A bad day at work and another frivolous law suit

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NormanBuntz

NormanBuntz

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Talk about a baseless law suit. If you are employed to work on vehicles, how about knowing how a manual transmission works? Like that's the vehicle owner's responsibility?

www.yahoo.com

Michigan car owner sued after Jeep kills mechanic during oil change

A Michigan man who left his car at a dealership for an oil change and tire rotation is being sued after his vehicle killed a mechanic.
www.yahoo.com www.yahoo.com
 
This whole case is odd. I worked for two large dealerships and one smaller independent dealership. Every time I had to have a current and valid driver's license. In a few instances I was told I needed to know how to drive a manual transmission. There was definitely a breakdown or oversight.
 
spasm3 said:
Sad thing is, as frivolous and silly as it is, it will cost the owner thousands in legal fees to defend.
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From another article the jeep owner already sued the dealership and won. Part of that money will likely go to the family of the deceased.
 
I didn't read the article but I have heard of the suit. Hopefully, it gets tossed on summary judgment.
 
I don't understand the statement by the plaintiff's attorney that the business can't be sued for negligence. Of course you can sue your employer for unsafe work practices. A man died because the dealership did not have adequate training and qualification for its employees and/or safety equipment in place.
 
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Leo99 said:
I don't understand the statement by the plaintiff's attorney that the business can't be sued for negligence. Of course you can sue your employer for unsafe work practices. A man died because the dealership did not have adequate training and qualification for its employees and/or safety equipment in place.
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Yeah, I can't help but think that there's a misinterpretation of the law somewhere. Anybody can sue anybody for anything unless it's a government entity, for which you need to get a court's permission to sue.
 
97prizm said:
There was definitely a breakdown or oversight.
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The overseer was the guy's boss on the floor, who was killed in the incident. So for him it was a fatal lesson why not to send an unqualified person on a dangerous job.

The lawyers of course are not willing to let it end there, so now it is getting silly.
 
Leo99 said:
Of course you can sue your employer for unsafe work practices.
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Not if you signed an arbitration agreement upon employment.

Probably best for people to limit speculation and conclusions since ad hoc comments are done with little context or understanding of the actual laws in play here.

Law is what is written, not what is "right"

Same goes for employment rules.
 
If anything the owner of the Jeep is totall innocent. I’d fire the two clowns at “the dealership” on the spot
 
Worker's Comp insurance and laws mean you have to go through that system. A wrongful death at work is worth a predetermined amount of money, which, if you look closely, isn't that much.

Michigan also has strange no-fault auto insurance laws that seem to lead to absurdly high rates, and this may be a part of that as well.

There are situations where grandma's driving her grandson in her car, kid gets hurt, and the parents have to sue their own family to get the insurance to pay out. I'm sure Steve Lehto (sp?) has an opinion on this case.
 
My daughter drives a 2011 manual car and it does not need to be in neutral to start the engine, only that you depress the clutch. You get used to this so you quickly jump into the car and depress the clutch, crank it up, and immediately let out the clutch. Some times a surprise is waiting for you are you lurch forward.
I would have thought by 2019 this safety concern would have been addressed and in this case, someone's life could have been saved.
 
If the “mechanic” had set the parking brake, it likely would have stalled when he let the clutch out at idle speed (while not in the vehicle, another uber-stupid move). This is why I HATED taking my company van to the Ford dealer for its‘ so-called “Premium Care” oil changes-they never used a lift, nor jack stands, or they would use a lift to pick up only the front end. I was amazed they never dropped it! Wonder if he had dropped the car off the lift on a coworker-would the Jeep owner be liable for that too?
 
gathermewool said:
Won’t be necessary for the second one…



He depressed the clutch. Is having the stick in neutral to start a new thing?
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No, the safety switch is on the clutch pedal. In the old days, they didn’t even have that, it was possible to move a car with just the starter. Can start a manual in any gear, but unfortunately stupid is unrepairable after the fact! Imagine this dealership isn’t going to be in business much longer.
 
There were several years a manual had to be in reverse before it would crank. I had a 1973 Maverick with this feature. It was part of the lock out system for the steering wheel and column ignition switch.
 
The lawsuit is the way it is because of the laws in that state. Each state has different liability laws regarding vehicles and owner's liability.

Nothing new here.
 
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