A jury awarded $123 million in a case involving the horrific 2015 Seattle duck boat accident that killed five people and injured dozens. Victims and families of the deceased were finally able to bring this chapter of their lives to a closure after so much pain and suffering.
The accident happened in September 2015. At the time, the duck boat, which runs on land and water, crashed with a bus traveling on Aurora Bridge. The bus was carrying North Seattle College students and employees.
The jury in the case awarded victims and their families $123 million. They also found that the Ride the Ducks International, the duck boat manufacturer, was 67 to 70 percent responsible for the crash. The operator of the duck boat, Ride the Ducks of Seattle, was found 30 to 33 percent at fault.
Investigation after the crash showed that the boat’s front axle broke down prior to the collision, and that caretakers never fixed it correctly.
The ruling stated that the manufacturer supplied consumers with unsafe products, breaking product liability law. The verdict also stated that the operator of the boat was negligent.
Ride the Ducks of Seattle issued a statement regarding the ruling, saying that after the accident, the company made structural changes to its vehicles. The firm also added regular testing to prevent similar accidents.
Negligent Firms Must Be Held Responsible
When a company is negligent and puts the lives of others in danger, victims and their loved ones must not stand in the sidelines. Holding these companies accountable for their actions will help to guarantee that others don’t expose more people to risks.
As the families begin to heal, we hope that other companies will take this incident seriously.
To make sure that their products and services are up to standards and won’t expose anybody to injuries is essential. After all, if consumers can’t trust companies they will stop giving them their money.
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