I try not to get too political on this blog, when I do I try to focus on the tech industry. Recently however, an interesting case made a little noise, and I’m curious how my readers feel about it.
You’ve no doubt heard of General Motors recent issues with faulty ignition switches installed in GM cars which have caused at least 54 accidents and 13 deaths. It was a difficult case for the courts to sort as the GM we have today didn’t technically carry the liability of the company which existed before the auto bailouts. The NHTSA determined that GM delayed reporting the problem and ordered the company to pay out a $35 Million civil penalty.
However, prior to this penalty, individual accidents have already been judged. In 2004 Candice Anderson was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide after a collision which took the life of her fiance. Though she had no drugs or alcohol in her system, she was determined to be at fault. She plead guilty to the charges to get a reduced sentence, thankfully not serving any jail time, but she has a felony conviction on her record.
With GM in the news, she recently discovered that GM counted her fiance’s death as one of the 13 lives lost due to these faulty ignition switches.
Police could not find any cause for the accident in 2004, but “justice” demanded that someone be held accountable, and Ms Anderson was the vehicle’s operator. There’s been a lot of talk in the media as to what rights a corporation can claim, notably the right to speech. We don’t always do as thorough a job discussing what responsibilities a corporation might have.
The courts in Texas determined that the appropriate response was to charge one woman with manslaughter. A woman found to have nothing impairing her ability to operate a motor vehicle, a woman who lost her fiance in the collision, a woman who almost lost her own life due to the injuries she sustained getting thrown from the vehicle. Had they known then what we know now about these faulty ignitions, would Texas authorities have pursued General Motors with the same charges?
Ms. Anderson is now working to have her record cleared, and it likely wont be difficult to show some kind of fraud on GM’s part. For her sake, hopefully this will ease the stigma of being blamed for her fiance’s death and of being a convicted felon for the last ten years. As Texas officials demanded in 2004 that someone be held accountable for negligent homicide, should we expect them to pursue the entity actually responsible for this tragedy?
I’m all for it, but from my ignorant position as a non-American and someone who has watched too many episodes of LA Law and Suits, I assume it would be a lost cause. Because it seems if you’re a big enough company with deep enough wallets, there’s only ever going to be a settlement out of court and no charges laid, or else it’s a legal battle that will bleed the complainant dry.
I certainly hope justice will prevail, and not the mighty dollar.
I wonder too if she can now sue GM in addition to whatever the government settles for. If they can’t be forced to pay any more for the 13 lives lost, can she sue for the irreparable damage the accident caused to her life? I mean aside from whatever physical ailments she may have as a result of the accident, she was (it appears to be) wrongly convicted of a felony.