Sean Tarala: 12-year-old boy whose aunt tried to sue him over birthday hug speaks out

'We love each other very much... this was simply a case of formality with an insurance claim'

The 12-year-old boy whose aunt tried to sue him for breaking her wrist while trying to hug her has said “she would never do anything to hurt the family”.

Jennifer Connell, 54, from New York, had said she sued Sean Tarala, who was eight years old at the time of the accident, because she could not pay her medical bills and had only been offered $1 from the insurance company.

Ms Connell filed a claim of $127,000 against Sean. But on Tuesday, jurors in Connecticut decided the child could not be held responsible for the injury.

And speaking on NBC’s Today show, Sean defended his aunt. He said: “She would never do anything to hurt the family or myself and she loves us.”

Ms Connell's actions were widely criticised including by social media users.

“I felt that everybody was saying stuff that they didn’t know [sic],” Sean added.

Ms Connell told NBC she wanted people to understand “that we love each other very much and that this was simply a case of formality with an insurance claim”.

As an insurance company in Connecticut could not be named in a homeowner’s insurance case, she was told her nephew would have to be named instead.

Ms Connell said she knew suing her family member sounded “terrible”. The experience, she added, had not been “pleasant”.

In March 2011, Sean had tried to hug his aunt at his birthday party. But Ms Connell allegedly fractured her wrist and needed surgery after the embrace knocked her to the ground.

Her lawyers, Jainchill and Beckert, said in a statement following the court case: “From the start, this was a case… about one thing: getting medical bills paid by homeowner’s insurance. Our client was never looking for money from her nephew or his family. It was about the insurance industry and being forced to sue to get medical bills paid.”