Distracted driver sues Apple over a fatal car crash [California]

San Jose CA Business Journal ^ | 12/30/16 | Gina Hall

[SES1066]

The plaintiff filed suit in a California court in early December in regards to a road accident that occurred on Christmas Eve in 2014. The driver was " distracted while using the 'FaceTime' application on an iPhone 6 Plus during the operation of his motor vehicle," and hit the back of a stationary vehicle while going 65 miles per hour, per the court documents obtained by AppleInsider.
SNIP
Apple was sued for not implementing a technology that could have prevented the driver from using the app while driving. The Cupertino-based company applied for the patent on the technology in 2008 and it was granted in 2014, but Apple had not implemented the block at the time of the crash. The technology would have locked “out the ability of drivers to use the 'FaceTime' application on the Apple iPhone while using a motor vehicle," per the court filings.

[SES1066]

It is a tragedy when a child is killed by the actions of others. It is a heartbreak when those actions were done by the child's parents. However it is a parody of justice when the parents sue a company for not preventing them from doing STUPID THINGS that caused the death!

Similar to any number of anti-gun legal actions, it is the tort system and an attitude that the individual can sluff off any portion of blame on someone else and get some gain from it as well. The iPhone did not leap up and blind anyone nor is it possible that the dangers of distracted driving were previously unknown!

To this news story I can only say - Aarrrggghhhhh with disgust!

[NEMDF]

Exactly. If the parent had spilled milkshake on his/her lap, causing the car accident, would they have sued McDonald’s? Probably...

[trebb]

Another old adage applies: You can make anything fool proof - you just can’t make it damn-fool proof....

[Fester Chugabrew]

Idiocy of the operator notwithstanding, I find it ironic that auto manufacturers are so adamant about safety, and public service announcements abound regarding “DON’T TEXT AND DRIVE,” yet new vehicles are loaded to the gills with entertainment apparati.

[SpaceBar]

There’s another old saw about how difficult it is to fool-proof something because they keep making better fools.

[varyouga]

If they win, the accident lawyers will now be able to sue for the civil equivalent of “pre-crime”.

If you didn’t do everything under the sun to prevent an accident in advance, you are liable for the accident.

As if we weren’t an over-litigated society already...

[Gay State Conservative]

I had a car that had an “advanced” automatic braking feature as well as “lane assist”.Each time you started it there was a display on the screen telling you not to depend on those features and that you must always have full control of the car.Hard to imagine Apple not having the same thing.But then you never know what a group of Californians will do...the state *did* give ILLary 60% of the vote.

[lgjhn23]

Need to make cellphones/pads etc “hands free audio only” If/when motion is sensed over 5 mph. Texting etc. is worse than DWI and those that do it should be facing huge fines/jail time/loss of license etc.

[kingu]

I’m thinking this will be of interest to your ping list.

[BenLurkin]

They got the story wrong. The decedent was in the car which was struck. Errant driver was on Face-Time

“The little girl, Moriah Modisette, was killed on Christmas Eve 2014 when the Toyota Camry she was traveling in with her parents was struck from behind by a Toyota 4Runner on Interstate 35 north of Dallas. The Camry had slowed or stopped for traffic when it was struck by the SUV going 65 mph, the lawsuit states.”

http://ktla.com/2016/12/29/parents-blame-facetime-for-death-of-5-year-old-daughter-sue-apple/

That said — it is still a BS lawsuit. Shame on their lawyer!

[trebb]

It seems to be working - more fools than ever since we tried to make things fool-proof.

[BenLurkin]

Parents were the victims here...at least until the lawsuit was filed.

“The driver of the 4Runner, 22-year-old Garrett Wilhelm, was using FaceTime when he struck the Modisettes’ vehicle, according to the lawsuit.”

[rey]

The one I know is, You cannot make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious.

[arthurus]

It is not so much the tort system itself. Back in the early 60s and before, judges showed some discretion and simply threw these things out of court and almost no lawyers would touch "frivolous" lawsuits and meritless lawsuits. In the 60s law schools started graduating students who had taken the eventually required Critical Law courses which essentially teach students that the law can and should be used to break down the whole idea of Law to promote the liberal Utopia. Some of these lawyers became judges and the whole concept of "frivolous" and "meritless" lawsuits almost completely disappeared.
A jury when presented with an absurd suit knows that a judge has approved of the suit going forward so the jurors think that it must have merit and deals with it accordingly.

[lgjhn23]

“...If you didn’t do everything under the sun to prevent an accident in advance, you are liable for the accident.....”

IF they win and this happens, it immediately needs to be applied to our immigration laws. Maybe then, these lib law makers would “wake up” if they were held accountable.

[varyouga]

Yep. The touchscreens on new cars seem absurd and more dangerous than phones. I think the systems with the “mouse” near the shifter are safer than touchscreens. i.e. BMW idrive. That way your control is always in 1 spot.

Using tiny virtual buttons on a touchscreen to change the radio is super distracting. You have to look to find the button and then look to make sure your finger is in the right spot as you reach. And when you try to repeatedly press it, it can slip off.

You don’t have this issue with physical buttons since you eventually remember where they are by touch.

[American in Israel]

Ya can’t fix stupid.

[aquila48]

Sad for the human race that this moron didn’t win the Darwin award.

[BenLurkin]

A jury when presented with an absurd suit knows that a judge has approved of the suit going forward so the jurors think that it must have merit and deals with it accordingly.

Truer words were never spoken.

[BenLurkin]