesting and perhaps revealing question - how much would you pay for your chronic pain to go away? I think the average answer to the first would be shy of a million for those who aren't disabled. I'd put money on the answer to the second ending up in the billions.
Even a totally healthy person wouldn't want to wrestle with a big dog for 90 minutes. She's just flaunting it by that point.
Once you have an extra 800k lying around and you ain't busy working you find yourself doing all kinds of different activities that you would have never done
Those are incredibly “showy” instances. But when you’re in the illusion for so long, you think you’ll never be caught. I’ve seen many feign their back problems or leg problems but play soccer regularly.
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Apparently she just could.
But never stopped to think if she should.
Dude I work in insurance and the amount of this shit that happens would blow your mind. The only incredible thing with this story was the fact they actually followed up on it with legal action.
I’m saving this comment for when I have a bad day
My favorite part of the story was that this picture was published in the same newspaper that published a story about her disability stuff like a year before. They knew that they were doing!
My brother is a private investigator in Las Vegas, when he told me I was like damn so you’re gonna have all this wild Las Vegas cases, well turns out mostly no. Mostly they just get hired by insurance companies to make sure people are actually disabled or by companies to spy on their employees to make sure they aren’t on their phone at work or sitting down and shit. But lady, nobody had to follow you around to catch you doing this, why would you do this?
how's the pay? Was he former LEO?
What's his star sign got to do with it?
When she said disability she meant "I have dis ability to throw trees really far."
Saw someone make basically the same comment earlier today on a different sub and I still laughed reading this one.
I wish reddit awards were still a thing so I could give you platinum for this one.
Hold up. HOLD UP. I just realized these were gone. What in the actual corporate fuckery.
They’re not completely gone. You can buy super upvotes to attach to comments.
Not if you're hiding in old.reddit like me. I'm sticking to this no frills UI for as long as possible
Old.reddit for life!
There's a dozen of us!
DOZENS
How do I give super downvotes?
Become a moderator.
What an idiot. I’m sure her lawyer only told her 1,000 times not to do anything contradictory to the disability in public. I just spent 2 years in arbitration over a shoulder and I wouldn’t even take the garbage out in that hand.
"Your honor, this is a picture of a tree leaping out at my client while the random crowd behind her reacts in terror. The Happening tried to warn us and we didn't listen."
> "Well, then how do you explain the video?" >> "It's clearly been reversed."
"So you say she can catch a tree? Thats quite the ability."
>What an idiot. I’m sure her lawyer only told her 1,000 times not to do anything contradictory to the disability in public. I just spent 2 years in arbitration over a shoulder and I wouldn’t even take the garbage out in that hand. There's a really similar case with a veteran having collected millions in VA Disability. He was also posting pictures of himself on social media literally power-lifting while claiming a debilitating physical injury. He ended up having to pay it all back.
>There's a really similar case with a veteran having collected millions in VA Disability. He was also posting pictures of himself on social media literally power-lifting while claiming a debilitating physical injury. >He ended up having to pay it all back. His case was around $106k in benefits defrauded from the government, but yea there are others who have gotten much more. In his case, it was recoupment of the benefits paid out, in addition to a $250k fine and/or up to 10 years in federal prison. Sentencing was supposed to have been in October but I don't see that sentencing info has been published online. Dude was claiming he had difficulty getting out of bed, and had to walk with a cane. Meanwhile he was running a personal trainer gig and posting vids on Instagram of him leg pressing 800lbs. Not the sharpest crayon in the box.
was he ... was he a Marine ?
Don't believe so. If he was there wouldn't have been any crayons in the box.
As a Marine, can confirm.
Hoo-rah brother, what’s your favorite flavor… err.. I mean color
I love marines. Y’all got heart above all
Lawyers warn people about all sorts of things that get ignored. Ask any lawyer and they’ll have some really fun stories about people who just can’t help themselves but make their problem so much worse. A nice example a former law professor told us was about someone who had been arrested for drinking and driving, who drove themselves to the courthouse visibly drunk.
WHO TOLD YOU TO PUT THE BALM ON
I DIDNT TELL YOU TO PUT THE BALM ON
I’ve never sued anyone I still do all the normal stuff when I’m injured, it just hurts like hell. For sure they’d make a case that I was lying about my injuries when they saw me installing the window air conditioner or cutting down a tree or wrestling in the yard or something idiotic.
I remember a friend asking if she could put her crutches to the side to take a picture, and someone else asked if she was going to post it on social media. When she said yes, they said to keep the crutches so no one would accuse them of faking later. I was astounded anyone would ever accuse someone of faking, but clearly some people are out here doing a little _too much_.
Their insurance company will absolutely send investigators out to your address just to catch you doing something like standing without crutches. And they absolutely go through your social media. If they had truly already set a settlement amount of $800,000 then this lady fucked up in the final week or two of presumably years of arbitration.
I would've loved an Office spinoff where Dwight and Toby work together as private eyes specializing in insurance fraud like that time they told Darryl's sister to eat dog food.
She was more concerned about her employer going through her social media. It just felt like “I wanted a picture without the crutches because they’re temporary and the photo is forever” was a very simple explanation.
My friends scheduled a golf trip for my birthday, months after I was projected to be 100%. By the time it came around, I was cleared to play by my doctor, but still in arbitration. Asked my lawyer. He said “do not even hold a golf club in your hands.” as there was a possibility of it showing up on social media or even an investigator following me 3 hours from home to the resort. So I didn’t, I ate hot dogs and drove the cart all weekend.
>So I didn’t, I ate hot dogs and drove the cart all weekend Hell yeah brother
The problem is that, to a lawsuit, an injury that causes pain is worth a *lot* less than an injury that debilitates you. If your shoulder hurts when you lift things, that's inconvenient and you may get pain and suffering damages. If you're (ex:) a construction worker and you can't lift things anymore, you basically just lost your career, which means potentially years of lost income, which is why these awards get so high.
private investigators tried to catch my dad carrying/dragging heavy stuff after his back was broken on the job. One day he fell out in the yard and the investigator let him lie there for 6 hours before calling the paramedics to come get him up. That started a whole other lawsuit.
That's insanity
No, that's America
cant see a difference.
So did he win both?
If this is us, there's no legal obligation for the PI (or anyone else) to do anything
Depends on the state actually. Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Vermont have duty to rescue laws.
I think more states have duty to at least call for help. But it may need to be life or death.
depends on the state. they definitely don't have an obligation to personally help them. But they may very well have some basic obligation to call the authorities for help. They might not have to help if they are passing by and see somebody hurt but don't think they can help, but sitting there and watching for 6 hours crosses a line. It would be similar to if somebody left a child at your front door and left. you can't just let that child die because "it isn't your responsibility" you have to at least call the police and cps to come take care of the child. this case is a legal grey area, I could see it going either way depending on the state laws or Jury, and I doubt a Jury will be too sympathetic to a private investigator.
Watching but taking no action for six hours because you suspect the person is "faking" definitely crosses the line past *well no random person is obligated to save you but they probably ought to call the damnbulance when they see you on the ground*
I went grocery shopping with my back issue disabled mum and a week later she was accosted at work over her doing labor. Turns out a PI was following us and took a nice snapshot of her carrying two grocery bags and claimed it was Malingering.
Yep, broke my shoulder a few years back and had to wear a sling for about 2 months. Made it harder to type and I asked Facilities to install a keyboard tray at my desk to make it easier. My boss then told a story about how they saw someone on the train in a sling who took it off so they could play on their Nintendo switch. The implication was obvious: my boss thought I was faking my injury for special treatment, but was too cowardly to accuse me openly.
Ooh, I've got one for this. When I was a wee one, I broke my collar bone! I had to wear a sling for quite a while. And when I wasn't, I was told to wear this like...harness dealio. I could take off my sling just fine. My arm functioned perfectly fine once the bone got reset and a small amount of time passed- it was just better to tell me, "Leave it the hell alone," so I don't exert myself into a worse injury. Short breaks without it were pretty common - showering is the biggest example. Tell your boss to sit on a railroad spike.
Sit and spin, baby.
How much money are they blowing to pay someone full time to stalk and catch victims of worker’s comp? I can understand if it’s a huge settlement they want to prove/disprove.
A lot less than the settlement - which is why they continue to do it
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yeah my LTD would be something like $4m-5m till retirement age. they'd definitely be desperately trying to prove against payout.
If this scenario ever happens, you should pay a PI to follow their PI
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I got this type of pushback when I got whiplash working at a school and all I need was a few weeks pay on a modified work schedule - which they didn't have prepared and somehow it was my fault when the office just told me to go home. People turn into some kind of psychos at the thought of someone getting paid without working.
Its always been this way. 33 years ago my father fell at work and got 2 herniated discs in his back and one in his neck. Couldnt get off the couch for a solid year. For years after that there were PIs following him, watching every move he made. Even after he healed up to the point he could he wouldnt pick up a basketball outside of the house. 14 year old me had to do so much fucking work outside the house by myself because of those motherfuckers.
Thats so messed up.
did.....did he win the other lawsuit? Still ongoing? Thats INSANE.
During the other lawsuit, his own lawyer committed wire fraud and emptied his back account. That started a whole other lawsuit...
it's lawsuits all the way down
With the chief of police laundering the money thru Car Wash Spots... that started a whole other lawsuit....
My uncle was on workman's comp for about 4 months for a badly sprained back and slipped disk after a slip and fall, went through PT to the point he was feeling about 80% better, doctor told him to resume his normal life during the last part of the healing, can lift whatever, just don't overdo it, and he was cleared to go back to work in about 2 weeks. The fucking company (US Post Office btw) sent someone to shadow him after he was almost fully healed, and saw him lifting 2 cases of water bottles from his cart to the car so they threatened to sue for fraud and put him on suspension. Worst part is the bastard doctor refused to write a statement saying he had told him to resume normal activity within reason. Company eventually caved and let him resume his normal position, probably because they were afraid of getting sued... honestly if we had actually gotten a lawyer involved we probably could have gotten them to settle considering the pain and suffering he went through.
Damn wtf. I gotta ask, what was nature and outcome of that lawsuit?
Wonder if she started racking up credit card debt thinking she was going to get $800K
Everybody knows you have to spend all of the money you expect to receive before you receive it.
Just like that famous saying "Always count your chickens before they hatch"
Easier that way, the eggs don't move around
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My father has a cyst in his spinal cavity almost a foot long that is compressing his spinal cord, making him lose feeling in his left side as well as constant pain. He’s already had 2 bone spurs removed from the vertebrae on his neck. Insurance has denied every different solution available to him because “it’s not needed for his QoL”. So he can’t fix the problem and can’t work. So he applied for disability to pay the bills and was denied saying his condition can be treated with surgery and fixable, and that since he can still stand up for an hour or two day, he doesn’t qualify. Help me make it make sense.
If you're in the U.S. and that disability denial was for SSDI, tell him to get a lawyer and apply again, or appeal if it was recent. Everybody gets denied initially unless they're actively dying (and sometimes even then), it's something you have to actually fight for, terrible as that is.
It makes sense because insurance said fuck him in particular. Paying for insurance only for them to not help you in your time of need is peak dystopia. I still can't believe insurance can just say no to major surgeries or procedures.
It’s pretty unlikely she was going to win the case already. Especially for that amount.
I am autistic, but higher functioning and I was told I could not apply because I don't look disabled. What the fuck does that mean??
Practice looking disabled? Stop trying to make progress in life?
Where I’m from, if you have a disability check and you make any other money they start to discount it off your disability check the moment they notice. It’s crazy, theyre absolutely against the concept of being disabled and also striving to make progress in life. God forbid you start making and selling little scarves, you no longer deserve to have a home! Hippity hoppity, this is government property now.
That's bullshit. And here I am thinking some hobbies could be a good way to add income to it
[Do your research first!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhvgL35WJgE)
But was the prize for winning the tree-throwing contest $900,000?
Brother I doubt it was even a 100$ gift card
My wife is a workers comp defense attorney and had a case that just recently concluded in which a claimant was hurt while at work(duh) and had become paralyzed from the waist down. After a few years of paying for rehab and various surgeries et cetera, she convinced the insurance company to settle with the guy and offered him $1.5 million in cash and a complete retrofit of his current home and vehicles and whatever the next home and vehicle he bought would be. He declined and demanded $4million. While waiting to go to court over the matter she decided to send an investigator out to surveil him one last time before trial, and what does he find? The guy pulling up to his home in his classic pickup truck that he claimed he could no longer drive as it was a stick shift and he couldn’t use his feet/legs due to the paralysis, he then gets out of the truck and walks into his house unassisted. My wife, being the vindictive person she is doesn’t disclose this information to the opposing counsel or the claimant(the rules of discovery are different in workers comp), and just presented the photos and videos in court a few weeks later after asking him numerous times about his condition and limitations. Needless to say his claim was tossed and he had to pay back quite a bit of money for the accommodations they already had made. tl/dr be extra careful when committing insurance fraud because they do send PI’s out to watch you.
Likewise here. I was my wife's assistant and got to see a bunch of the videos. What state are you in? "Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup"
Meanwhile actually disabled people are getting refusals
I have a condition where I go blind randomly for hours on end. Nobody can hire me because once again I randomly go blind. The judge told me to come back when I'm 50. That i'm just way too young to collect benefits yet.
Yeah because the only people who deserve financial compensation are old people. You youngins have it all!! /s Fuck that judge.
Congrats you have a condition that can't be easily diagnosed. My wife has one as well. If you do have this issue, get a lawyer and appeal. Judges are not medical experts but will listen to them. Getting disability for this type of condition requires a lot of action on your part and probably more work than actually working a job unfortunately.
What condition is that? That may be the most terrifying thing I’ve ever heard of.. each time the lights go out you never know if they’ll come back on?
[Cerebral visual impairment](https://old.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1b2mxx2/mother_loses_800000_disability_case_after_photos/ksndxq2/) per their other post.
Cases like this leave me stumped.
My uncle almost lost his work comp claim after a PI took a photo of him sitting in a golf cart while a friend was golfing. He had to pull course security footage to prove he didn’t golf. He was just there to hang with a friend.
Couldnt they just say that he wasnt playing? Like if someone has a photo of him sitting in a cart they surely have one of him where he is also playing?
Well...Now they have to prove it's AI generated. Good luck!
Person in the bottom left probably has a photo. Unless she says that person is AI generated too.
My dad legitimately became blind in his 50s which forced him to go in disability. We went out bowling one night and he bowled a couple 200 games, strike after strike. It was his favourite pastime before being blind and we attribute it to muscle memory. But we were all paranoid a private investigator was around.
Then the'd just have to demonstrate doing it actually blindfolded to the jury :D
The Price is Right had a contestant on that was a postal worker who was on disability spinning the wheel… she got in deep shit, esp being a federal worker
You win some, you lose some.
I knew a guy that was on state disability and was receiving benefits. His lawyer told him several times to not play basketball. Sure enough a private investigator caught him on video doing slam dunks during a pick up basketball game at his local gym. He was cut off and is working again. If you are faking injury you’d better become Daniel Day Lewis and make your fake injury a part of your everyday life.
"Remember when we talked about NOT entering that tree-throwing contest?" - Her Lawyer
I had a PI ask if they could park in my driveway to investigate my neighbor. I asked for details and he just told me who. We live in a private lake association, I declined and told him to leave the entire community. He argued he could legally drive there. Called my other neighbor a county cop... guy got the boot, neighbor got his workers comp settlement. (Neighbor was legit injured too, I had to help him a lot)
It better come out that she has a crippling addiction to tree throwing or she missed out on $800K just for staying at the house.
Maybe the prize for winning the contest was $800,001?
Some people will always try it on. I was in a crash a few years back, the other party was found fully at fault and his insurance paid out 100%. (He cut a blind corner and was on my side of the road as I went round the corner) About 6 months later I was contacted by a solicitor as he was claiming for whiplash caused by the crash. I laughed and pointed out I was driving one of [these](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ml0O_BuR0Vk/WnRVpzQsIEI/AAAAAAAADrE/dVU-E-xIIogvLc4gMJFbzMvlHFGRMtRnwCLcBGAs/s1600/triumph-speed-triple-caferacer-2.jpg), and he was driving one of [these](https://cdn.agriland.ie/uploads/2019/10/MF7726S-Red-Black-Next-HR-EDITED_163249.jpg). The solicitor just went "Oh, right. thanks for your time" and hung up.
I’m glad they caught her in the act. Lying piece of garbage. People like her are why people that actually have injuries don’t get what they deserve.
Currently dealing with so much back pain from being rear ended a month ago. I’m constantly in pain unless I’m laying down and even then still not the best. To see someone pull this shit is so frustrating it’s ridiculous. Like I’m here struggling to get work accommodations and she’s throwing a fucking tree.
Looks to me like this is a photo from before her accident. And it looks less like a tree throwing competition and more like a tree catching competition. That explains her subsequent injuries. I rest my case, your Honor.
OP just posts pictures of other people for karma.
OP is almost definitely a bot. There are a new crop of them reposting and cross posting to r/oldchoolcool and r/pics.
As someone who's about a year out from a major accident caused by another driver, idk how I feel about this. My driver is poor (not a collectible debt if I sue her) so I'm only getting the pittance she was insured for, no matter what. So I'm not going through a lawsuit. But I worked pretty hard for the last year to get through PT and rebuild my fitness on my own. I *can* do lots of things, and by some metrics I'm almost as strong/fast/fit as I was before. But I also have pains where the bones and ligaments were damaged, that are just there and probably never going away. Certain specific tasks are more difficult or impossible just because of the weird angle or some other issue. It hurts to type on a typical keyboard now. And my brain injuries are hard to pin down but I still have issues with sleep that I never had before, and even when I manage to get good sleep I have less mental energy during the day and slightly but noticeably worse memory than before. What I'm saying is, I could throw a tree, and would. Wrestle with a dog, all those things. But the accident still profoundly impacted my life, cost me many months of work, destroyed my school plans and caused me to drop classes I had already paid for, etc. The physical, mental, and financial impact is hard to estimate going forward but it has certainly changed my life for the worse. The capabilities that I pushed myself hard to reclaim do not mean the damage isn't there. So, idk. Maybe she's a bitch in general like people are saying and there's more to the story, but I don't like the idea that photos like these would lose a case entirely. Maybe a reduction in the amount, but that would be all. Damage can be catastrophic without being especially visible months later, and the mental/neurological side, if there is any for her, can be impossible to define clearly.