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Re: Nevada truck company sues UP & Amtrak for crossing crash
Author: OldPoleBurner
Date: 08-01-2011 - 19:06
> How often, when someone runs a red light (or in this case a fully protected
> crossing?)and slams into you, do you expect to be sued by that idiot. . . . .
In 1974, I got sued by a guy that ran a red light doing 70mph right in the middle of downtown Oakland. Fortunately, I saw him coming and slammed on the brakes in time to avoid being broadsided, but unfortunately not soon enough to avoid contact. I got spun around good.
Worse yet, he was running from the cops at the time! Still sued me though - before I even got out of the hospital! Even before he got out of jail! But it was nice to see how my insurance company's lawyers got it squelched in a big hurry. Never had to do a darn thing about it at all; promptly dismissed as frivolous and his lawyer reprimanded by the court.
I would suspect something along this sort will happen to that trucker's lawsuit. But you can bet the media will have forgotten about it all by then and we will never hear about that. But then, that was probably the purpose of the frivolous filing anyway - get publicity, to try to taint the jury pool with a sympathy play (small trucking company is being put upon by goliath railroads). We've heard it all before, ad nauseum!
What still baffles me is how a truck driver with 5 tickets in 2 years (according to the NTSB) still had a license. Jeez - if that we me or you, we'd have been long suspended. Someone at the Nevada DMV must have been looking the other way. . . . .
As to Drew's question as to what Amtrak and UP will get. Whatever they can get they they should - including every single dime of assets that outfit has.
Considering the long checkered safety record of that particular trucking outfit, the State should also go after their corporate charter and bar the principals from trucking permanently. Call it Corporate Capital Punishment - it would be about time! A bit like what happened to the NWP after a long history of safety violations, except that the NWP never killed anybody because of it - these guys did on multiple occasions.
> crossing?)and slams into you, do you expect to be sued by that idiot. . . . .
In 1974, I got sued by a guy that ran a red light doing 70mph right in the middle of downtown Oakland. Fortunately, I saw him coming and slammed on the brakes in time to avoid being broadsided, but unfortunately not soon enough to avoid contact. I got spun around good.
Worse yet, he was running from the cops at the time! Still sued me though - before I even got out of the hospital! Even before he got out of jail! But it was nice to see how my insurance company's lawyers got it squelched in a big hurry. Never had to do a darn thing about it at all; promptly dismissed as frivolous and his lawyer reprimanded by the court.
I would suspect something along this sort will happen to that trucker's lawsuit. But you can bet the media will have forgotten about it all by then and we will never hear about that. But then, that was probably the purpose of the frivolous filing anyway - get publicity, to try to taint the jury pool with a sympathy play (small trucking company is being put upon by goliath railroads). We've heard it all before, ad nauseum!
What still baffles me is how a truck driver with 5 tickets in 2 years (according to the NTSB) still had a license. Jeez - if that we me or you, we'd have been long suspended. Someone at the Nevada DMV must have been looking the other way. . . . .
As to Drew's question as to what Amtrak and UP will get. Whatever they can get they they should - including every single dime of assets that outfit has.
Considering the long checkered safety record of that particular trucking outfit, the State should also go after their corporate charter and bar the principals from trucking permanently. Call it Corporate Capital Punishment - it would be about time! A bit like what happened to the NWP after a long history of safety violations, except that the NWP never killed anybody because of it - these guys did on multiple occasions.
