This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

NH Elderly Resident Got Kicked in the Head by Local Business Owners

Do bad things really happen to good people? Read this blog and decide.

In 2007, an elderly and handicapped longtime resident of a large and well-known Manchester, NH apartment complex parked his NH registered handicapped plate automobile is his usual designated handicapped parking space outside of the building in which he resided. The car also had a prominently displayed apartment resident parking sticker. While not brand new, the car was of recent vintage, and was in pristine condition.

One Saturday morning, there was a light snowfall, so light that that the complex lawns were clearly visible. Although the resident was bedridden, his bed was next to a window, so he could see the snow. Although the amount of snow didn’t seem enough to merit snow plowing, he nevertheless made a telephone call to the complex office to ask if he should make arrangements to have his car moved by a neighbor, as was his usual practice  so that plowing would not be impeded. Because it was a Saturday, there was nobody in the management office, but he did speak with a person designated to handle any incoming telephone calls from complex residents.

Find out what's happening in Windhamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It turned out that the contractor hired to plow the complex did indeed show up later in the day despite the insignificant snowfall. And with no advance notification or attempt to advise the handicapped man that his car needed to be moved, his car was towed by the hired plowing company - - - a company that is also a car sales company. It was towed to the company’s impound lot. The resident would now need to pay for both an expensive towing job, as well as for an expensive daily storage charge for however many days the car remained in the impound lot.

The resident had no idea that his car had been towed, and shortly thereafter was transported to the hospital due to his declining physical condition. It turned out that his foot was amputated, and he then had a life-threatening heart attack. His hospital stay lasted for over two months. With no family members anywhere in the area, his mail was not getting picked up, and ultimately became so voluminous that the post office kept it for his ultimate pickup.

Find out what's happening in Windhamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Thus, it wasn’t until he finally returned home from the hospital that he learned that his car had been towed. To his shock, he also learned that the car was being sold at public auction to pay for the towing charge and the by then ridiculous storage costs levied by the snowplowing/auto sales company. It was only much later that it was discovered that the car had never been sold at public auction, but instead had been used as a down payment for an expensive car purchased by the owner of the snowplowing/auto sales company – an expensive car purchased for his own personal use.

Atty. Brian Shaughnessy of Bedford, who has had a law practice in Manchester for about two decades and serves as Town Moderator in Bedford, was outraged, and he decided to begin a lawsuit on behalf of the handicapped elder who now had the additional trauma of losing his only means of transportation.

The case wound up going all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, and Atty. Shaughnessy won what could truly be described as a David vs. Goliath battle. However, despite this monumental victory, the handicapped elderly Manchester resident has still not received one dime of compensation from anyone seven years after this whole sad saga began.

I recently completed a “Tell It Like It Is” show with Atty. Brian Shaughnessy. Titled “Finally Getting Justice”, the show tells this whole story of how bad things do indeed happen to good people. And it tells the story of how a vulnerable local person had his rights mocked and his dignity trampled upon by a corporate landlord and a greedy NH local business owner. Watch the show. It’s an eye-opener. And it’s a demonstration of the need for local officials and state legislators to take a look at a few things to avoid future similar outrages.

The show begins television airing today on BCTV Channel 16. But it can be viewed by anyone at any time by going to the show’s website at www.tellitlikeitisnh.com. On the top toolbar, simply click on Issues, and then click on Most Recent Shows. The show will be permanently archived on an Issues page under the Legal Issues category.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?