# $157 million in treestand wrongful death lawsuit



## BowKil

Jury Awards $157 Million in Tree Stand DeathSee More News 
2/20/2009


Jurors went beyond what was requested by attorneys and have awarded a Lafayette, Ind., woman $157 million in a wrongful death lawsuit against the makers of a tree stand that malfunctioned and caused her husband's death.

Jurors only deliberated for around an hour before reaching the verdict Tuesday.

Carol Simonton filed the lawsuit in February 2006 after an incident where her husband, Timothy, 42, was found hanging from a tree. He had used the stand to climb the tree while scouting for deer season.

Simonton’s attorney, Mike Phelps, had sought a $100 million award, and was surprised when he learned of the higher amount awarded by jurors. The complaint had sought $6,000 for funeral expenses and $1.5 million for lost wages based on what Timothy Simonton would have earned over 30 years.

Named in the suit were L & L Enterprises of Hattiesburg, Miss., Ol' Man Tree Stands of Jay, Fla., and TSR Inc. of Pace, Fla. No one representing any of the companies was present for the trial.

The Associated Press left a phone message seeking comment from Ol' Man Tree Stands and TSR Inc. Wednesday night and spoke to a person named in the suit for L & L, who said he was no longer with the company.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, TSR recalled about 9,000 Ol' Man tree stands and about 500 replacement pin sets in 2007


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## Dchiefransom

Now you know why I hunt on the ground.



















































Why I also avoid lawyers.


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## OH_Hunter24

Frivilous lawsuits might be one of the worst parts about our country.... stems from the entitlement mindset. I dont know how the jury went from 1.5M to 157M, they should be ashamed of themselves.


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## polarbear06

ukey:


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## MNfreak

thats crazy. she doesnt need 157 mil. the 1.5 mil is even a little high but if they can justify it fine but try to justify 157 million. i would like to know how the stand failed and how he ended up haning in the tree


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## SCBOWHUNTER8

*i agree*



MNfreak said:


> thats crazy. she doesnt need 157 mil. the 1.5 mil is even a little high but if they can justify it fine but try to justify 157 million. i would like to know how the stand failed and how he ended up haning in the tree


that is a miscarriage of justice on behalf of the jury they should be made to pay half if they feel the woman deserves that amount i feel for the woman and the loss of her husband but if she takes the money it show lack of character on her behalf our country has become a bunch of weak minded persons whom are only looking for the easy way out.


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## Rothhar1

Yes that is alot of money but none of you lost a loved one that you depended on did you ?.How dare anyone of you say 1.5 million or more is worth more than a persons life or loss of it !!!

You are so sad to think that this will replace that man to his family.The lay suit was needed wasn't it they could of made it right with the mans family and turned a blinde eye .They should br put out of bussiness and pay through the nose if the treestand failed because of thier design and failure to put a good product out !I think the intent was to put that company out of bussiness and they will get it done with that amount of a judgment .

To much junk being pushed on people of all walks of life and they just accept it as ok thats just the way it is "I WILL JUST BUY ANOTHER" mentality .Thats not the way it should be and part of what is wrong with the USAs bottom line and part of the fix to put junk makers out of bussiness personally I like it .If it takes these kinds of law suits to do it thats fine!!JMHO You loose someone to someones neglect or junk and see how long it takes you to get a good lawyer!!!


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## congoking

tree stand makers will think twice before they subcontract to china to build there stuff


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## Komi

Shouldernuke! said:


> Yes that is alot of money but none of you lost a loved one that you depended on did you ?.How dare anyone of you say 1.5 million or more is worth more than a persons life or loss of it !!!
> 
> You are so sad to think that this will replace that man to his family.The lay suit was needed wasn't it they could of made it right with the mans family and turned a blinde eye .They should br put out of bussiness and pay through the nose if the treestand failed because of thier design and failure to put a good product out !I think the intent was to put that company out of bussiness and they will get it done with that amount of a judgment .
> 
> To much junk being pushed on people of all walks of life and they just accept it as ok thats just the way it is "I WILL JUST BUY ANOTHER" mentality .Thats not the way it should be and part of what is wrong with the USAs bottom line and part of the fix to put junk makers out of bussiness personally I like it .If it takes these kinds of law suits to do it thats fine!!JMHO You loose someone to someones neglect or junk and see how long it takes you to get a good lawyer!!!



Noone is saying 1.5 is out of line what is out of line is 157mil what did they guy do for a living???


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## Dchiefransom

Komi said:


> Noone is saying 1.5 is out of line what is out of line is 157mil what did they guy do for a living???


Maybe he worked for AIG and that was his annual bonus?


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## Haliewahog

The poor lady probably didn't like him hunting anyways and....:zip:

I asked my better half: I am hunting, I accidentally fall out of my stand/ stand breaks and break my neck, who do ya sue? "thats what life insurance is for, I am just happy you died doing what you love"


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## superbuckeye

This is ridiculous... with 157 million, my wife could replace me ever single night with a different guy and still have money left over to pass onto the kids. Let's face it she's not with me for the money, so why get rich off my memory!!!


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## KenL

*Some of you guys are missing the boat on this one....*

If the companies were found to be negligent......truly negligent..... they need to be put out of business....it's that simple.

Some of you almost sound like you're siding with the company. 

Sound design, engineering and manufacturing or you may die.

My 2 cents....*give her a billion*......it's not about the money

*IT'S ABOUT TRYING TO KEEP THE REST OF US SAFE!*


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## superbuckeye

No, I just think that these ridiculously priced lawsuits are ignorant and cause the manufacturers of quality products to suffer because of the stupidity of manufacturers of crappy products. Just like health care costs, liability premiums have driven the industry prices up in a frenzy! You can bankrupt a crappy company for less money than this frivilous lawsuit was awarded. The only thing these frivilous suits accomplish is raise the cost of everthing in the industry in which it is relevant.


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## smrtguy

We live in the land of the free you guys. Why are you worried about lawsuits like these? We are in the land of the FREE! God Bless These Tyrants of The United States of Obama.ukey:ukey:ukey:


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## god 007

why does everyone keep on saying that hte jury put it up from around 1.5 million to 157 millino when the article states in the line above it that the woman's attorney was going for 100 million (its almost like the article misplaces a few decimals or something).... and you can't put a price tag on a person's life. If you want to limit this to the "American ideal of the market", whether you believe in no regulation or regulation, this is just another way that the economy (and there-by businesses) works itself. Just another form of hte invisible hand working its "magic" (not thats its done good the last few years but hey we'll ignore that for now) by putting bad companies out of business and keeping good companies.


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## WSmitty01

Company goes bankrupt,,nobody gets anything and next month selling same tree stand through a different corp....nothing new,,,just the way tort and business is done here in the good ol USA!!


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## Hootie

No way possible in putting a $ value on a loved one. But being awarded $157 Million knowing they will probably go belly-up, she will get nothing. At least she would probably would have gotten the $1.5 million if that was all she wanted for lost income. A little something is better than a big nothing.


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## Duece Weaver

*law suite*

I hate it for the woman but that is rediculas. Insurance companies and lawyers will be the demise of this country. Every body wants something for nothing. It makes me sick to watch tv and see all the malpractice and injury lawyers comercials time and time again. If you get in a bump up in the morning, by that evening you will have a mailbox full of letters from the lawyers wanting you you get what you deserve.


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## anythingoutdoors

Guys, they could have granted $500 Trillion damages and they'll still only get what the company was insured for. My guess is between $1M and $5M per incident. They may get any assets from the liquidation of the company, but that won't amount to near as much as one might imagine.


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## Takeum

WOW.. back in 79 when I was shot in the good ol state of Massachusetts, THey said my life was only worth 250 thousand dollars... I won the case and never collected a dime because the guy was allowed to claim backrupcy... LOL,,,,


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## dx2

superbuckeye said:


> No, I just think that these ridiculously priced lawsuits are ignorant and cause the manufacturers of quality products to suffer because of the stupidity of manufacturers of crappy products. Just like health care costs, liability premiums have driven the industry prices up in a frenzy! You can bankrupt a crappy company for less money than this frivilous lawsuit was awarded. The only thing these frivilous suits accomplish is raise the cost of everthing in the industry in which it is relevant.


I wouldn't call this lawsuit frivilous, but your point regarding the ridiculous awards and driving up the cost of *everything*, i.e. healthcare, is spot on. 

Doctors are humans, treestand builders and engineers are humans. Humans make mistakes. When will we learn that we are *all* paying for these huge awards?

No amount of money will bring the guy back to life.


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## dx2

Duece Weaver said:


> ........Insurance companies and lawyers will be the demise of this country....


The fleecing of Americans by personal injury attorneys. 

"oh, but the insurance company pays for it, not us" 

We ALL pay in the form of higher insurance rates...and reduced freedoms from more laws legislating common sense.

(damn, I shoulda stayed out of this section. lol)


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## dx2

What up, 'nuke, huntin brother. You sure use a lot of exclamation points. lol We hear you loud and clear.

You make a great point......we can't put a price on a person's life. That's exactly the "problem". You can't put a price on a finger either. That finger is worth a lot more to some people depending on their line of work, but even to a regular joe who makes minimum wage that finger could be worth trillions of dollars according to some personal injury attorney...and they'd be right....as you are. You can't put a price on it.

But that's also the problem. An attorney argues it and a jury buys into it because it's true, but will it bring the man back to life or replace that finger? No, but it does do good right? A safer product and enough money to take care of the victim's dependents and obligations is what we want.

Puting a company that produces a dangerous product out of business is fine, but an award of much less, in this case, could have the same effect of safer products and restitution for the victim's family. 

Try having a multi-million dollar claim against your company and see what your insurance company does. They will be all over you to fix the problem or not insure you at all. Either way, you'll change your ways and it can cost the rest of society a lot less money without the ridiculous price tag.

Sure, certain companies are bigger and a larger award may be justified, but this one seems as if the same effect could have been recognized with much less....and like the one guy said - a little something is better than a big nothing.



Shouldernuke! said:


> Yes that is alot of money but none of you lost a loved one that you depended on did you ?.How dare anyone of you say 1.5 million or more is worth more than a persons life or loss of it !!!
> 
> You are so sad to think that this will replace that man to his family.The lay suit was needed wasn't it they could of made it right with the mans family and turned a blinde eye .They should br put out of bussiness and pay through the nose if the treestand failed because of thier design and failure to put a good product out !I think the intent was to put that company out of bussiness and they will get it done with that amount of a judgment .
> 
> To much junk being pushed on people of all walks of life and they just accept it as ok thats just the way it is "I WILL JUST BUY ANOTHER" mentality .Thats not the way it should be and part of what is wrong with the USAs bottom line and part of the fix to put junk makers out of bussiness personally I like it .If it takes these kinds of law suits to do it thats fine!!JMHO You loose someone to someones neglect or junk and see how long it takes you to get a good lawyer!!!


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