The lawyer in the wrongway driver on the Taconic Parkway (Diane Schuler)wrongful death action is going to be faced with a difficult road in obtaining adequate compensation for the victims of this accident. The obvious source of funds will come from any insurance coverage on the van (owned by Diane Schuler's brother) and any coverage Diance Schuler had. If that coverage is low then an alternative source would be underinsurance coverage on the Bastardi's vehicle.
If, as I anticipate, the combination of these coverages is insufficient to compensate the accident victims then there is a potential for a claim against the State of New York for insufficient roadway design. These cases are extremely difficult. Firstly, they must be brought in the Court of Claims (the only Court that has jurisdiction over the State of New York) which have only judges no juries.
In this particular case the most difficult aspect for the plaintiffs to prove is causation. Even if the entrance to and the signs on the Taconic were defectively designed would any of that made a difference to Diane Schuler who was drunk and high at the time. Given that there will be no testimony from Diane Schuler I believe it will be almost impossible for the plaintiffs to do anything but speculate as to the causation. Without any direct proof the Court will dismiss the case. I will follow and update as news becomes available.
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