The mother of Andrew Therrien has filed a Los Angeles County wrongful death lawsuit against driver Brett Sloppy and California 200 race promoter MDR Productions. Therrien, a 22-year-old Riverside man, died last August when he was struck by Sloppy's 2000 Ford Ranger, which had gone off the race course and landed in the crowd. Seven other people also died, while at least 10 others sustained injuries. Even though fans were supposed to remain at least 100 feet away from the track, the safety regulation was followed and members of the crowd had lined the track.
According to Therrien's mom, Doris Levinson, Sloppy engaged in reckless driving and MDR neglected to put into place the proper safety precautions, which created a "dangerous condition" for those who came to watch the race. MDR's alleged failures include not properly staffing and monitoring the event to ensure compliance and conformity, neglecting to put up temporary fencing to keep spectators at a safe distance from the race course, not creating an event operating plan, not conducting pre-race course monitoring, and failing to set up rules of conduct for spectators or post hazard information on large signs.
Following an internal probe of the California 200 crash, the federal Bureau of Land Management, which is in charge of managing the off-road recreation area, acknowledged that it failed to follow its own rules. Levinson also intends to sue BLM for wrongful death.
Property owners and event managers can be held liable for Los Angeles premises liability or wrongful death if negligence to prevent or remedy a hazard contributes to causing an injury or fatality on the premise. There may be more than one party who should be held liable.
Lawsuit filed for man killed during race, The Sun, January 4, 2011
Victim's Mom Sues in Deadly Desert Race Disaster, TMZ, December 29, 2010
California Off-Road Race Kills 8 and Injures 12 in Mojave Desert, California Injury Lawyers Blog, August 17, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Off Road Desert Race Series, MDR Productions
