Posted on 07/12/2014 2:39:03 AM PDT by South40
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Tracy Morgan has sued Wal-Mart over last month's highway crash that seriously injured him and killed a fellow comedian.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, claims Wal-Mart was negligent when a driver of one of its tractor-trailers rammed into Morgan's limousine van. The complaint claims the retail giant should have known the driver had been awake for over 24 hours, and that his commute of 700 miles from his home in Georgia to work in Delaware was "unreasonable." It also alleges the driver fell asleep at the wheel.
"As a result of Wal-Mart's gross, reckless, willful, wanton, and intentional conduct, it should be appropriately punished with the imposition of punitive damages," according to the complaint.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.msn.com ...
Do you know how many times each day that Wal-Mart is sued? They almost certainly have a large law firm on contingency that does nothing but defend them in court. Just the slip-and-falls probably require a whole battalion of lawyers.
Going for the deep pockets I see. Walmart probably has some limited liability bulwark already in place.
If those are the facts, it’s not unreasonable that Wal-mart is sued.
The man probably has a long road to recover, assuming that he can recover.
If the truck driver was indeed operating under those conditions and was a Walmart employee, Wal-Mart would be responsible for not ensuring that their drivers are working proper hours.
The plaintiff here alleges that the driver didn't get any sleep before reporting to work. I do not know how any employer can be held responsible for this unless there was some visible impairment that should been apparent to managers when the driver clocked in.
I agree. If this man drives (commutes) 700 miles to work for them in another area, then perhaps they have taken advantage of someone’s need to work, or they have just been negligent in managing their resources.
Regardless, the suit is filed and discovery can proceed, and we (the court) shall see what the facts are.
It’s a good thing the driver is black or WM would be sued for racism also.
If Wal-Mart can prove the man wasn’t working, in his employ for them, more than the regulated hours than you are probably correct, as an employer cannot be held responsible for somebody being exhausted when they show up to work.
Maybe so, but that doesn’t remove the need for holding them accountable if the court finds them negligent.
Wal-Mart has one of the largest fleets of trucks on Earth. This ain’t their first negligence suit and it won’t be their last. They’ll be held accountable for a certain dollar amount. That’s it.
There’s fault and then there’s responsibility. If the driver is acting as a Walmart employee, then he’s acting as their agent. Walmart is responsible for his actions.
Can an employer really be held responsible for the length of someone’s commute? I know someone who ‘commutes’ weekly from his home in Europe to his workplace in NY. People move cross-country or further for employment all the time.
This is the relevant paragraph.
Roper had been on the job about 13 1/2 hours at the time of the crash, the report concluded. Federal rules permit truck drivers to work up to 14 hours a day, with a maximum of 11 hours behind the wheel.
Whatever the man’s commute, he still was behind the wheel beyond what federal regulations permit, thus Wal-mart can be considered negligent.
No. The fact that he was on the clock 13 1/2 hours doesn’t mean that he was driving for that length of time. Drivers have a lot of down time while trucks are being loaded and unloaded. He also probably took periodic breaks during a long work day, just as you and I may do on a long drive.
It all depends on what can be prove to a judge.
Maybe; maybe not. Regardless, Wal-Mart will be held liable because the guy was driving their truck whether the guy walked across the street or commuted 700 miles. The 700 miles will factor into how much more they will wind up paying.
Wal-Mart owns the truck and their employee caused the accident. That’s enough to recover damages regardless of the guy’s commute.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.