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Opening Statements Begin In Gratton Lawsuit Trial

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Old 01-19-2015 | 04:50 PM
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Originally Posted by IN10SE
Perhaps there should be no divers at all?

This way a participant fully understands that they are on their own and no contract they sign on can have a gray area that they were guaranteed a certain amount of safety in any certain amount of time.

I wonder how many would race in a canopy boat then ?
I would. Have you ever crashed an open cockpit boat that water is like concrete. I know this from experience I was one of the lucky one's ! Snap rolled at about 90 MPH in an open cockpit and thank god I wasn't hurt to bad. But I went over backwards at 117 MPH and walked away because of my canopy !
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Old 01-19-2015 | 05:12 PM
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Granted, it was different type of racing, but at the meeting before every race I remember hearing:

"Racing is an inherently dangerous sport, you could be seriously injured, crippled or killed, be safe. If you feel the risks are too
great we will gladly refund your entry"


Still, the fact is that no one in any form motorsports has sued the promoter after dying in competition. It is always a third party suit. Usually the family. They did not sign a waiver, they did not come into a corner a little hot or push a little harder to win. It doesnt matter how safe or dangerous the race was, how good or bad the safety team was, how good or bad the boat was. The only thing that matters is that their loved one is now gone.
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Old 01-20-2015 | 10:08 AM
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Settled ..... Perhaps the evidence was too over bearing ?
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Old 01-20-2015 | 11:03 AM
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Originally Posted by PARADOX
I understand it's a civil suit. Most "breach of contracts" are civil suits and laws are broken. THat's why it's called a legal/enforceable contract. There are "civil laws" Criminal laws, and Common laws. Whatever type of "law" it s, it must be enforceable and be broken to be a valid "law" suit. Or it's frivolous and troughed out. Being stupid and an idiot is not "unlawful". Otherwise we would have 1000 times more lawyers then the too many we already have.
BTW, one of the "complaints' is the Gratton was forced to sign the "agreement". How? I like to see that proven. + how can some one "tell the future" as stated in the docs as SBI/Carbonell should know certain "outcome" of the race. There are races with no incidents and races with several. One more point. How can some one put a $ amount on a life? (with all due respect to the Grattons) Only a few mil? Deduction: The case is unwinnable, so a low $ is set, settlement is planned. If a high $ is set, and no win, attorney will get zilch. A low (and I think this is low) is set to get a quick settlement. The attorney sold a bag of goods to the family. But again, it's just my .02
Curious of the details and the final reasons, amount etc. but a settlement does not imply "guilt". If the "plaintiff" got "everything"? it might be an uphill battle, if they got partial? then the "plaintiff" had a hard time proving their case, otherwise they would go all the way. Just wondering. Not pointing blames or anything.

Last edited by PARADOX; 01-20-2015 at 11:06 AM.
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Old 01-20-2015 | 11:23 AM
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Originally Posted by SHARKEY-IMAGES
Settled ..... Perhaps the evidence was too over bearing ?
I personally watched, the opening statements, the exhibits, and all the plaintiff expert testimony. It was an eye opening presentation of the facts of the case.
For what ever reason, they came to settlement terms before the defense began to present there case to the jury.

We can only hope, that there was something to learn from this tragic event
Attached Thumbnails Opening Statements Begin In Gratton Lawsuit Trial-exhibit-1.jpg   Opening Statements Begin In Gratton Lawsuit Trial-exhibit-2.jpg   Opening Statements Begin In Gratton Lawsuit Trial-exhibit-3.jpg  

Opening Statements Begin In Gratton Lawsuit Trial-exhibit-3b.jpg   Opening Statements Begin In Gratton Lawsuit Trial-exhibit-3c.jpg   Opening Statements Begin In Gratton Lawsuit Trial-exhibit-4.jpg  

Opening Statements Begin In Gratton Lawsuit Trial-exhibit-5.jpg   Opening Statements Begin In Gratton Lawsuit Trial-exhibit-6.jpg   Opening Statements Begin In Gratton Lawsuit Trial-exhibit-7.jpg  

Opening Statements Begin In Gratton Lawsuit Trial-exhibit-8.jpg  
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Old 01-20-2015 | 11:30 AM
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How was he still trapped 9 min later? How is that possible? No one had a knife?
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Old 01-20-2015 | 11:31 AM
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Appears the diver went to the canopy at first not the tunnel hatch. Sad
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Old 01-20-2015 | 11:37 AM
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Originally Posted by SHARKEY-IMAGES
Appears the diver went to the canopy at first not the tunnel hatch. Sad
Did the pressure blow the drivers into the sponsoons? What difference does it make if he went to one hatch or the other? Is there a protocol?
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Old 01-20-2015 | 11:50 AM
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Originally Posted by Keith Atlanta
What difference does it make if he went to one hatch or the other? Is there a protocol?
Huge difference when time is of the essence. With water pressure on the canopy there is no way the top of the canopy could be opened. Tunnel hatch was the only way out.
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Old 01-20-2015 | 12:11 PM
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Originally Posted by SHARKEY-IMAGES
Huge difference when time is of the essence. With water pressure on the canopy there is no way the top of the canopy could be opened. Tunnel hatch was the only way out.
Little off the subject, just a question on "physics". Assumingly if there is pressure on the canopy hatch, then there is air in the canopy. If you can't open the canopy hatch, then you have air to bread, due to the air pocket. If there is no air pocket at the canopy hatch and the hatch is underwater, with out pressure, it can be opened even if there is air above. However if you open the tunnel hatch above water, air will rush out, filling the boat or whatever "container". Don't know what are the details in this case. But the time lapse on the pics above just don't make sense. Just about anyone can hold their breath for 2+ minutes. No matter if the O2 tanks were emptied, (and you can go through a lot of air real quick) In 3- 5 minutes one can do "a lot of things". Don't know the details, but seems strange he was trapped so long. There must be some more to this.
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