[OT] I got hit in the face with a bottle

[hellbender]

Wow Stone Angel, you seem pretty level-headed about the whole thing. Maybe I'm just vindictive but personally I would go after everyone involved. Of course if you can just ruin the rest of their lives by taking them for every dime they'll ever have, that works too.

I am glad Stone Angel is even more level-headed than to consider that. It is too bad what happened, a bottle goes beyond the realm of good taste in a fight unless both combatants are armed. Having been in more than a few fights myself, and being scarred from them, nor starting them all, I never once considered getting a lawyer involved. Revenge, yes. Cold, quiet and effective revenge. There are many ways of exacting revenge besides more violence. People are way too knee-jerk about calling lawyers. I long for the good old days when situations were just handled.

hellbender

 

[Ds Da Man]

Not too start it again, but I can vouch for the nasty cut. Actually it is heart shaped. Stones my DM (sometimes I'm DM). Looks like the docs did a great job, except for that hairlip!!!

 

[mythago]

Having been in more than a few fights myself, and being scarred from them, nor starting them all, I never once considered getting a lawyer involved.

This is all fine if you have money to burn on the resulting medical bills.

Lawsuits also tend to make people sit up and pay attention, btw. "I have to pay HOW MUCH because I hit him with a bottle?!"

I hope you recover fast, and talk to your doc about how to take care of the injuries so they don't scar too bad.

 

[hellbender]

This is all fine if you have money to burn on the resulting medical bills.

Lawsuits also tend to make people sit up and pay attention, btw. "I have to pay HOW MUCH because I hit him with a bottle?!"

I hope you recover fast, and talk to your doc about how to take care of the injuries so they don't scar too bad.

Two points to that:
1) The other person also gets a lawyer. You could be paying a lawyer and not winning the case, thus taking a gamble.
2) Someone violent enought to crack you in the head with a bottle isn't likely to say, 'Jiminy Crickets! I have to pay for hitting the guy with a bottle because of a lawsuit!'. However, they could see to it that a person ends up with more broken parts.

I don't want to sway Stone one way or the other, just offer a lot of variants. Not everyone is cowed into submission when they get sued, some people just get madder.

hellbender

 

[mythago]

True, some people do get madder (and then get themselves into more legal/financial trouble). OTOH, consider that chance against the hospital bills.

Lawyers in personal-injury cases often work on a contingent fee so this is affordable.

 

[Ds Da Man]

Well, Stone ain't no little boy. And without a bottle , I believe Stone would have been on the opposite side of the coin. I do think that since Stone doesn't have insurance, it is time to go to court.

 

[mythago]

It is certainly a good idea to talk to a lawyer, to find out what the options are. With any luck, there won't have to be an actual court involved.

 

[Wayside]

I am glad Stone Angel is even more level-headed than to consider that. It is too bad what happened, a bottle goes beyond the realm of good taste in a fight unless both combatants are armed. Having been in more than a few fights myself, and being scarred from them, nor starting them all, I never once considered getting a lawyer involved. Revenge, yes. Cold, quiet and effective revenge. There are many ways of exacting revenge besides more violence. People are way too knee-jerk about calling lawyers. I long for the good old days when situations were just handled.

hellbender

I agree completely, but on the other hand, if he's going to be going through who knows what medical procedures and recuperating for a while, I think a bottle to the face is worth going to court for more immediate satisfaction. Tracking somebody down and giving them one huge ***whooping is great, especially if you have hardcore friends and do it God Father style (i.e. hitting all the offenders seperately and at the same time), but assuming we're not talking about anything really malevolent, like murder (and I don't think we are or should be), people recover from getting their butts kicked. Sending them to Jail and/or taking all the money they'll ever have, while maybe keeping tabs on them some other way just in case they try to run or change identities (the government isn't usually too great at keeping track of low-profile offenders) seems like a good option to me. Besides, the way things are now, even if you do just corner the people in a parking lot somewhere and smack them around, you have to worry about them coming back again, this time with guns. It sucks that technology has taken all the art out of revenge by giving power to anybody who can pay for or steal it, but that's how it is.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

Well, the idiot who hit him sounds like a low life scum who probably robs vending machines for money to buy Mad Dog or something, so going to court might not get him squat. You can't get blood out of a turnip.