Suing Caltrans Costs Family $75,000

Back in May of 2007 a terrible crash occurred on the freeway almost within sight of my home.  The crash cost the lives of three small children and was caused by a truck driver who apparently wasn't paying attention and rear-ended the minivan containing the children, their mother and grandmother.

The trucker was clearly at fault, but the family sued Caltrans too (the state agency that manages our freeways), and I was critical of that decision at that time.  They lost that case, and that tactical error is going to cost them:

Lori and Chris Coble, the parents of three young children killed in a crash on the I-5 nearly four years ago, has settled with Caltrans and will pay $75,000 in fees and costs after losing a wrongful-death lawsuit to the state agency.

The settlement agreement, which also includes Lori Coble's mother, Cindy Maestri, was reached Monday, according to court records. The agreement follows an earlier judgment filed as an amendment to the Orange County Superior Court verdict in September ordering the Cobles to pay "costs and disbursements in the amount of $291,534.04."

It was a terribly sad situation, made unnecessarily worse by the decision to sue Caltrans (and in effect me and other taxpayers of California) for something that clearly wasn't our fault.

Unfortunately, the taxpayers will still take a bath on this deal since $75,000 will pay only a small part of the costs Caltrans incurred in defending this lawsuit.