$109 million personal-injury award in Western Pennsylvania offers insight into tort system
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When Carrie Goretzka's two young girls ran out onto the porch of their suburban home 30 miles east of Pittsburgh in the late afternoon on June 2, 2009, what they saw was a scene of unrelenting horror.
»Read story: $109 million personal-injury award in Western Pennsylvania offers insight into tort system
»Read story: $109 million personal-injury award in Western Pennsylvania offers insight into tort system
Comments (100)
Larry....show me anywhere that it said she went near it...if you read the story you would have seen that no one knew for sure what had happened. There was a fire and she starting calling and for all you know the line fell on top of her. You are a moron to suggest you know what happened and form an opinion based on no facts. The bottom line, the company had warning before they had issues and now a mother was burned to death because they failed to properly fix the problem, not one before but twice. Now comment about something you do not know!— PhillyTaz- 33% goes to Arlen's kid, as ambulance chasers from around the country must've been lining up for this one. Nothing like benefitting from your dead, self-promoting father, who never did anything for anyone that didn't include a major benefit for himself. Tort reform in this country is such a joke. Obviously, a terrible tragedy, but $109M?? C'mon now...— vdstrading
- Take the amount it will take to fix the 26 thousand or so miles of wire, and multiply it by 3. Why three? One for the husband and one for each daughter. Most companies nowadays take into account the cost of fixing something versus a settlement out of court should something happen. It's a total fact. Hence, the big number against them. Now if they can find that execs were intentionally ignoring their duties to provide properly wired poles, they should go to jail.— beegal99
- PhillyTaz: I see reading comprehension is not one of your strong skills. "She stepped out of the house to call the power company on her cellphone" Why would you even leave the house with a downed power line in the area? A little common sense goes a long way. Something both you and she lack.— Larry Cheswald
- Every time Specter and Kline are featured in one of the numerous articles on this site about their cases they should be required to divulge how much they personally profited from the judgment.— ChescoMom
- Average American household earns around $50,000....and the US is the wealthiest nation.....$109 million really only enriches the greedy trial lawyers....err...leeches! A couple million to the family in arbitration would serve society better than greedy law firms taking $33 million for work not worth near that! WHERE IS THE LIBERAL OUTRAGE??— TruthTeller01
- I don't think there is anything to be outraged about. Its great that an average American family can get satisfaction against a big corporation that would otherwise put them through voice mail. It it great that the Seventh Amendment gives this average American family the opportunity to have their case decided by a jury composed of other average Americans. It was the juries decision after hearing the arguments from the high priced corporate lawyers for the utility that the utility deserved to be punished. Without being there I can't second guess that. The plaintiff's attorneys probably have a fee agreement that gives them a third or maybe 40% of the verdict plus their costs, which will come off the top. Maybe in the end, the attorneys and the plaintiffs split the 109 million. I think you'd be willing to pay 54 million dollars for the right to receive 54 million dollars for yourself. You would make that deal in a heart beat. You think that's too money, but do you think the kids would rather have their mother over 54 million dollars? The liberal outrage here is against your sympathy for this company over these kids. — Bobby257
- Larry...trying to insult me to show your true ignorance is a mute point. The fire was in the distance along with the wire...after that no one knew for sure how she came into contact with the wire and even suggested it "may" have fallen on her. I will bet when you hear a scream while in your house or a loud crashing noise you for one do not stay put but instead go see what happened. Now as far as our conversation goes, I will no longer engage in a one sided conversation where you have nothing eduacted to add and will only insult myself further to show that side of you, so with that I will say GOODBYE!— PhillyTaz
- Shanin Specter really cares. As long as you pay him 33%, that is. Another crooked, blood-sucking leech, just like his old man.— b,ill at,kins
- The government is not good at checking at the free enterprise system, but the plaitiff's bar is. Spector and Kline are getting 50% in this one. It's about the money Mr. Spector and nothing more. Otherwise, you'd be working for the government as a safety inSpector.— boroughboy
- There are so many disturbing facts to this horror story that I don't even know where to begin. From her going outside when there is a downed power line in her yard, the power companys negligence, the children seeing their mother on fire, being electrocuted for a full 20 mins, burns over 85% of her body, to her being allowed to linger in a hospital for three unimaginable days is a lot to take in. How do you figure how much all of that is worth? I don't think anyone can truly understand what this family has been through. You only see this kind of stuff in the movies.— MWW-54
- Maybe she should have made the phone call from in the house... A downed power line, yeah let me go get a closer look... Darwin's Law at it's finest there— LumpDog
The award is 100% appropriate. Obviously, people on this board do not understand the purpose of "punitive damages." Punitive damages are designed to PUNISH, it's like "life without parole." I mean, the company DID KILL SOMEONE, and no one is going to jail. Punitive damages are intended to be severe enough that the offender WILL NEVER CONSIDER taking similar action again and that OTHER companies will learn the same lesson. 100 million for murder, when the company profits hundreds of millions of dollars is in fact quite reasonable.- Not sure why she would go near the wires. From the time I was a kid I was told not to go near downed wires. So much for personal responsibility. Her family should be given a few million for their pain.— zippy1346
- This is Ronald Reagan's fault. Seriously. If power companies need to be regulated -- and I hope nobody says they don't -- then it should be the GOVERNMENT, whether state, federal or both, that does the regulating. Reagan was the great apostle of deregulation at all costs. And yet I prefer government regulation to the after-the-fact "regulation" applied by plaintiffs' lawyers, after somebody is dead and in order to fill their own pockets.— Dave Clemens
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