This New York woman tried to sue her 12-year-old nephew for a wrist-breaking hug

A New York woman has come under the media spotlight for trying to sue her nephew after a particularly ’forceful hug’ caused her to break her wrist.

Connell was injured at Sean Tarala’s eight birthday party four years ago. On her arrival, the court heard, Sean ran towards his aunt to give her a hug, causing her to fall.

"All of a sudden there he was in the air, I had to catch him and we tumbled on to the ground. I remember him shouting, "Auntie Jen I love you", and there he was flying at me," she said.

The 54-year-old Connell, a human resources manager in Manhattan, testified that she loves Sean but she believes he should be held accountable for her injury.

Her lawsuit claimed that "the injuries, losses and harms to the plaintiff were caused by the negligence and carelessness of the minor defendant".

On that basis, Connell was seeking $127,000 from the boy, who she described as always being "very loving, sensitive," toward her. The boy is the only defendant in the case.

The CT post reports that Sean was present in court and ’appeared confused as he sat with his father Michael Tarala". Sean’s mother passed away last year.

Connell, with no hint of irony, explained how hard her life has been since the incident.

"I was at a party recently, and it was difficult to hold my hors d’oeuvre plate."

The CT Post had the detail that "at least one juror wrinkled her nose at that explanation".

Connell has also had problems walkingup the stairs to her Manhattan apartment.

"I live in Manhattan in a third-floor walk-up so it has been very difficult," she said. "And we all know how crowded it is in Manhattan."

#harshtaghttp://t.co/SUQ9uLlmts

— Zel (@zfiledh) October 14, 2015

Anyway, the six jurors took just 20 minutes to decide that Connell deserved zero in her civil claim against the boy.

"We just didn’t think the boy was negligent," said one indentified juror as she left the court.