Hug Trouble

CONNECTICUT—A woman who sued her 12-year-old nephew over injuries she said she suffered when he greeted her at a party four years ago has been awarded $0 by a jury.

Jennifer Connell, of New York City, sought $127,000 (£83,400) from the boy in the lawsuit filed in Connecticut.

She claimed her nephew, then eight, acted unreasonably when he leaped into her arms after she arrived at his birthday party. 

The exuberant greeting caused her to fall to the ground and break her wrist, the lawsuit claimed.

The 54-year-old asked a six-member jury in Fairfield County to find the boy liable for her injuries.

But the panel took just 25 minutes to rule in the child's favor, leaving his aunt empty-handed.

Ms Connell testified last week that her life had become "very difficult" in the wake of the injury. 

"I live in Manhattan in a third-floor walk-up so it has been very difficult,” she told the court, according to the Connecticut Post. She added: "I was at a party recently and it was difficult to hold my hors d'oeuvre plate." 

Ms Connell told the court she loves her nephew but said he needed to be held accountable. The boy, whose mother died last year, sat in the courtroom with his father as his aunt testified against him, the Post reported.