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An illegal alien who can legally sue
 The case of Victor Manuel Cabellero falls into a whole new zone of troubles. He not only lives here illegally; the state Supreme Court has now opened a legal door for him and other undocumented immigrants to collect from a special state fund set up to protect anyone hurt in a car accident with an uninsured driver. Victor Caballero may not have the legal right to actually live in New Jersey, but New Jersey says he has the legal right to receive generous benefits for being here. Lets call it the DREAM Act for uninsured alien drivers. When Victor arrived, he moved into an apartment with his brother and two cousins. Victor quickly got a job in a restaurant. But after two months, he moved up to a computer repair job, earning around $400 a week. His day began at 5 a.m., when he would be picked up by a co-worker, 19-year-old Ricardo Martinez. Only two weeks into the computer job, court papers say, Martinez fell asleep at the wheel one morning. The car veered off the road and struck a parked tractor trailer. He was transported to the Jersey Shore Medical Center where surgeons repaired injuries to his abdomen and intestines. Caballero stayed a week at the hospital, then needed another six weeks to recover before he could return to work. The cost: $38,300 in medical bills and $1,482 in lost wages. Caballero had no medical insurance, nor did his family. Caballero's attorney, Victor Covelli of Belmar, says his client was worried that he would be deported when he filed suit against fellow illegal immigrant, Ricardo Martinez. Complicating the issue, Caballero was also suing to collect from a special New Jersey fund for anyone injured in an accident with an uninsured driver. Caballero lost twice, when courts ruled he was not a legal resident and therefore had no right to the special accident fund. But last week, the state Supreme Court ruled in his favor, declaring him a resident even though he was here illegally. In the opinion authored by Supreme Court Justice James Zazzali; "We recognize the apparent paradox that exists when an undocumented alien intends to remain in this state but that alien, because of his or her illegal status, is subject to deportation at any time ... The fact that an undocumented alien may some day be forced to return to his or her homeland does not necessarily defeat the intent to remain. That is especially true in light of the uncertain nature of deportation." Simply putÂ…he was "Forced" to live in the shadows. The $38,300 bill from the medical bill was paid by a special hospital charity fund. So why is Caballero suing? His lawyer says the Supreme Court ruling makes him eligible to collect up to $15,000 -- for pain and suffering. Edited, full text at link Posted by: DepotGuy 2006-05-23 |
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