RIP 'Stang

Well, I'm glad that I followed James' initiative and we bought our VW Jetta when we did after the car accident.  I kept insisting that we use a rental car until the case was settled, and use that money for a down payment.  Instead, we had to borrow money from Gavyn's savings account in order to be able to buy another car.  It has been gratefully returned, thanks to income tax time, but I had shed a few tears over it to begin with.  The rental car wouldn't have done anything for us but ran up the bills we already have now.  The woman who had a stroke and hit James from behind, causing him to hit the person in front of him, and essentially turn the Mustang into a mangled raisin, is not being held liable for the accident.  By law (in most states), if the defendent has a "sudden medical emergency," they are not held liable.  To help you understand, people have actually gotten away with this from claiming that they were incapacitated because the passenger had made them laugh so hard that they blacked out.  Another instance would be that you sneezed.  By using this excuse, and being able to provide evidence, you can clear yourself of any liability.  James said something along the lines of, "What if my son would have been in the back seat?"  And they told him that in that type of circumstance, the woman still would have not been held liable, lacking even a smidge of compassion towards the situation.  Now, the woman who hit him didn't use such an insignificant excuse, but I wanted to point out how ridiculous our laws are.  She had a stroke, which caused her to become unconscious.  Her granddaughter was in the passenger seat, claiming to have been shaking her trying to wake her up.  According to her insurance company, she had a clear medical history and is not on any medication.  I understand that it may not be the woman's fault per-se that she had a stroke, but how does that make it ours?  When we talked to our lawyer, he explained that you can swerve off the road and hit and kill four pedestrians and not be held liable.  From laughing, sneezing, or having a stroke.  Thank god Gavyn wasn't in the car.  James was just running out to pick up some Taco Bell, which is about ten minutes from home, he asked if we wanted to go with him.  Now, not only have we lost the car that James had for four years, and had put over $5,000 dollars into in addition to the initial $6,000 price of the car...  But we've also incurred about $6,000 worth of medical expenses (luckily, 80% of which will be covered by our insurance company).  At least I'm walking away from this dreadful situation with my fiance who just had a few scratches and burns, and a learning experience to always have full coverage insurance even if your car is paid off.