American society is usually portrayed as horribly litigious. This is the land where we’ll sue over anything—where if you spill hot coffee on your crotch, someone else has to pay to fix your junk. And while the U.S. is actually far less sue-happy than most people believe—only about 2% of injured Americans actually file lawsuits—we understand why the myth persists. Some people sue for astonishingly moronic reasons, and they’re the ones who get all the attention.
But Canadian mother-of-three Sharlene Simon, 42, is, in her own small way, working to ensure that our Neighbors to the North earn an even worse reputation than our own.
Two years ago, Simon was driving her SUV along Innisfil Beach Road in Ontario when she struck three bicycling teenagers from behind. One of the teens was seriously injured, and another, 17-year-old Brandon Majewski, was killed. No charges were filed against Simon, even though she was allegedly driving five miles over the speed limit.
The tragic story might have ended there, but Simon reportedly suffered extensive psychological pain after that night—which is understandable, given that she’d just killed a teenaged boy. But instead of seeing a therapist or talking to a priest, Simon decided that someone needed to pay. And who does Simon believe owes her money for all her emotional trauma? Her two surviving victims and Majewski’s family, of course.
That’s right. Simon is suing the family of the teenager she killed, along with his two friends—whom, just to remind you, she almost killed. Simon believes that the teenagers and Majewski’s family owe her $1.35 million for her “depression, anxiety, irritability and post-traumatic stress” related to the accident. She claims that the teens did not “apply their brakes properly” and are therefore to blame for her hitting them.
Thankfully, Brandon’s family is suing her ass right back, arguing that Simon “was speeding and may have been intoxicated and talking on her phone.”
Which is more surprising? That Simon actually found a lawyer demented enough to take on her case, or that Canadians are way less polite than we’ve been led to believe?
We’re not sure, but apparently, the one thing easier to come by in Canada than a simple “sorry” is a “sorry, you’ve been served.”
