[HarryCallahan]

Biggins, I read your posts and usually enjoy them. I think you've got some good things to say. So nothing personal, but I wish you hadn't decided to quote my post with yours. I originally posted in this thread because I felt the overall trend of the posts preceding mine were pretty cold, immature, and generally just shallow. I would expect something better from you. Ah hell, you're probably just 20...

yes they should say oh well. these things happen.

Easy for you to say when it's not your son or brother who may never walk again.
Easy for you to say when you don't have to face changing diapers for your son, who was a gifted athlete.
Easy for you to say when its not you who finds that letting your child do something they love and apparently excel at has suddenly wiped out your life savings, retirement, and any plans you had for any other kids.
Easy for you to say when you aren't the one who has tapped out their savings, vacation, sick pay, and health insurance, and are still faced with a lifetime of bills to warehouse your child, let alone any chance of helping him recover.

yes they should say oh well. these things happen.

And maybe those of you who criticize the city for closing the park should also take the above words to heart. After all they are just dirt jumps, right?

begging for oney in the form of a lawsuit because the jumps werent built by an engineer is the most ridiculous thing i have ever heard. They are dirt jumps for crying out loud. the parents knew he was out there jumping the city or whoever should not be liable for it.

I tend to agree with you here. It's just the angle that the attorney is taking. I'm sure you can just as easily break your neck on a professionaly engineered jump.This ain't about the poor kid's parents getting rich; it's just about them trying to keep from going under!

As bikenweed posted earlier in this thread:

Medical expenses are the leading cause of bankruptcy in the US. With a decent universal health care system, like those in Canada and Europe, Grandes father would have no need to sue. Stop blaming the small potatoes and get down to the root of the problem.

As far as the rest of your post:

as far as lance is concerned he had no insurance at all at that time in his life until oakley stepped up to bat. maybe he should sue cancer

You obviously didn't read the book. He did have insurance until his employer fired him for being sick and not being able to work. That canceled his employer paid health care coverage, which is what most folks count on.

 

[bikenweed]

Just curious, how many of yall's actually ride at Calabazas? Even more important, how many hours of shovel work have you clocked? How many years have you been riding at Cali?

 

[SirChomps-a-Lot]

Easy for you to say when it's not your son or brother who may never walk again.
Easy for you to say when you don't have to face changing diapers for your son, who was a gifted athlete.
Easy for you to say when its not you who finds that letting your child do something they love and apparently excel at has suddenly wiped out your life savings, retirement, and any plans you had for any other kids.
Easy for you to say when you aren't the one who has tapped out their savings, vacation, sick pay, and health insurance, and are still faced with a lifetime of bills to warehouse your child, let alone any chance of helping him recover.

Surely you agree that the family is not ENTITLED to money from the city any more than the family of a cancer victim is ENTITLED to money from cancer.

Your point, therefore, seems to be that even though it is morally wrong to sue the city, the family is justified in doing it because they got so unlucky.

By this same logic, it would be justifiable for the family to steal or sell drugs to make money to pay the bills.

 

[El Caballo]

This ain't about the poor kid's parents getting rich; it's just about them trying to keep from going under!

I hate to be harsh here, but I have to say something:

Lack of planning on YOUR part does not constitute an emergency on MY part.

Someone chose to engage in a risky sport without health insurance coverage. There were terrible consequences for the rider and his family.

This was a bad decision! Bad decisions can have bad consequences! The USA may be the most powerful nation on earth, and you might live there, but that does not exempt you from the laws of cause and effect!

I pay a lot of money every month so I can have insurance coverage. This is why, when I broke MY neck years ago in a motorcycle accident, I was able to get treated and make a nearly full recovery. Yes, the system is horribly broken, but that's a fact just like "dirt is hard and can break your neck".

Vote for change, work for change, move to Canada if you can't live with it anymore. But don't tell me that the tens of thousands of people who have jumped Calabazas over the years should be punished because you made a bad decision.

 

[beaverbiker]

i wholeheartedly agree with el caballo. grande and his parents messed up, why should we be punished for that? my parents made sure that i had health insurance and they explained the ramifications if i got hurt without the insurance. there are tons of people who have put their lives into developing cali to what it is now. i can honestly say that i wouldn't be as good a rider if it weren't for having cali, a great place to ride so close to home. i know for a fact that there are many, many people who are in the same shoes as i am. it's unfortunate that he got hurt, but did the riders and the city personally hurt him? did we push him off the jump? no, he hurt himself. if the parents need money, they shouldn't unjustly sue to recover lost funds. they shouldn't have been smarter from the beginning. that's their bad.

i agree with the city for shutting down cali, at least temporarily. they have a lot of crap on their plate right now regarding it, and the last thing cali needs is someone else to get hurt during all of this. i just hope we can convince them to re-open it.

 

[justfuzzit]

"This is Grande dictating, and I am writing for him:

Here's the scoop. At the moment, my dad is the only one who is pursuing the lawsuit. I have told him that I will not testify, and that I am against it on moral ground. But he continues anyway. He has told me that I am not at liberty to discuss any of the details about the case, so here we go. He is not sueing the City of San Jose for having Calabazas as a park, but because of the way it is organized, and that it is not built by engineers. That is his main argument. He claims, despite me telling him otherwise that I am 100% responsible for my crash, that the city is partially responsible because of the way the park is set up. He is trying to get money on the grounds that I will lose a significant amount over my lifetime because of medical bills and the lack of available jobs for somebody in my situation. To my knowledge, we are not sueing for 8.3 million as crashdoinbmx has said, or anywhere close.

Again, I must exercise that I am against it, and that I have repeatedly tried to convince him, especially over the past few days, that what he is doing is wrong and that he has no right to sue because the city is not responsible for my crash in any way. The best thing to do right now is to follow in John Hauer's advice, and to write to the city concerning keeping the park open. As soon as I get the time, I will do so myself. Somebody else you can also write to, is my father. His email address is pghenis@yahoo.com. Please try to write in a convincing and professional manner, not a bashing email.

Thank you to everybody who has stood up for me on this thread, even though they didn't know exactly what was going on (because nobody really has). I have a deep sense of disappointment in those of you who have bashed and insulted me in this thread. But for now, the only thing we can do is to look forward, be active, and do everything we can do to keep Calabazas open.

Always a rider and always a part of the community,
Alex "Grande" Ghenis

P.S. I will try to check this thread as often as possible, but the most efficient way to get in touch with me is by email or phone call (if you want to just say hi or give me your thoughts on this). aghenis@yahoo.com is the email, and the phone number is: 916-453-2155 - you must ask for Alex Ghenis. Do not call past 9:00PM."

 

[Acadian]

I hear Cala got plowed...anyone can confirm or deny this?

 

[Acadian]

Even more important, how many hours of shovel work have you clocked? How many years have you been riding at Cali?

I personally wouldn’t answer that question. Next thing you know – Grande’s lawyers will be suing those who worked long and hard there, saying they contributed to Grande’s accident.