Fatal storm-chasing crash leads to lawsuit for Weather Channel

On March 28, 2017, near the city of Spur, Texas, the two stars of “Storm Wranglers,” the Weather Channel show, were speeding down the highway chasing a tornado when they ran a stop sign and crashed into a jeep, killing themselves and the driver of the jeep. The mother of the jeep driver is now filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the network for $125 million in damages.

The driver of the jeep was a 25-year-old storm spotter who was employed by the National Weather Service. He was heading away from the tornado at the time of the crash. The storm-chasing duo had broken a traffic law. Moreover, the Weather Channel knew of the duo’s long history of reckless driving and could have hired a more responsible driver instead.

The network actually encouraged the show’s stars to act recklessly to increase the sense of danger in their viewers. In-studio representatives themselves would even instruct the duo during the live streams. Previous live streams of “Storm Wranglers” show the duo speeding, ignoring traffic lights and stop signs, driving on private property, off-roading and going down the wrong side of streets and freeway ramps. The Weather Channel has said that it cannot comment on the pending litigation.

A typical wrongful death lawsuit can cover a decedent’s families or other eligible dependents for funeral and burial costs, pre-death medical bills and loss of support or loss of consortium. Those who believe they have good grounds for such a lawsuit may wish to see a lawyer first for a case assessment. The suit must be filed within two years of the fatal incident. With an attorney’s assistance, the plaintiff may be able to establish the other party’s negligence and, if possible, negotiate for a reasonable settlement out of court.

Source: Fox News, “Weather Channel sued for $125M over death of man killed in ‘horrific’ Texas crash with storm chasers,” Katherine Lam, March 27, 2019