ICYMI, check out the Best of the Week from Law Street, including an obnoxious, offensive internet trend, developments in Tracy Morgan’s Walmart lawsuit, and the appearance of a new Pacific island.

#1 FHRITP: Will the Offensive Internet Trend Ever Die?

One of the perils of doing a live news broadcast is that something could go horribly, horribly wrong. In fact, there are entire corners of the internet developed to chronicling the weird things that happen on news broadcasts–particularly smaller stations with fewer resources and less security. Read the full article.

#2 Tracy Morgan’s Lawsuit Against Walmart in Fatal Crash is Finally Settled

Last June comedian and actor Tracy Morgan’s limo bus was involved in a crash with a Walmart tractor trailer truck. The crash killed Morgan’s friend and mentor, comedian James McNair, who was also riding in the vehicle. The accident also left Morgan seriously injured, and two of the other passengers, Ardley Fuqua and Jeffrey Millea, critically hurt as well. Given the nature of the crash, Morgan, Fuqua, and Millea filed a lawsuit against Walmart, and it was just recently announced that that suit has been settled with the three plaintiffs. Read the full article.

#3 A New, Beautiful Island Has Formed in the Pacific

Legendary author James Michener’s eloquent words describe the formation of the islands of Hawaii–the powerful volcanic activity that over the course of millions of years sent a column of rock from the seabed to the open air. Now, off the coast of Japan, it occurs once more. Read the full article.

Chelsey D. Goff

Chelsey D. Goff was formerly Chief People Officer at Law Street. She is a Granite State Native who holds a Master of Public Policy in Urban Policy from the George Washington University. She’s passionate about social justice issues, politics — especially those in First in the Nation New Hampshire — and all things Bravo. Contact Chelsey at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Last June comedian and actor Tracy Morgan’s limo bus was involved in a crash with a Walmart tractor trailer truck. The crash killed Morgan’s friend and mentor, comedian James McNair, who was also riding in the vehicle. The accident also left Morgan seriously injured, and two of the other passengers, Ardley Fuqua and Jeffrey Millea, critically hurt as well. Given the nature of the crash, Morgan, Fuqua, and Millea filed a lawsuit against Walmart, and it was just recently announced that that suit has been settled with the three plaintiffs.

Morgan, a former “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock” star, and his friends had left a stand-up show at the Dover Downs Hotel and Casino in Delaware where Morgan had performed, and were traveling along the New Jersey Turnpike when the accident occurred. The driver of the Walmart truck, Kevin Roper, of Georgia, didn’t see the slow-moving traffic, which included the limo bus, until it was too late. Although Roper attempted to swerve, he wasn’t able to, and slammed into the limo bus. The truck hit Morgan’s vehicle directly, but that collision set off a chain reaction crash that involved another truck and other cars.

Although Roper is filing criminal charges and has pleaded not guilty, the civil suit from the victims was filed against Walmart. The driver hadn’t slept for more than 24 hours before the crash occurred. Although exactly why Roper was awake for so long is unclear, there are federal regulations that state that drivers can only work for 11 hours in a 14-hour workday.

The accident happened nealry a year ago, but Morgan is still struggling from the ordeal. He broke his leg, nose, and multiple ribs in the crash, as well as endured severe head trauma and is still recovering. He hasn’t appeared in public since the accident, although his team has announced that he will be appearing on “The Today Show” this coming Monday. He will appear with Matt Lauer, as well as his lawyer Benedict Morelli.

The terms of the recently settled lawsuit are being kept under wraps after the settlement was filed Wednesday in Newark, New Jersey. According to Walmart President and CEO Greg Foran,

Our thoughts continue to go out to everyone that was involved in the accident. While we know there is nothing that can change what happened, Walmart has been committed to doing what’s right to help ensure the wellbeing of all of those who were impacted by the accident. We worked closely with Mr. Morelli, and we are pleased to have reached an amicable settlement that ends this litigation. We are deeply sorry that one of our trucks was involved.

Morgan and Morelli each put out statements announcing that they were pleased with the way the settlement ended. A lawsuit with McNair’s family had already been settled in January.

While the accident was certainly tragic, it’s good that the lawsuit was resolved amicably and relatively quickly. Hopefully it will provide closure for the victims as they continue to recover.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Hey y’all!

I’ll be honest, I have never been a fan of Wal-Mart. I get the appeal of the low-cost products and everything, but I’ve never felt like any Wal-Mart I have ever been in has seemed clean or worthy of my money. I also have a huge problem with all of the lawsuits that seem to stem from Wal-Mart mistreating its employees, especially women.

Back in June there was a fatal accident involving a Wal-Mart delivery truck and a limousine party bus. The party bus was carrying comedian Tracy Morgan and his posse. One man was killed and several injured, including Morgan who was in critical condition at one point. The semi-truck driver had supposedly been awake for 24 consecutive hours and was reportedly going 20 miles per hour OVER the speed limit.

Naturally after all is said and done, Morgan has filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart because of the accident. I would too if I were him, but he had to see the blame game coming.

Good ol’ Wal-Mart has come out in the last several days to say that because Morgan and the other passengers were not wearing seat belts they are to blame for their injuries. Well Wal-Mart, if that’s the only defense you have then you certainly are scraping the bottom of the barrel. But it is actually a good defense — that’s why the Wal-Mart lawyers get paid the big bucks. I want to be a lawyer, but I could never imagine taking a job for Wal-Mart no matter how much it offered to pay me. With the amount of shitty lawsuits that that company has to deal with I would probably end up retiring early and forced into the nut house. I could never work for a company that has zero respect for anyone, even its own employees.

As for the truck driver, he may have been under some pressure to get his shipment out quickly and maybe was told to overlook the trucking industry regulations because Wal-Mart needs its shelves fully stocked at all times. But then again, does a Wal-Mart-employed truck driver have a different set of rules then what OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) requires? Have the great slimy lawyers of Wal-Mart found a loop hole? Don’t get me wrong, I love lawyers — I want to be one. But the idea of what Wal-Mart has gotten away with because of its lawyers rubs me the wrong way!

Should Morgan have had his seat belt on while whooping it up in the party bus? Uhm, maybe. Are there even seat belts on a party bus? I’m sure there are, but they are probably so neglected that they have been tucked under the seats by so many people and forgotten. When I think of a party bus I think of a safe driver who creates a safe atmosphere in the bus so that passengers don’t have to think about safety or even seat belts. That’s the purpose of hiring a driver, so you can have fun and be safe with a sober, capable, licensed driver.

Wal-Mart said the injuries were “caused, in whole or in part, by the plaintiffs’ failure to properly wear an appropriate available seat belt restraint device.” The company said that by not using seat belts, the plaintiffs “acted unreasonably and in disregard of plaintiffs’ own best interests.” I’m sorry, WHAT!?! YOUR DRIVER had been awake for 24 consecutive hours and YOUR DRIVER was going 20 mph OVER the speed limit! Your driver “acted unreasonably and in disregard” of his own life and the lives of any other motorists on the highway!

If you look at the pictures from the crash you can see that even if Morgan and his friends had their seat belts on there was enough damage done that it still would have caused injuries. Seat belts are great but just because you are strapped into a chair does not mean that you will not be harmed or even killed.

So to those dear Wal-Mart lawyers, you should reconsider allowing your client to blame Tracy Morgan’s injuries on the fact that he was not wearing his seat belt because I just gave a better defense. Would a judge side with me? Who knows. I’m no lawyer, yet! But if you are any good at your job you would have seen both sides of the coin before allowing a statement to be released blaming someone for injuries that were incurred because of an accident one of YOUR EMPLOYEES caused!

Shame on you Wal-Mart, shame on you!

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Allison Dawson (@AllyD528) Born in Germany, raised in Mississippi and Texas. Graduate of Texas Tech University and Arizona State University. Currently dedicating her life to studying for the LSAT. Twitter junkie. Conservative.

Allison Dawson

Allison Dawson was born in Germany and raised in Mississippi and Texas. A graduate of Texas Tech University and Arizona State University, she’s currently dedicating her life to studying for the LSAT. Twitter junkie. Conservative. Get in touch with Allison at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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“There was a terrible accident. The car’s flipped, it’s on its side. It’s two vehicles and a Walmart truck,” reported one passerby in the wee morning hours of Saturday, June 7. The accident received heavy media coverage — the three-car pile up killed one and injured four. Among the injured was celeb Tracy Morgan, who needed surgery on his broken leg; he also suffered several broken ribs and a broken nose. The comedian, best known for his NBC gigs with “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock,” also lost his mentor and fellow funnyman James “Jimmy Mack” McNair. McNair was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the Walmart truck, Kevin Roper, has been charged with vehicular homicide. He was said to be “driving recklessly” because he had not slept in 24 hours. As a result of this accident, debates over regulations for commercial truck drivers have sprung up across the country.

Hours-of-Service Regulations

July 1, 2013 marked the initiation of new hours-of-service regulations for truck drivers. The goal of the new regulations was to “improve safety for the motoring public by reducing truck driver fatigue,” according to a news release by The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

The new rules reduced the maximum average workweek for truck drivers from 82 hours to 70 hours. Drivers are required to rest for 34 consecutive hours, including two full nights’ sleep, before they can begin a new workweek. Lastly, drivers must take a 30-minute break within the first eight hours of their shifts. The DOT estimated that these changes would save 19 lives, prevent 560 injuries, and thwart 1,400 crashes each year. In crafting these changes, the DOT worked to prevent death, injury, and damage to the “motoring public.” While the shift was indeed positive, there could be more changes made to worker regulations. In this case, I do not blame Walmart nor the DOT for taking inadequate precautions.

Blame Roper

You’d think it would be common sense to take a nap and recharge before driving an 80-thousand-pound truck cross-country in the middle of the night. I don’t know Roper’s situation — he could have been depending on his paycheck for medical bills or rent or a variety of other inescapable obligations. But his ill-planned actions resulted in the loss of a life and myriad suffering.

Roper pleaded not guilty for the accident, and police are having a difficult time proving his lack of sleep. He claims that had he not hit a celebrity and killed a member of Morgan’s entourage, the consequences would have been far less severe. He even ranted on Twitter about the situation.

Driving while deprived of sleep is classified as reckless driving in the state of New Jersey, where the accident occurred. If hard evidence was found proving he had not slept in more than 24 hours, Roper could be sentenced up to ten years. It seems the only chance of obtaining this evidence would be a confession from Roper. And we all know that’s not going to happen.

I do not believe Roper is a hardened criminal, but someone who made a poor decision. We all make mistakes. When we’re young, we’re taught to think before we act, but that lesson doesn’t always stick. The real issue is that Roper’s lack of cognizance resulted in the loss of life.

The accident left McNair’s family in shambles. His 18-year-old daughter passed out at his funeral, where hundreds showed up to lend the family support. Roper took away a father’s opportunity to see his children grow up. Roper should take responsibility for cutting McNair’s life short and stop complaining about the amount of media coverage the case receives.

The federal government has done its part by enacting limitations on drivers’ workweeks. Maybe this change is not enough and should be further amended, but I’m not a truck driver so I really don’t know. Maybe some consultation with those in the industry could lead to even more appropriate guidelines. I do think Roper deserves to serve time for his actions and should retract his Twitter tirade.

If it were one of my family members in the crash, I would want to know that justice was served. I would want to know that changes would be made to protect my family, friends, and the rest of the motoring public. I would make an example of Roper to teach other truck drivers to think before they sit behind the wheel for overnight cross-country drives. Because au contraire to Roper’s opinion that this accident wouldn’t blow up if a star weren’t involved, a man was killed because of his actions, and his life was just as important as anyone else’s.

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Natasha Paulmeno (@natashapaulmeno)

Featured image courtesy of [Sam Lehman via Flickr]

Natasha Paulmeno

Natasha Paulmeno is an aspiring PR professional studying at the University of Maryland. She is learning to speak Spanish fluently through travel, music, and school. In her spare time she enjoys Bachata music, playing with her dog, and exploring social media trends. Contact Natasha at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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