A catastrophic storm finds most Texas residents retreating to the safest place in the house or to a storm shelter. Such a natural disaster in itself is enough to cause a fatal accident, but for seemingly fearless storm chasers, there is a greater potential for loss of life. Three people tracking a storm two years ago were victims of a fatal accident, and the mother of one of them is now pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit as a result.
The mother is asking The Weather Channel (TWC) for $125 million, as they employed the two people she believes caused the death of her 25-year-old son. The young man, a certified storm spotter by the National Weather Service, was tracking a severe storm crossing Texas when he was hit by two storm chasers who ran a stop sign as they were streaming a live feed for TWC. The mother’s lawsuit claims the two storm chasers had reached 70 mph when their vehicle slammed into her son’s Jeep. All three men were killed in the collision.
The two TWC employees were not meteorologists but had been thrust into the celebrity limelight by the channel for their tenacity in tracking severe storms. The attorney for the mother says hours upon hours of footage the two shot show they seldom had regard for the rules of the road while on a chase. It is the opinion of one attorney not directly associated with the case that, while the plaintiff will claim the men were in their duty as employees of the TWC at the time of the collision, the court may rule that the two men chose to drive in a reckless manner and that choice was on them, not a condition of their employment with TWC.
A fatal accident can bring out many emotions in surviving family members. Holding those responsible for the negligent action that caused the loss is often uppermost in the minds of those left behind. A Texas attorney can explain the process of filing a wrongful death lawsuit and will be a strong proponent throughout the entirety of the case.