Maine Employee’s Widow Sues Employer Over Asleep-at-Wheel Crash

July 23, 2007

  • July 23, 2007 at 7:40 am
    Amanda says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    Part of the problem is that the insurance keep SETTLING these frivolous lawsuits. If they fought most of them there would be a smaller chance of $$$ being paid out to the claimant, and we all know that that’s what drives these lawsuits. If there’s a stronger chance that they will come out of court with nothing, lawyers will be more reluctant to take on the real stinker cases.

    I know that it usually costs more money to settle a claim than it does to fight it in court. But in the long run, this has done more damage than good. The practice of settling most cases has turned every claim into open season on the insurance companies.

  • July 23, 2007 at 1:13 am
    Anon says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    Lets see, Who’s missing from this lawsuit:

    The state: they should have paid more when building the road to install stronger median dividers.

    The road crew: the should have bid to install stronger median dividers and reject the offer if the state wouldn’t pay.

    The car company: failure to create a cruise control device that would auto-steer.

    The bed/pillow company: failure to create a matress able to cram 8 hours of sleep into 2 hours.

    The other driver: for not avoiding the crash since the asleep driving clearly could not be liable since he was not conscious.

    Phamaceutical company: NoDoze should be free, if the driver could have loaded up before driving he wouldn’t have fallen asleep.

    Did I miss anyone?

    Obviously we need to help out here… it COULDN’T possibly be the fault of the guy working himself to fall asleep then deciding to get behind a wheel, right?

  • July 23, 2007 at 1:53 am
    Ray says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    Anon – I fall in line behind you.

    So what if he worked “excessive” hours.

    I don’t expect that he complained when he got the paycheck will all that overtime in there.

    He complained about excessive hours? Why not quit and go to another employer – or if there are state laws on the book about the total hours someone can work – contact the state’s labor department.

    Once the employee is off the clock and on his way home, I don’t see how you can blame the employer for his inability to make an intelligent decision about driving when ocerly tired.

  • July 23, 2007 at 1:56 am
    iceman says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    I agree w/Ray and Anon. Personal responsibility has been eliminated from the legal system. Never doubt a personal injury attorney will take any case regardless of merit. The legal system has become their toy box for creative theories of liability. I’d like to see the company file a counter-suit for a frivoulous suit and demand reimbursement of their defense costs.

  • July 23, 2007 at 4:06 am
    wondering says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    I remember an underwriter telling me gleefully, bragging actually, that he had ranted and raved and scared the living daylights out of one of his agents at the end of one afternoon. The recipient of his merciless tirade stated to the underwriter on the following morning, “I almost had a heart attack in the car on the way home from work after you got done with me.” If that agent had actually perished in the car (heart attack brought on by stress) as a result of the extreme mental cruelty and abuse unleashed upon them right before they left to drive home, would that be a work comp. claim?

  • July 23, 2007 at 4:20 am
    iceman says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    We all know the answer to that one. Personal injury lawyers have no shame and will attempt to squeeze a buck out of anything and judges have no backbone to throw out absurd theories of liability. Let the games begin.

  • July 23, 2007 at 4:44 am
    donnieW says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    When you are in travel status for your employer, your employment starts when you leave your home and ends when you return home. Any occurrences between the those times, are occurrences that happen during the “normal” work day. If he had made it home, after his trip, and then went to the grocery store, and had and incident, then the employer is not liable.

  • July 24, 2007 at 10:36 am
    Wolf says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    I worked nights for 20 years….the RESPONSIBLE thing to do is PULL OVER and take a power nap or get out and get fresh air until you are alert enough to drive with out nodding….then you plan your escape to a job that doesn’t have overtime(or that great overtime paycheck). He took a chance,a RISK and the consequence is HIS not his employer’s.

  • July 24, 2007 at 1:41 am
    wudchuck says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    well, it actually costs more to fight a clm in court than to settle in out-of-court in most cases. as far as frivilous?! whom did we forget?!

    1) we are not sure, but was he married? if so, sue the spouse whom allowed him to work those extra hours or may have kept him awake at home longer than in bed for proper sleep….

    2) cafeteria for not providing hime the proper meal that could have given him the energy to complete a proper day.

    3) now, you had mention state for not having a stronger median divider, but yet according to the article – he crossed the center line…so no median divider…

    but in reality: the other driver should have seen that car crossing the center line and could have made some kind of avoidance possibly. the other thing is when you talk about responsiblity, the driver could have told the company i am not working those hours. you are not required to work past a 40hr work week.

    again, this goes against being responsible. when does a company drive the car? why should they be responsible for him driving that vehicle home? how many hours of sleep did he get before he went to work. what is interesting is that in the trucking industry, one of the first questions asked in an accident, is when u have ur last sleep and how many hrs.

    but again, why is up to an employer to cover a personal loss? they were not driving the veh. nor did they cause the person to work more than his regular hrs. that person could have just worked only his normal shift hours.

    one day, the court system, will install a feature that if a frivilous lawsuit is brought, it’s going to cost them lots of court costs for taking up their time for no reason.

  • July 25, 2007 at 8:34 am
    Stat Guy says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 0
    Thumb down 0

    I agree with all of these comments. I am afraid to think of all the lawsuits that will be filed, if this stinker is settled. this scenario is not new; I know I had trouble myself driving home after working the graveyard shift. I quit that job when I felt that I couldn’t drive home safely each morning. Why should anyone else have to pay for a moronic decision to keep working at one’s own peril?



Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*