Georgia residents who tune in to the Weather Channel may know that the two stars of the show “Storm Wranglers” died while pursuing a tornado in Texas in March of 2017. The duo had been speeding and apparently ignored a stop sign. That was when they collided with a jeep, killing both the 25-year-old driver of the other vehicle and themselves.
The Weather Channel live streams these tornado chases on its Facebook page. The chase that led up to the fatal crash was recorded as well, abruptly ending at the moment of the collision.
Now, the mother of the 25-year-old victim, who was a storm spotter employed by the National Weather Service, is suing the Weather Channel for $125 million in damages. The lawsuit claims that the network could have prevented the crash by doing something to curb the reckless driving that the storm-chasing duo was known for.
The lawsuit points to text messages between additional storm chasers and a show producer to illustrate that safety concerns were widespread and not secret. Rather than hire safer drivers, the plaintiff argues that the network chose to keep the pair and actually encouraged them to drive recklessly for the sake of creating more exciting footage. The Weather Channel, for its part, has declined to comment on pending litigation.
For a wrongful death lawsuit to succeed, some type of negligence must be shown. A family that feels they have a viable case may want to see a lawyer, who can explain all the state-specific statutes and determine how much might be recovered in damages. A lawyer may then strive for a settlement.
