I’m sorry these people are having troubles due to the bridge collapse. People have accidents and die everyday and don’t always look for someone else to pay their bills.
The state should pay for medical bills over and beyond what their car insurance covered. The state was negligent in allowing that bridge to get into the dangerous shape that it was in. But, I don’t believe that children’s education and payments to the spouse for wages lost should be doled out on a whim.
Well if the bridge collapsed due to negligence and people are suffering due to that negligence, then yes legally those responsible have an obligation to “make them whole”. So, if your dead now and your family is suffering because your income is lost, then that’s a liability the negligent party is responsible for.
I have no issue with the state and the contractor and everyone else having their feet held to the fire for this, I have no doubt at all that there was enough malfeasance and negligence to go around on this one. Those parties responsible should be on the hook for the damages they have done.
However, it still doesn’t remove the personal responsibility of a parent to not carry insurance. Life insurance generally is some of the cheapest you can buy, and so even if you wind up killed in such an event, and your family or survivors do get a payout from it eventually, they are not dependent on it to live. My wife doesn’t work, but we still have a very good policy on her. Even though she isn’t a direct income provider for our family, her being at home allows me to focus on that, without her at home, expenses like day care, and other issues would appear, that could harm us financially. So even if something god forbid would happen to her, I know that her death would not financially cause issues with me being able to work, and have good care for the children, etc etc.
I think the state saying we can only be held completely liable for 1 Million total for the entire incident, when in this day and age something like a bridge collapsing, is morally repugnant. This law needs reviewed and updated and adjusted to inflation going forward.