Jury in on M-C case

[RonT]

Yesterday a CA. jury in a Superior Court awarded $30M to a Chico woman injured from a MasterCraft X-45, some interesting things I read from the report:
MasterCraft assigned 80% of the blame (earlier arguments were looking at 99%)
The driver was assigned 20% of the blame (learned he admitted to drinking while driving & had a blood alc. of .04)
12 of the 18 passengers were in the bow at the time of the accident
The drivers insurance Co. has already paid out $1M & the courts are seeking no more from the driver
The court is seeking 100% of the verdict from MasterCraft
From the transcript: "The two women were washed into the lake as the boat made a 3-5 mph turn to retrieve a wakeboarder it was towing who had fallen" " As the boat continued it's turn, the propellor slashed victum 1 accross the back and struck victum 2 in the head - fracturing her scull, slicing through her frontal lobe and ripping out her left eye"
MasterCraft was accused of having a design flaw with the boat.

A sad day for all....

[Joel]

It certainly is...   

[silverghost]

   A very sad case indeed~

But how is this Mastercraft's fault ?

   Another case of a lawyer filing suit against a perceived "deep-Pockets" defendant ~ In this case Mastercraft.

   Where is the Boat's Supposed "Design Flaw" ?

   Why & How were 12 people sitting in the bow-rider seating area?

   If upheald~
This may spell the end for Mastercraft .
I see a possible chapter 11 & 13 comming. 

[daveo]

Kind of like filing a lawsuit against the kiddi pool manufacturer because you got drunk and jumped off the roof into it and were injured by a 'DESIGN FLAW" 
           Idiots can still purchase kiddi pools and ski boats!!!!
 oh and i guess they can also be jury members and prosecuting attorneys and even JUDGES!!!!
 

                                                                                        daveo

[Joel]

Dont get me started...   This case should never have been heard in a court of law, but we are talking about CALIFORNIA... the land of flakes, fruits and nuts!

[chrisheile]

Skier down, off throttle completely, look both ways, idle to skier.  Only exception is if another boat is approaching and could be a threat to downed skier. 

[phil]

Skier down, off throttle completely, look both ways, idle to skier.  Only exception is if another boat is approaching and could be a threat to downed skier. 

Bingo.

[skiboatdriver]

All things being equal, they go after who has the money. I followed this case (and others like it) very close. If it were an automobile, the driver would have been at fault, not Chevy or Ford.

Case in point; ever seen a homeless person sued for anything?