What could go wrong at an oil change? You could get sued!

[jaymz]

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[DavidArmen]

Holy….f***.

 

[WhereRU_A-A-Ron]

Dealerships don't make laws and they didn't tell the lawyer to sue the individual.

You are correct. I misread the article and thought the lawyer was representing the dealership. Thank you for pointing out my error.

 

[roaniecowpony]

I think think that entire article is crazy and the lawyer is insane... But this got me to thinking… Hasn’t this been going on for a while on the home side? Say homeowner hires the cheapest company, that seems legitimate enough. They come onto the job with unqualified workers and possibly illegals that fall through the roof or whatever, get injured. Always hear of the story where they sue the homeowner. If there’s any truths to the stories, wonder how successful they are in trial (assuming they make it to trial and not offer go away money via settlement).

That's why you should hire licensed and bonded contractors. If the worker sues you, counter-sue the contractor for hiring incompetent workers, delays, etc..

 

[RAMSTEEL]

Kind of interesting, I hope a lawyer chimes in here. Looks like there are limits on workman's compensation type claims sense it is an employee-on-employee accident. Not sure I understand why the dealership isn't liable for hiring an unlicensed driver who then operated a vehicle but it's going to be interesting to find out. If you're sitting in a vehicle, you're considered an operator if you're behind the wheel...hence DUIs even if parked.

I suspect the lawyer is just looking for a settlement from the owner's insurance company to help the victim.

 

[captainstabbins]

I was at a bar and someone yelled "All lawyers are assholes". From the back someone yelled "I object". Man asked "are you a lawyer?". Person said "No. I'm an asshole."

 

[RAMSTEEL]

You are correct. I misread the article and thought the lawyer was representing the dealership. Thank you for pointing out my error.

No worries, I was fuming at first as well. BTW, how is the dealership not just stepping forward to do the right thing?

 

[Bejer]

I suspect the lawyer is just looking for a settlement from the owner's insurance company to help the victim.

More likely a payday to help himself.

No worries, I was fuming at first as well. BTW, how is the dealership not just stepping forward to do the right thing?

They probably know that a lawsuit from the owner is (or should be) coming to compensate for all the $$$ it's going to cost to defend themselves.

 

[roaniecowpony]

I was just thinking what a rare tragedy for the family that lost someone. They were wronged. But, the family suing the vehicle owner is wrong and they can control that. How's that go? "Two wrongs don't make a right"

Everyone wants to blame the lawyers for this kind of situation. To me, they are just opportunists. But, the people that leverage the lawyers in unscrupulous ways are the scum. Yes, I just called the family (widow?), that lost their loved one, scum. They are paying the lawyer to do this.

 

[Sgt Beavis]

In this country, you can sue just about anyone for anything. That doesn’t mean you’ll win. Sounds to me like MI tort laws are the real issue.

 

[Bejer]

I was just thinking what a rare tragedy for the family that lost someone. They were wronged. But, the family suing the vehicle owner is wrong and they can control that. How's that go? "Two wrongs don't make a right"

Everyone wants to blame the lawyers for this kind of situation. To me, they are just opportunists. But, the people that leverage the lawyers in unscrupulous ways are the scum. Yes, I just called the family (widow?), that lost their loved one, scum. They are paying the lawyer to do this.

True, however I bet they contacted him to go after the dealership for having an inexperienced, unlicensed driver moving vehicles. Since that's a no go because a lawyer got to that first and made it so they can't, he says he "has to" sue the owner. He's just as scummy.

EDIT to add, I'm not a lawyer and don't have all the details. I'm making a lot of assumptions just like any of us. I may be way off.

 

[azwjowner]

Kind of interesting, I hope a lawyer chimes in here. Looks like there are limits on workman's compensation type claims sense it is an employee-on-employee accident. Not sure I understand why the dealership isn't liable for hiring an unlicensed driver who then operated a vehicle but it's going to be interesting to find out. If you're sitting in a vehicle, you're considered an operator if you're behind the wheel...hence DUIs even if parked.

I suspect the lawyer is just looking for a settlement from the owner's insurance company to help the victim.

There are worker's comp laws that prevent suing the employer. But the lack of a litigated avenue against the employer doesn't magically invent a basis to claim against the car owner. I cannot imagine grounds for bringing a claim against the owner unless the owner had made some unknown custom modifications to the car that made it more dangerous to operate (it does not sound like this is the case).

Update: Apparently Michigan has a unique statute holding a car owner liable for all negligence of anyone who drives the car with the owner's express or implied consent.

 

[roaniecowpony]

True, however I bet they contacted him to go after the dealership for having an inexperienced, unlicensed driver moving vehicles. Since that's a no go because a lawyer got to that first and made it so they can't, he says he "has to" sue the owner. He's just as scummy.

EDIT to add, I'm not a lawyer and don't have all the details. I'm making a lot of assumptions just like any of us. I may be way off.

Plenty of scummy people involved in this, starting with the legislature of the state, as someone pointed out. I don't have any love for these kinds of attorneys. But let's say the widow hired a thug to break the legs of the vehicle owner. Who's the scum? Both the widow and the thug, obviously. The widow is misdirecting her position of power to take from an innocent person caught up in this. She is the proximate problem. The contributing cause is the liability lawyers (mostly lawyers wannabe assholes) who takes this kind of case. The root cause is the legislature that created these laws . Or go a step further and look at the political majority that elected the assho ... I mean politicians.

 

[azwjowner]

Plenty of scummy people involved in this, starting with the legislature of the state, as someone pointed out. I don't have any love for these kinds of attorneys. But let's say the widow hired a thug to break the legs of the vehicle owner. Who's the scum? Both the widow and the thug, obviously. The widow is misdirecting her position of power to take from an innocent person caught up in this. She is the proximate problem. The contributing cause is the liability lawyers (mostly lawyers wannabe assholes) who takes this kind of case. The root cause is the legislature that created these laws . Or go a step further and look at the political majority that elected the assho ... I mean politicians.

You all are missing that the laws almost assurely do not support this claim. The legislature has done nothing wrong.

 

[roaniecowpony]

There are worker's comp laws that prevent suing the employer. But the lack of a litigated avenue against the employer doesn't magically invent a basis to claim against the car owner. I cannot imagine grounds for bringing a claim against the owner unless the owner had made some unknown custom modifications to the car that made it more dangerous to operate (it does not sound like this is the case).

The lawyer no doubt filed suit hoping that the owner's insurance company will pay some quick and easy money to settle. I consider it grossly unethical and the lawyer involved should be sanctioned or disbarred. I would expect the lawsuit, if it proceeds that far, to be easily dismissed on the basis that there is no plausible claim stated against the owner on these facts.

These are the lawyers that give the rest a bad name. As with every other profession, most are OK and there's always that 5% of lawyers, doctors, plumbers, car mechanics, etc. that are problematic.

I had an acquaintance that was a "super lawyer". He sued other lawyers for malpractice. I always thought that he was the karma coming for those lawyers that did bad stuff to good people. His name came up last week. I was up at his house a few times, shooting in his underground pistol range. He lived an exotic life.

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