A lot of you are dismissing the effect it will have on his liability if he is found to have been impaired and driving at an excessive speed.
The license and insurance thing, not so much. They will probably be used as emotional ammunition to a jury, but don’t really affect his liability status. I will say that him not having insurance works against him in a big way when it comes to damages. Who is supposed to pay for what happened to this woman? I hope that truck was registered to his parents, though I doubt it.
^ Now that scumbag and Barnes are involved I’m sure they’ll go after the bar where he was drinking, the manufacturer of the truck, the BPD for not catching him before the accident and the city for not having some sort of device to prevent people from walking into the street when the light was yellow.
I know you’re not serious and I see your point, but recovery may be difficult in this and I hope they do find someone with deep enough pockets to make that family whole.
yes! when you have kids you should or your an idiot. nothing personal to this lady and not saying that was the case, but yes with kids i would stand on that corner till i saw every car standing still that would normally cross my path.
Well, they might go after the bar because that’s been done before. I think it’s bullshit, but I wouldn’t put it was Celino and Barnes.
Recovery will be difficult since he was uninsured, but that doesn’t mean they can sue people who aren’t responsible just because this family deserves money.
We’ll have to see when the family files their civil suit. You can extend liability to third parties. I doubt any products liability, so truck manufacturer is out. The bar may be held liable if they served him while he was visibly intoxicated, but that’s difficult to prove. I would say there might be a way to pull in his family depending on who actually owns the truck. Maybe the city can be made a co-defendant.
I’m not saying the city is liable. There is nothing to suggest the city would be liable. I’m only saying it’s a possibility if the victim can show that the city was negligent in some way. Just using my imagination.
BTW I’m not a bleeding heart liberal. I’m a law student and as a result I’ve been spending a vast amount of my time using my imagination in exactly this way.
^ So as a law student ambulance chasing 101 has taught you to sue everyone, even if they’re not at fault, and hope they’re willing to settle instead of going to trial.
AMERICA… FUCK YEAH!
This is why we can’t have nice things, like race tracks.
negligent in what way, for showing up with every police officer they had to see if the person was ok? or because the accident happened a minute from the bar and he didn’t yet get pulled over.
edit: avatar - i chocked on a potato chip. can we sue for that?
The point is to make the injured party whole. If liability needs to be extended to a third party where negligence can be proven, then so be it.
As far as how the city could have been negligent, I don’t know. Maybe the light malfunctioned or the sign was damaged. I’m just throwing out hypotheticals.
Did he live at home? Have a conditional license?
I’m curious to who the truck was owned and insured under.
If the parents owned it and knew that he was driving it without a license and insurance.
I had a similar thought, although not quite as celebratory. Losing your parents is never ever ever a “good” thing, but 3 kids to a single mother who dropped out of high school and strips at night = slim chance at getting out of poverty.