TheRussianRocket. Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Focused on the right target, not the worker:http://gawker.com/tracy-morgan-sues-walmart-after-deadly-crash-1603992689After a truck driver for Walmart crashed into his limousine van last month, killing one and injuring several others, Tracy Morgan has announced via a rep that he is suing Walmart for damages. The suit alleges that the company was negligent for allowing their truck driver to drive 700 miles without sleeping for 24 hours. According to a report in the Associated Press, Morgan's suit also alleges that the driver fell asleep at the wheel. Via the AP:"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. Morgan suffered a broken leg and broken ribs after the crash and is currently in rehab. Kevin Roper, the truck driver who turned himself in after the crash, has pleaded not guilty to death by auto and assault by auto charges. Ardie Fuqua and Jeffrey and Krista Millea, three other passengers in the crash, are also listed as plaintiffs in the case. The accident resulted in the death of James McNair, a close friend and mentor to Morgan. A report by federal transportation safety investigators said that Roper had been working for 13 1/2 hours when the crash happened and that he had been driving 65mph in a construction zone that had been lowered to 45 mph that night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Grimes Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Good, My father is a long-haul trucker and has done it safely for 10 years. The Smart/Stubborn drivers will stop and take the time to rest, but I can totally understand how some people would feel pressured, companies are ruthless and most do not care about the drivers well-being whatsoever Most of the minor fines and issues you see are not usually the drivers' fault, but a result of the company trying to force a driver to be at a location at a certain time and the driver trying to do his "best" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Heffy Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Unfortunately the settlement will have virtually no effect on Walmart's bottom line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Surfer Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Who is Tracey Morgan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Heffy Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Who is Tracey Morgan? You couldn't type that into Google instead of the post box? Literally no extra effort required on your part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuckin_futz Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 From what I can tell this lawsuit is without merit. The only law that appears to have been broken is the driver doing 65 in a 45 mph construction zone. Wal-Mart is very selective with their drivers. They don't hire any bozo. They have e-logs on every driver and always know what's going on. The log would have alerted them if anything improper was being done. For example, too many hours driven without sufficient time off. Looks like every DOT regulation was followed. Morgan's lawsuit will not get very far. They may pay him something to settle as the publicity would be unwanted. The report said "that Roper had been working for 13 1/2 hours when the crash happened". That is not illegal provided he took a 30 min break in the first 8 hours and did not drive more than 11 hours during that 13 1/2 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdatb Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 Don't see Walmart's fault in this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tystick Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 Don't see Walmart's fault in this. He's probably just trying to find a way to compensate for whats happened. I would be angry if I was almost killed and lost a good friend too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gross-Misconduct Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 From what I can tell this lawsuit is without merit. The only law that appears to have been broken is the driver doing 65 in a 45 mph construction zone. Wal-Mart is very selective with their drivers. They don't hire any bozo. They have e-logs on every driver and always know what's going on. The log would have alerted them if anything improper was being done. For example, too many hours driven without sufficient time off. Looks like every DOT regulation was followed. Morgan's lawsuit will not get very far. They may pay him something to settle as the publicity would be unwanted. The report said "that Roper had been working for 13 1/2 hours when the crash happened". That is not illegal provided he took a 30 min break in the first 8 hours and did not drive more than 11 hours during that 13 1/2 hours. signed, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmployeeoftheMonth Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 Who is Tracey Morgan? An actor. He was on SNL and 30 rock. You couldn't type that into Google instead of the post box? Literally no extra effort required on your part. You couldn't just answer the question? Literally no extra effort required on your part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Heffy Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 An actor. He was on SNL and 30 rock. You couldn't just answer the question? Literally no extra effort required on your part. So can he now that he knows what to do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Surfer Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 You couldn't type that into Google instead of the post box? Literally no extra effort required on your part. You couldn't not be a X#$%& ??? IMO its the responsibility of the OP to put enough relevance to his story / thread. If the story is just about the car crash, no need to quote names. If you are going to build up the story based on the name > include the background on the personality if they are only so well known. Its not like Barrack Obama, the Queen or Elton John is suing Wall Mart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Heffy Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 You couldn't not be a X#$%& ??? IMO its the responsibility of the OP to put enough relevance to his story / thread. If the story is just about the car crash, no need to quote names. If you are going to build up the story based on the name > include the background on the personality if they are only so well known. Its not like Barrack Obama, the Queen or Elton John is suing Wall Mart. Sorry, just baffled people do that when it literally takes less effort to just google them. I think Morgan's a pretty funny guy myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
literaphile Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 Don't see Walmart's fault in this. Walmart is being sued because they employ the driver and are the ones with all the money. The legal principle of vicarious liability says that you can sue employers for the conduct of employees during the course of their employment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armada Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Don't see Walmart's fault in this. They're Vicariously liable for anything that their employees do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gross-Misconduct Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 You couldn't not be a X#$%& ??? IMO its the responsibility of the OP to put enough relevance to his story / thread. If the story is just about the car crash, no need to quote names. If you are going to build up the story based on the name > include the background on the personality if they are only so well known. Its not like Barrack Obama, the Queen or Elton John is suing Wall Mart. Who's Elton John? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummer4now Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Nothing will come out of this lawsuit.. if anything the two parties will most likely settle for an undisclosed amount. Wal-Mart has too much power and influence to be rag dolled in court.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remy Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Who's Elton John? Some random nobody that sang on stage with Eminem once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Colt 45s Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Nothing will come out of this lawsuit.. if anything the two parties will most likely settle for an undisclosed amount. Wal-Mart has too much power and influence to be rag dolled in court.. In many courts in the US the vicarious liability argument does not extend to employers for employee's actions while operating company vehicles. For this case to succeed Morgan will have to present clear and convincing proof Walmart knowingly and actively participated in the conduct of its employee or condoned, ratified or consented to such conduct by its employee. This is what discovery is for. But Walmart utilizes e-logs and other tools to measure time spent driving. But at the end of the day, it was the driver's responsibility to pull over and take a nap if he was tired--CDL handbook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jester13 Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 In many courts in the US the vicarious liability argument does not extend to employers for employee's actions while operating company vehicles. For this case to succeed Morgan will have to present clear and convincing proof Walmart knowingly and actively participated in the conduct of its employee or condoned, ratified or consented to such conduct by its employee. This is what discovery is for. But Walmart utilizes e-logs and other tools to measure time spent driving. But at the end of the day, it was the driver's responsibility to pull over and take a nap if he was tired--CDL handbook. If the employee's log books are examined going way back and there are discrepancies found on multiple occasions then they might be able to squeeze out of the employee that he felt pressure from Walmart to fudge his books (something a high number of drivers do all the time). I still don't know if Walmart can be held liable or not, I'm not a lawyer, but this is the only thing I can think of that might get them in trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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