Originally posted Monday March 24, 2008 05:20 PM EDT
The gloves are off between the Hogans and the family of John Graziano – who has been hospitalized since last August, when he was a passenger in the car being driven by Hogan son Nick.
The Hogans – whose real names are Linda, Brooke and Nick Bollea – last month paid a Valentine's Day visit to the hospital, where they brought gifts and were accompanied by photographers, who delivered images of the family to celebrity news Web sites, the Graziano family's attorneys contend.
"We believe that it was a total [public relations] stunt," Graziano attorney Kimberley Kohn tells the St. Petersburg Times, which reports that a suit against the Hogans by the Grazianos appears to be a matter of when, not if, say attorneys.
The Hogans take issue with Kohn's claim.
"The Bollea family has been visiting John for the last seven or eight months, and there's been no PR about it whatsoever," their Tampa-based attorney, Morris "Sandy" Weinberg Jr., tells the paper. "It's a bunch of nonsense to suggest their visits to John are a PR stunt. That's crazy."
Hulk Hogan (real name: Terry Bollea) was not part of the Valentine's visit but reportedly sees the 23-year-old former Marine about every five weeks.
Still Unconscious
While it was said in December that Graziano had shown some signs of improvement, the road ahead of him remains a very long one, said his family's attorneys."We all have hope and prayers that he will regain consciousness," Kohn said. "We're talking about years of rehab before we know where John is going to be."
On Aug. 26, Nick Hogan's yellow Toyota Supra careened off a four-lane highway in Clearwater, Fla., and crashed into a 25-ft.-tall palm tree.
Charges, No Lawsuit
Hogan, 17 at the time, sustained minor injuries and was released from the hospital the next day. In November, he was booked on criminal charges related to the crash, including reckless driving.The Grazianos have not filed suit against the Hogans, says the Times, which also reports that attorneys for the injured man's family have noted the "astronomical" medical expenses.
"We've tried very hard to avoid a circus atmosphere," said attorney George Tragos, "which is very hard in this case."
