Porsche not liable for Paul Walker's death, says judge

[Peer]

A federal judge in California ruled that Porsche is not at fault for the 2013 crash of the Porsche Carrera GT that killed actor Paul Walker:
Porsche not liable for Paul Walker's death, says judge - CNN.com

-- peer

[thstone]

Wow. Logic and personal responsibility prevailed.

[jb92563]

Haaaaaa, good one Tom...that gave me a good chuckle

Had the Walker case gone the other way it would set a dangerous precedent that would open up this kind of litigation on all cars.

And then watch your insurance premiums triple and ultimately cause no one to be able to afford insurance at all.

It will be interesting to see what happens with the self braking cars that should be in the main stream by 2022 and then self driving cars after that.

You could claim that the car did the braking or lack of it that caused accidents and that the Car Manufacturer's software/hardware is responsible since it was in control at the time of the collision.

In theory you won't even need collision insurance since the car manufacturer will be responsible for those events.

I wonder what THAT will do to the price of a car.

[PaulE]

This was the case brought by the widow of Walker's friend who was driving the car. The case brought by Walker's daughter is still out there. Let's hope common sense prevails twice.

[jdraupp]

Originally Posted by PaulE

This was the case brought by the widow of Walker's friend who was driving the car. The case brought by Walker's daughter is still out there. Let's hope common sense prevails twice.

The quote of walkers daughters lawyer "she will continue her case to hold porsche accountable for selling a defective car" It wasn't defective when they sold it and no defect caused the crash. Only poor maintenance and a lead foot with a lack of respect for physics to blame here.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by jdraupp

The quote of walkers daughters lawyer "she will continue her case to hold porsche accountable for selling a defective car" It wasn't defective when they sold it and no defect caused the crash. Only poor maintenance and a lead foot with a lack of respect for physics to blame here.

But if I were the daughter I would sue Porsche for making the outrageous statement that he, as a passenger, was responsible for the actions of the driver. That's not only false legally, it's a monumentally bad decision on a P.R. level. Walker had an image of being one of the good guys, and was burned alive in a Porsche because the driver exercised bad judgment and Porsche exercised equally bad decision making in anchoring a seatbelt in such a manner that the crash survivor was pinned down in a supine position by the seatbelt making escape impossible. And there's also the inferior brake lines, an inexplicable choice in for a six figure car, that likely sped up the fire and explosion that burned the passenger to a crisp eliminating any possibility of survival.

[particlewave]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

But if I were the daughter I would sue Porsche for making the outrageous statement that he, as a passenger, was responsible for the actions of the driver. That's not only false legally, it's a monumentally bad decision on a P.R. level. Walker had an image of being one of the good guys, and was burned alive in a Porsche because the driver exercised bad judgment and Porsche exercised equally bad decision making in anchoring a seatbelt in such a manner that the crash survivor was pinned down in a supine position by the seatbelt making escape impossible. And there's also the inferior brake lines, an inexplicable choice in for a six figure car, that likely sped up the fire and explosion that burned the passenger to a crisp eliminating any possibility of survival.

And Walker excercised bad judgement by getting into a car with a tiny prick douchebag that felt the need to compensate on public roads.
He knew what they were going to be doing when he got in the passenger seat.

2 people and 2 people ONLY are to blame for Rodas and Walkers deaths. The majority of the responsibility lies with Rodas, but yes, Walker contributed to his own demise.

[The Radium King]

Originally Posted by jb92563

Had the Walker case gone the other way it would set a dangerous precedent that would open up this kind of litigation on all cars.

um, check into why you couldn't buy a 930 in the US in the early 80's, or why cessna stopped selling the 150. precedent set a long time ago.

[jdraupp]

Originally Posted by particlewave

And Walker excercised bad judgement by getting into a car with a tiny prick douchebag that felt the need to compensate on public roads.
He knew what they were going to be doing when he got in the passenger seat.

2 people and 2 people ONLY are to blame for Rodas and Walkers deaths. The majority of the responsibility lies with Rodas, but yes, Walker contributed to his own demise.

Bingo. You beat me to it. Porsche isn't anymore liable than the maker of spoons for making people fat. Until this country pulls it together and people start taking responsibility for their actions, we are headed on a precarious course.

[Shoeless]

Porsche had/has no liability in this case. Unlike Chevrolet with the Cobalt, the car didn't malfunction mechanically to cause the wreck; it would also have to happen more than once. Any car can and will malfunction, the problem is when many of the same make and model malfunction the same way and people get hurt or die. Then yes it is the manufacturer that is at fault.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by particlewave

And Walker excercised bad judgement by getting into a car with a tiny prick douchebag that felt the need to compensate on public roads.
He knew what they were going to be doing when he got in the passenger seat.

That's a presumption. We don't know if Walker said "hey, I have a daughter to look after now why don't you go easy this time?" anymore than if we know he said "open it up!!". The dead can't tell their side, so does that mean we must assume the worst? I don't agree with that.

We weren't there and don't know Walker's state of mind. What we do know is that Walker was aware that Rodas the driver was a guy with hundreds of hours of track time, in racing conditions, under his belt. Precisely the type of driver you could conceivably trust to drive you around in a powerful sports car. Do we know if Walker was aware that Rodas hadn't replaced the tires? I haven't heard of it. I'm all for blaming the driver for both their deaths because he was responsible for keeping up the car and should have erred on the side of caution in an inherently unstable car with dubious safety designs which according to Porsche's own engineer's when on the stand, were compromised in order to sell more cars, thereby putting not just the buyer in jeopardy, but everyone else in open traffic. But to say Walker advocated for unsafe driving on that day would need some basis in my book and we simply don't have that.

[particlewave]

I would agree to a point if it were the first time they met. They were friends, had done this before, and both knew exactly what was going on...in my opinion.

The bottom line is that two guys are dead and their families are hurt and want someone to blame. I've been there and I understand what they're going through. It sucks. But, the healing won't begin until they realize the culpability of their loved ones in their own demise.

[Ben006]

Originally Posted by particlewave

I would agree to a point if it were the first time they met. They were friends, had done this before, and both knew exactly what was going on...in my opinion.

The bottom line is that two guys are dead and their families are hurt and want someone to blame. I've been there and I understand what they're going through. It sucks. But, the healing won't begin until they realize the culpability of their loved ones in their own demise.

Can't say it better !

[jdraupp]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

We weren't there and don't know Walker's state of mind. What we do know is that Walker was aware that Rodas the driver was a guy with hundreds of hours of track time, in racing conditions, under his belt.

Racing conditions on a track these were not. You know as well as I do, the convo went like this "W-Dude a Carrera GT? R-Yep, go for a ride? W-Only if we drive it like its stolen! R- You know it, theres a nice little office park we can tear up!" You can play devil's advocate if you'd like, but if we are being real, that's what happened.

The only person liable is Rodas. He was driving way too fast on a road that wasn't anywhere near designed for those kinds of speeds. He didn't respect the beast. No Traction control in the world would've prevented this crash. If I go outside of my boxster's limits and I run off the road and hit a tree, Porsche is not responsible. Of 1270 Carrera GTs made, how many have been driven in an incident resulted in a person dying or being seriously hurt? If the answer is 3 (total BS guess), are the other 1267 cars just miracles?

[Slate 01]

They should sue the City of LA for installing paved roads, curbs and light posts, not mention planting trees along sidewalks. It's obviously not the driver's fault for crashing into such unnecessary obstacles placed there by the city. Give me a @$#^&!@ break!

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by particlewave

I would agree to a point if it were the first time they met. They were friends, had done this before, and both knew exactly what was going on...in my opinion.

The bottom line is that two guys are dead and their families are hurt and want someone to blame. I've been there and I understand what they're going through. It sucks. But, the healing won't begin until they realize the culpability of their loved ones in their own demise.

But even that requires, if you're of the opinion that he was responsible for his own death, that you know of a history of reckless street driving when making such a statement.
Did Walker have a suspended driver's license? History of street racing accidents? Was he known to take reckless risks in other areas of his life? Before you assign him culpability for the actions of another person we would need to have our opinion based on some suspicion that he was a guy to wreck cars or had a death wish. I think he was simply a guy in the car when the driver made a straight forward human error in a car where human errors are more lethal than comparable cars.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by jdraupp

You know as well as I do, the convo went like this "W-Dude a Carrera GT? R-Yep, go for a ride? W-Only if we drive it like its stolen! R- You know it, theres a nice little office park we can tear up!" You can play devil's advocate if you'd like, but if we are being real, that's what happened.

I do? How could you possible know what was said with anything more than a guess?
I think the conversation you are imagining there is the one that would have occurred in Fast and the Furious movies.

Playing devil's advocate is one thing, but questioning facts that don't exist and calling them out as presumption just seems like logic to me.

[jdraupp]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

I do? How could you possible know what was said with anything more than a guess?
I think the conversation you are imagining there is the one that would have occurred in Fast and the Furious movies.

Playing devil's advocate is one thing, but questioning facts that don't exist and calling them out as presumption just seems like logic to me.

OK, if you and your defense attorney buddies want to live in that world, go for it.

Somewhere along the way, the facts are someone was going between 80 and 90 mph and that was at the time of impact. Meaning they were going way faster before they lost control and scrubbed off speed. When I exceed the speed limit and my wife does not approve she let's me know and nags me in such a tone that it causes me to stop. I'm sure walker knew they were in the office park to see some new commercial space Rodas was contemplating renting. However you slice it, there is NOTHING that makes Porsche liable. NOTHING.

[Giller]

Most of us seem to agree that people should take responsibility for their actions....which ultimately, Rodas did. He's dead. But Walker, we have NO WAY to know what he said or didn't say. Maybe Walkers family should be suing Rodas' estate....
In the end though, if Porsche made a car that was unsafe, then they should be held accountable as well. They have a responsibility here too.
Courts and evidence will ultimately decide if Porsche is culpable, not us arguing with one another, as fun as that may be for some.

[The Radium King]

Originally Posted by Giller

if Porsche made a car that was unsafe, then they should be held accountable as well. They have a responsibility here too.

why?









ps, apparently 'why' is too short a response and requires additional text to be accepted.