Tag: Derrick Thomas

GM Prevails in Derrick Thomas Lawsuit

Four years ago I wrote about my incredulity and Derrick Thomas’ family suing General Motors. Thomas was an NFL player who died when he rolled his automobile. Thomas was driving way too fast for conditions and not wearing his seatbelt. He was thrown from his vehicle and sustained injuries that killed him 16 days after the accident. His mother sued General Motors arguing that the company hadn’t done enough to make the vehicle safe in rollover, even though the only person in the car wearing a seatbelt walked away from the accident unharmed (a third person who was unbelted died at the scene).

A jury this week rejected the lawsuit, voting 10-2 not to award Thomas’ family any damages.

Well, there are still at least 10 sane people left in lawsuit happy America.

Source:

GM Wins In Derrick Thomas Wrongful Death Trial. The KansasCityChannel.Com, August 18, 2004.

Only In America — Derrick Thomas’ s Mother Sues GM

In February of this year National Football League player Derrick Thomas was killed in an automobile accident. He was speeding on an icy road rushing to make a flight. He lost control of his car and both he and a passenger died when they were thrown out of the car — neither was wearing seatbelts. A third passenger, who was wearing his seatbelt, walked away from the crash with only minor injuries.

Since this is the United States the course for Thomas’s mother was clear — sue the maker of the car, General Motors, for her son’s irresponsible driving. And for good measure she’s suing the ambulance company that arrived on the scene as well as the hospital that tried to keep him alive.

Still not quite as bold as the blood sucking lawyers detailed in this San Francisco Chronicle story. In this scam, lawyers wait for a plane to go down, and then sue the airlines claiming they represent a Latin American child who the pilot or one of the passengers had fathered illegitimately. In one case the lawyers made a big mistake — the erson they accused of being the father turned out to be a gay man involved in a 20-year-long same sex relationship. Oops.