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.

[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.

[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 !

[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.