It was foggy on the morning of January 31, 1997, when James Bowman decided to pass a truck on a two-lane bridge in Morganza, Louisiana. Unfortunately, this resulted in a head-on collision with a car driven by 22-year-old Deependra Charan, and Charan was paralyzed. A jury found $21 million in damages, and attributed 30% of the accident to the Louisiana Department of Transportation for not building a second bridge. Because, after all, head-on collisions in foggy weather never happen on two-lane roads that aren’t bridges. Because Louisiana adopted the tort reform of abolishing joint and several liability, taxpayers are stuck with only a bit over $6 million, rather than the entire bill. (Roy Pitchford, “$21 million awarded in La. 1 crash”, The Advocate, Apr. 23).
Though the press coverage isn’t clear, I’ve confirmed that the case involves the Morganza Spillway, which is a narrow four-mile long flood-control structure that would not be feasible to duplicate. The plaintiffs’ alternative suggestion, a barrier between the two lanes, may or may not be possible, but would certainly make crossing the bridge behind slow traffic (the Spillway seems to be a popular bicycle touring spot) unbearable.
Not included in the press coverage: the jury did not get to hear that James Bowman had a blood-alcohol level of .10, nor that the accident was his third DWI.
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