Landfill Lawsuit

[tkcomer]

I see where Mason County has given an undisclosed out of court settlement to the uncle of an inmate that died at the Mason County Landfill. First off, since this is taxpayer’s money, I don’t see how the county could hide this settlement from the public. Number 2; I don’t think the uncle should have gotten anything. The inmate snuck off when a landfill employee turned his back. The inmate was seen driving the ATV recklessly and he wrecked. And was killed. The uncle has sued everyone involved, including the maker of the ATV. He still has a lawsuit against the landfill operator and the maker of the ATV. These types of lawsuits tick me off. The inmate screwed up. He is responsible. He is at fault. This is one of the reasons the cost of doing business in this country is so high. And this case didn’t even make it to trial. The uncle was just given an “undisclosed settlement.” In my opinion, if you misuse a product in any way and you get harmed by your misuse, you should forfeit any right to sue.

[gleroyjr]

i agree tkcomer, my tax dollars going down a rathole. i still would like to know the amount that was paid out.

[tkcomer]

That’s another thing that ticks me off. The GOVERNMENT gave him something. How can politicians stand on TV and say we need to put a stop to these baseless lawsuits and our county just rolled over and gave in? What these lawsuit happy people are doing is nothing short of extortion. I still cannot understand in my wildest dreams how these juries across the country award these people money for such stupidity.

[mark]

........I couldn't agree with you more!!! I know why the settled, the county doesn't want to wind up in court. However, we ALL know from reading tk's post he's guilty, but the folks suing knows the liberal juries gives whopping awards to the idiots in our society.
That's a lot of the problems right there. The judge & jury should throw these kinds of lawsuits out, period! If they would start doing that these type of stupid suits won't get into court.

Is the county records open for public viewing?? If so, shouldn't this be on the spreadsheet?? Hmmm, yeah right.
I'm sure it's covered up -- hidden in the real set of operating books they DON'T want you to see..............see ya Mark

[tkcomer]

Mason County is not exactly a liberal county. That’s what blew my mind when the county rolled over. I swear I don’t understand the people that serve on these juries. They seem oblivious to the fact that their actions have driven up the cost of doing business in this country. And those awards do come out of their pockets because lawsuits like this drives up the cost of insurance for all businesses. This is not some evil corporation trying to hide a defective product. This is a case where a person screwed up and the family wants to profit from it.

[navywife]

I have a question --why in the world was the uncle allowed to sue for an INMATE death when really there was no wrongful death --it was an accident caused by the inmate --correct me if I am wrong --I thought it had to be proven to be a wrongful death ---

[tkcomer]

You have a point. We have no idea was brought up or what was discussed. I did see where the lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, whatever that means. One can only guess at the accusations the uncle’s lawyers used. But I’m still disappointed that our local courts did not do everything in their power to overthrow this lawsuit.

[mark]

...........I wonder what ever happen to "accountability for one's actions" in this country anymore??

If I were the judge, I would do everything possible to "throw" this one out.........see ya Mark

[Eddie]

I would agree with most of the post here, with only one small exception. Even though the inmate was just that, an inmate, he would have had to be considered an "employee" as long as he was working at the landfill. That fact entitles the Inmate to the same OSHA standards as any other "paid" employee at the landfill. With that said, there was likely some violatoins involving the use of moterized equipment, and if I had to guess, and that's just what I'm doing here, I'd bet there was no formal training program in place for the equipment being used. Now I know everyone is going to yell that it was a very simple piece of equipment...However I'm sure there was an owner manual that discussed the roll over risk that came with that equipment. If nothing else, the owners manual should have been used as a training tool and a signed training documented issued and filed as part of the OSHA regulation entilied "Training Awareness and Competence. Understand, you can't just train an employee, you must have a system to prove they are also competent, which usually involves some form of testing. This is very important when it comes to the operation of moterized equipment.
Maybe all those things were done, I can't say. But I'd bet that's where the settlement came in to play.

[tkcomer]

I’ll agree to that, to a point. You don’t put a person on a dozer that has never operated one. And the inmate had been driving this ATV without incident before. It wasn’t until the landfill employee turned his back that he took off flying and wrecked. A company can give you all the training in the world on a piece of equipment, but they can’t prevent an idiot from killing himself due to gross misuse. Common sense says that he screwed up. It was an accident he caused by driving recklessly. He is at fault. And no one should profit from his mistake.

[Eddie]

TK, Your viewing it from a "common sense" approach. Take it from a guy who deals with OSHA on an almost daily basis, the term Common Sense is no where in their regulatoins. As I was once told by an OSHA inspector, while I was arguing your same point, "you have to protect people from themselves". If peole can get hurt, regardless if it's their fault or not, it's the companies job to prevent it. With that said, you and I both know how uneducated the average jury in the US is today. They will award $1,000,000's to some one who spills hot coffee on themselves. The County attorny knows that and just figures it would be cheaper to pay up front than allow a jury to decide how much to pay later. Besides, the settlement was likely less than what court cost would have been to fight the suit.
I'm not disagreing with you at all, just looking at it from a diffrent view.

[bubbysgarage]

I just have one problem with the Uncle's lawsuit, why in the world sue the manufacturer of the ATV? It wasn't the ATV's fault he wrecked and got killed, it was his own. Correct me if I am wrong but if the ATV manufacturer gives him a settlement does that mean that my husband and I can sue Kawasaki for my husband having a wreck and doing close to $30,000.00 worth of damage to his left wrist and right shoulder? If you want to see what is left of the bike look at our webpage. I will warn you its not pretty and was not taken at the scene of the accident. If the Uncle is suing everyone involved does that mean we can also sue the insurance company for not covering a penny of our damages (the insurance salesman gave us the cheapest rate and didn't offer anything more). Let me know what you think. I would like to know what this world is coming to. First an obese person sues McDonalds then a smoker sues the cigarette company, what next?

[tkcomer]

I can remember a guy getting killed at our company back in the early 80s through sheer stupidity. He tried to slide down an I-beam to go to break and fell about 40 feet if I remember right. No investigations, no fines, no warnings to the company because you can’t stop someone from breaking all the rules if they so choose. The employee knew he was not supposed to do that, but did it anyway. It’s the same case here. The inmate knew better but chose to disobey the rules. He never intended to wreck, but then again, no one ever does. It’s still his fault. His own doing. No one else is responsible but him. And I’m fully aware of OSHA. Their one-size-fits-all rules can be a real pain.

[mark]

..........I'll tell you where it's headed next. Everywhere until juries gets some common sense & throw these silly ambulance chasing lawyer's lawsuits out.

Remember, when you turn the light on in the morning & it doesn't work, sue GE, their bulb didn't work causing you to slip on the floor in the dark. Whoops?? while you're at it, sue the carpet maker because it wasn't laid correctly. Why not sue the carpet layer, he's at fault. No, why not sue the home builder because the carpet was there instead of hardwood floors that are in your house plans. That's not right, why not sue the man who owned the farm your house was built on?? He must be at fault because the house wasn't built ...............well...............you getting the picture.


When 12 "bleeding hearts" are on the jury, be pleased, you'll win.
So,
Just when are these juries going to quit looking at this type of nonsense?? ...........see ya Mark

[annieap]

Three questions:
1. Did anyone ever stop to think that one must know all the facts before placing judgement. We only know what the newspaper decided to publish. We do not know the entire story of the accident or the lawsuit.

2. If the deceased were one of your family members would you feel the same?

3. Has anyone considered the fact that a family member or someone very close to the deceased and his family may be a subscriber on this forum and may be very hurt by reading some of these posts?

[Eddie]

Mark I think the jury issue is real problem in this country. I think there should be some set requirements for sitting on a jury. One thought I've often had was having Pro- Jurers? These could be made up of retired people, or others that really want to do it as opposed to those of us who hate the thought of being on a jury. These people could be provided some basic "trial rights" training and perhaps even be given a competancy test regarding basic law before being allowed to sit on a jury.

Annie, you are correct, we don't know all the issues, and we do need to be careful with some of the coments made. I hope none of the previous quotes were too out of line. Regardless of our thoughts on the legal system, this was someones family member who is now gone.

[tkcomer]

Yes, I did consider this before I started this post.

#1 We won’t know the facts. It was an out-of-court settlement with taxpayer money. That is just wrong.

#2 I HAVE had family members die under dubious situations. Mistakes were made. Rosy scenarios did not turn out right. But we did not sue. All the money in the would will not bring them back for a day. If we had sued, it would have been due to grief and greed. Money would have changed nothing. Other than drive the costs up for business. Costs that would be passed on to others who had nothing to do with those deaths. That is just wrong.

#3 Silence implies approval. These are opinions. I feel the public needs to be educated at the true costs of these lawsuits. That these lawsuits costs all of us money in one way or another. Or for people to lose their jobs and benefits when a company decides to pack up and leave. To reward someone for bad behavior and misuse of a product is well, just wrong.

[annieap]

He didnt get rewarded..he died.

And we really dont know the circumstances of that day. We werent there. Maybe the gator was faulty. An out-of-court settlement implies guilt of some form. We dont know. I think because he was an inmate esculates the opinion. But, then again, I dont know, that is just my opinion.

[bubbysgarage]

What I have a hard time dealing with is the family is suing everyone involved. I'm not sure what that will prove, it won't bring the family member back, and besides like everyone told me when my husband totalled his motorcycle The Man above does things for a reason. We may not know the reason or ever find out the reason. I do however feel sympathy for any family who loses a family member or close friend and for the family in this case, but like I said before suing everyone involved doesn't bring the deceased back. All we can really do is go on with our lives and remember the good times we had with that person. Annieap I do have to agree with you that the fact that it was an inmate esculates the opinion but like you also said we weren't there and no one will ever know what happened. Again all of this is just opinions and I am sorry if I offended anyone who knew the gentleman. But everyone is entitled to their own opinions whether good or bad. My mother taught me a valuable lesson about life "If you don't like what you are seeing or hearing, don't watch or listen."

[tkcomer]

It’s not the inmate part that troubles me. It’s the ATV part. Being an offroader, I’m seeing an increased tendency to sue everyone when a person drives an ATV recklessly and gets hurt or killed. They and/or the family sue everyone that they can think of trying to get that big score. That is greed pure and simple. That is trying to find a way to be rewarded for bad behavior. In my opinion, no jury, and especially no government, should reward anyone for that. That encourages others to get in on the crapshoot and try to get money for bad behavior. I’ve made some bad mistakes in my life. I hurt everyday because of those mistakes. But I did not run and get a lawyer when I lost control of my Chevy Blazer and hit a guardrail at well over the speedlimit and rolled down Route 8. I guess with the attitude of some, I should have sued the government for not stopping me before I wrecked. And Chevy did not personally warn me how their trucks would fold up when you hit a guardrail at that speed.

[shydoo2001]

tk I have to agree today people are plain out money hungry. "Get what they give you and take what you can." This seems to be the motto of some people now a days. I still don't understand why the uncle was the one suing. I remember hearing of the case but don't remember all of the details. But on the other hand I think you have to look at the fact that the inmate snuck off to ride this atv. Was he just joy riding or trying to get away. It wouldn't be the first time an inmate fled from the landfill. As for suing everyone under the sun, WHY? It won't bring the young man back if they really want to do something to make sure that something like this never happens again then maybe people should write to the mayor or their senator or whatever to maybe set up some kind of training for the inmates. This would make more sense than trying to get fat off the taxpayers money. But just an opinion. thanks

[annieap]

tkcomer...I agree on the ATV aspect. I love four wheeling and dirtbiking. I participate in the sport for the enjoyment and the thrill. I am aware of the dangers and I know first hand that one little error on MY part and oops! there we go! When I flipped and rolled down the hill a few years ago it was no one's fault but mine. I was tired and should've never attempted the climb. Had I been seriously injured, suing the company would not have entered my mind. Nor did it enter my mind when I totalled my Z-28 back in the early 80s. And I do agree that people are becoming more and more "sue happy".
However (you know I had a but didnt you, LOL) in the case we are discussing here, as I understand it, it wasnt the victim's idea to be on the gator in the first place. If he were not familiar with using the vehicle, he should have never been placed on it.
I am also not saying it was right for the uncle to sue. I was only pointing out a different view that had not yet been represented.
Had this young man been my relative, no I would not have sued. Even if awarded a HUGE settlement, I could never enjoy the money for the simple fact that I would feel guilty finding pleasure in the instant wealth I gained from the relative's death.

[bubbysgarage]

It seems to me that anymore people are looking for a "quick" way to get "rich". Annieap I couldn't agree with you more with your comment "I could never enjoy the money for the simple fact that I would feel guilty finding pleasure in the instant wealth I gained from the relative's death." Like I've said before nothing will bring a loved one back but the memories we have of and with them and yet everyone wants to sue the other party, the way I see it is that only gets you money and the heartache of reliving the accident. When my husband wrecked his motorcycle the thought of suing anyone didn't even cross my mind and I the thought wouldn't have ever went through my mind had this not come up. The accident wasn't his fault. The state had just repainted the lines on the road and it had rained a few days prior to his accident, so the lines had an oily film on them causing him to loose control of his bike. Who would we sue? The bike manufacturer, the state department, the landowner of the creek the bike hit causing him to go flying off? My question is where do we draw the line and when are we going to wake up and stop the government from using our tax dollars for things like this. I thought my tax dollars went to pay for schools, public buildings, and keeping our roads safe. Just a thought

[gleroyjr]

fact # 1, he was a inmate working at the landfill and tried to escape by stealing a atv and wrecked and was killed.
fact # 1, i would feel the same if it was a member of my family. stay out of jail and dont steal .
fact @ 3, is sueing the county and the maker of the atv going to bring him back.