Fast & Furious star dies in crash; daughter sues Porsche

On behalf of Aiken and Aiken P.C. Personal Injury Attorneys posted in Wrongful Death, on Friday, October 2, 2015

Many Massachusetts movie fans were saddened when actor Paul Walker died in a car crash in California on Nov. 30, 2013. Walker was a passenger in a Porsche Carrera GT when it crashed and burned, killing him and his racing partner who was driving the vehicle. Now the late actor’s daughter has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Porsche.Walker’s daughter’s suit claims the Porsche vehicle did not include the safety features included on other racing cars or Porsche’s less expensive cars. She claims that the car should have had an electronic stability control system to control swerving and additional side door reinforcement. The suit also alleged that the vehicle had defective rubber fuel lines. Porsche, relying on the results of an investigation by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, expressed sadness at Walker’s death but claimed that the crash resulted not from vehicle defects but from reckless driving at excessive speeds. The sheriff’s department investigation found that the car was going between 80 and 93 miles per hour at the time the car hit a utility pole and several trees. The coroner had previously estimated the speed of the car at 100 miles per hour at the time of the crash. Investigators hired by Walker’s family claim that the vehicle was traveling between 63 and 71 miles per hour when it went out of control and slowed to between 40 and 60 miles per hour at the time of impact.A wrongful death lawsuit is generally grounded on negligence, and it is usually brought by the decedent’s personal representative on behalf of surviving family members. Those who have experienced the loss of a loved one in a fatal car accident that was caused by the negligence of another party may want to meet with an attorney who has experience in these matters and who can outline the types of damages that are permitted to be sought.