Quote :

"Husband of wrong-way motorist who killed seven sues state, others Here's your warning: this appears to be a case that will have people again howling for legal reform. According to USA Today, on July 26, 2009 Diane Schuler drove her minivan the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway in New York, eventually colliding head-on with an SUV. Schuler was killed, along with her daughter and three nieces. The three men in the SUV were also killed. Let's pause a moment right here and quote one of the parties in the subsequent events, who admitted that things "pale in comparison to the real tragedy of the day." Among those events, though, is a feeding frenzy of lawsuits. Toxicology reports determined that Schuler was both drunk and high at the time of the collision, findings her husband, Daniel, has consistently said cannot be true. Official accounts of Schuler's behavior on the day, however, would suggest she was certainly under the influence of something. In fact, Daniel Schuler doesn't believe his wife is at all at fault in the crash. He has filed suit against the state of New York alleging that the state's "negligence, carelessness and recklessness" concerning highway upkeep and signage are the only reasons his daughter suffered fatal injuries. Specifically, he insists that highway conditions were unsafe, lanes weren't properly marked and there weren't barriers and cones to provide adequate warning. Schuler has also filed suit against his late wife's brother, Warren Hance, who was the father of three of the girls in the car who died. Schuler contends that since Hance owned the minivan that Diane was driving, Hance is also at fault. On top of all of that, a relative of one of the victims in the SUV is suing the sister of the SUV's driver, alleging that the late driver's estate bears some responsibility for him being hit head-on by Diane Schuler. If you were looking for a new definition of the word "mess," this is probably it... "

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/07/28/husband-of-wrong-way-motorist-who-killed-seven-sues-state-other/

8/2/2011 2:48:24 PM

Something tells me this one will get thrown out pretty quickly.

8/2/2011 2:50:39 PM

I'll just be a minute

8/2/2011 2:53:37 PM

there is a docu on hbo about this woman playing, currently

i havent watched it all but most of it. very interesting story.

8/2/2011 2:54:39 PM

Is it about the accident, or the women's life leading up to it as it seems like something was amiss here?

8/2/2011 2:55:36 PM

here is more detail about it

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/tv-review-theres-something-wrong-with-aunt-diane/2011/07/20/gIQARBkCXI_story.html

8/2/2011 2:58:02 PM

seriously. this guy should be shot on sight at the courthouse.

8/2/2011 3:10:07 PM

if natural selection still worked this man would have been in the car with his wife.

8/2/2011 3:17:10 PM

I'm sure his dead wife loves that he's using all their money on this and not on their surviving child's well-being.

8/2/2011 3:17:14 PM

I can't wait for someone to bring up the McDonald's coffee lawsuit as evidence for the need for tort reform.

[Edited on August 2, 2011 at 3:45 PM. Reason : .]

8/2/2011 3:43:39 PM

and they will be wrong

8/2/2011 3:45:08 PM

http://www.classaction.org/holmes-rival-crock-pot-slow-cookers--lawsuit-2349.html

8/2/2011 3:46:08 PM

Quote :

"I can't wait for someone to bring up the McDonald's coffee lawsuit as an example of frivolous lawsuits."

Most knowledgeable people quit believing that was frivolous a long time ago.

8/2/2011 3:46:21 PM

Drudge Report is all over these

Girl, 11, saves baby woodpecker; faces $500 fine from feds...
http://wusa9.com/news/article/161065/158/Woodpecker-Saving-Daughter-Costs-Mom-500

Two men suing woman they saved from burning vehicle...
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/08/01/2-men-suing-woman-they-saved.html

8/2/2011 3:50:52 PM

^the first one isn't even a lawsuit

8/2/2011 3:54:23 PM

8/2/2011 4:14:24 PM

http://tortdeform.com/

8/2/2011 4:21:36 PM

#SMH

8/2/2011 4:37:06 PM

I watched the documentary There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane and it's pretty troubling how deluded the husband and her sister are. The husband admits she would smoke pot from time to time to relax and usually before bed but won't accept that she could have or would have that day even though she had high levels of THC and alcohol in her blood. They wanted someone to tell them an abscessed tooth caused a stroke and now they want to blame it on the highway signs and that they mislead her onto the wrong ramp etc.

She drove 1.7 miles the wrong way, if it was a problem with the signs I think she wouldn't have gone that far and would have figured something was wrong, there were plenty of people honking and trying to get her attention but she drove straight and with a "serene look on her face"

Near the end of the documentary they show pictures of her dead body at the scene and one of her face and I felt that once you get past looking at the bruises etc you can see that same peaceful or serene look the witness saw as the drove by her.

I dont think she thought how much the alcohol and pot would affect her cognitively, I think she just wanted to relax and made some really bad decisions.

8/2/2011 5:05:02 PM

What's 1.7 miles? About a minute and a half?

Anyway, if it's bullshit the court won't even hear the case.

[Edited on August 2, 2011 at 5:24 PM. Reason : ...]

8/2/2011 5:23:54 PM

Quote :

"I can't wait for someone to bring up the McDonald's coffee lawsuit as evidence for the need for tort reform. "

[Edited on August 2, 2011 at 5:30 PM. Reason : ...]

8/2/2011 5:27:22 PM

I heard of one recently: girl is on phone with boyfriend, threatening to kill herself.

She says to the guy basically, "I'm doing it. I'm crossing the yellow line right now."

She actually does it, collides head on with another car, kills a family of four, and survives.

She and her family are suing the state.

8/2/2011 7:08:16 PM

^ Damn, what are they suing the state for exactly?

8/2/2011 7:16:00 PM

^Hang on. I'll go find it.

8/2/2011 7:26:29 PM

I was about to post that mess...

This makes even less sense than him suing the state:

Quote :

"Schuler has also filed suit against his late wife's brother, Warren Hance, who was the father of three of the girls in the car who died. Schuler contends that since Hance owned the minivan that Diane was driving, Hance is also at fault."

WHAT. THE. FUCK.

8/2/2011 7:35:21 PM

^^^So new facts:

It was text messages about the suicide by car, not a phone conversation.

She killed a pregnant lady and her teenage son, not a family of four.

She didn't sue the state. She sued the family of the woman she killed claiming the lady was driving poorly.

And she sued three highway construction companies claiming they didn't maintain the area properly.

Sued for...loss of wages and loss of capacity to enjoy life.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/TheLaw/montana-teen-charged-homicide-sues-slain-womans-family/story?id=11323133


Most of this, I think, was just her attempt to build a defense for herself in criminal court.

It didn't work. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_8c0bc94e-9092-11e0-8120-001cc4c002e0.html

8/2/2011 7:50:38 PM

Quote :

"Two men suing woman they saved from burning vehicle... http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/08/01/2-men-suing-woman-they-saved.html "

Quote :

"Kelley said he knows some people will scoff at the lawsuit and call it frivolous and mean. But he was a self-employed contractor at the time and had no insurance. He says his medical bills have mounted and his daily life is forever changed. He said they filed the lawsuit only after they found out from an acquaintance — long after the crash — that it had been a suicide attempt. Still, he said, one thing is certain: “If it happened all over again today, I would still stop and get the person out of the vehicle. A life’s a life, you know.”"

After reading this I am 100% with them. I would be pretty pissed too if my life got all fucked up dragging some suicidal ass out of a fire.

8/2/2011 8:23:06 PM