Why Your Car Accident Would be Different than Tracy Morgans

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Tracy Morgan is best known for his role as Tracy Jordan on 30 Rock. Tracy Jordan is a fun loving, dim-witted, unpredictable and self-centered prima donna B-List movie star. To put it frankly, he is absolutely hilarious. I love 30 Rock. I’ve gone on several embarrassingly long Netflix benders just to see what Tracy is going to do next. For me, he steals the show. If you still don’t know who Tracy Morgan or Tracy Jordan is, watch the video below.

Tracy Morgan Gets in a Horrendous Tractor Trailer Accident

On June 7, 2014, Tracy Morgan and six others were traveling in a limousine in New Jersey. A tractor-trailer, driven by a Walmart employee smashed into the back of the limousine killing one of the passengers and severely injuring Tracy Morgan.

Morgan’s publicist, Lewis Kay, issued the following statement:

“While Tracy remains in critical condition, he has been more responsive today, which is an incredibly encouraging sign. He sustained a number of injuries including a broken leg, a broken femur, a broken nose and several broken ribs. He had surgery earlier today on his leg. We expect him to remain in the hospital for several weeks. His family is tremendously overwhelmed and appreciative of the outpouring of love and support from his fans. We will continue to update his status when new information becomes available.”

Tracy also sustained a traumatic brain injury from the impact of the collision. His attorney has said publicly that “he’s righting to get better, and if there’s a change for him to be back to the Tracy Morgan he once was, he’s going to try to do that. But we just don’t know because of the severity of the injuries that he sustained and the fact that he had such a sever brain injury.”

Walmart Admits Liability only After Blaming Tracy Morgan and the Other Passengers!

Walmart originally blamed Tracy and his friends for not wearing a seatbelt in the limousine for the injuries they sustained. Remember, this is after an accident where one of their employees caused not only one passenger to die, but also caused a traumatic brain injury to Tracy Morgan. In their answer, Walmart suggested:

“Upon information and belief, plaintiffs’ injuries, if any, were caused, in whole or in part, by plaintiffs’ failure to properly wear an appropriate available seat belt restraint device,” Wal-Mart’s court papers said.

Morgan failed to “exercise ordinary care in making use of available seat belts . . . and acted unreasonably and in disregard of plaintiffs’ own best interests…”

This is par for the course for Walmart. In my world, as a lawyer, it is well known that Walmart loves to deny responsibility. However, Tracy Morgan had the backing of his fans. Fans were outraged by Walmart’s decision to fail to take responsibility:

Car Accident

Car Accident

Car Accident

Unlike Tracy Morgan, my clients don’t have 3 million twitter followers and have never been nominated for an Emmy. Without the backlash from the media and Tracy’s fans, my guess would be that Walmart would have dug in their heals and blamed him for not wearing a seatbelt instead of accepting responsibility.

Walmart Settles with Tracy Morgan

A confidential settlement was reached with Tracy less than a year after the crash, a little over 6 months after Walmart decided to blame tracy and the passengers for not wearing their seatbelt. Walmart’s US Chief Executive Greg Foran said in a statement:

“While we know there is nothing that can change what happened, Walmart has been committed to doing what’s right to help ensure the well-being of all of those who were impacted by the accident.”

That is a nice PR statement. My clients who are everyday-people and not movie stars deserve the same respect that Tracy Morgan received finally received from Walmart. While they might not have as many twitter followers, Emmys or public fans, they are hardworking individuals who are just as effected as Tracy was when his life change on June 7, 2014.

If I just had Three Wishes

I wish… that this settlement wasn’t confidential. I wish that Walmart would have had to publicize the amount of money they had to pay Tracy in order to not see a jury. However, I understand why Tracy and his family would want to settle out of the limelight. He needs to focus on getting better and not on the prolonged legal battle.

I wish… Walmart would have accepted responsibility from the beginning. I have seen it first-hand. It is hard on the families and on the person injured when a big corporation points the figure back on the injured person.

I wish my clients would get the acknowledgement from Walmart or any other negligent corporation for their wrongdoing as opposed to outright denial. Every person who is injured should receive this treatment regardless of fame, status or occupation.

Our Reputation

The Krause & Kinsman Law Firm is made up of some of the nation’s foremost legal minds in the mass-tort field. That’s why our clients & co-counsel partners choose us.

Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, and Co-Chair of the Law & Briefing Committee in MDL 2846:

In Re: Davol, Inc./C.R. Bard, Inc., Polypropylene Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation

Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in MDL 2974:

In Re: Paragard IUD Products Liability Litigation

Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in MDL 2924:

In Re: Zantac (Ranitidine) Products Liability Litigation

Along with the aforementioned MDLs,

Plaintiff’s Counsel has prosecuted thousands of cases across other Multi-District Litigations and Mass-Torts, including:

MDL No. 3043:

Acetaminophen ASD/ADHD Product Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2753:

Atrium Medical Corp. C-Qur Mesh Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2782:

Ethicon Physiomesh Flexible Composite Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation

MCL No. 627:

In Re: Physiomesh Litigation, MCL

MCL No. 633:

In Re: Prolene Hernia System Mesh Litigation

MDL No. 2750:

Cook Medical, Inc., IVC Filters Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2641:

Bard IVC Filters Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2326:

In Re: Boston Scientific Corp. Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2606:

Benicar (Olmesartan) Product Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2666:

In Re: Forced Air Warming Devices Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2591:

Syngenta AG MIR162 Corn Litigation

MDL No. 2936:

In Re: Smity’s/CAM2303 Tractor Hydraulic Fluid Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation

MCL No. 630:

In Re: Proceed Mesh Litigation

MDL No. 2543:

In Re: General Motors LLC Ignition Switch Litigation

MDL No. 2004:

In Re: Mentor Corp. ObTape Transobturator Sling Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2187:

In Re: C. R. Bard, Inc. Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2325:

In Re: American Medical Systems, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2327:

In Re: Ethicon, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2387:

In Re: Coloplast Corp. Pelvic Support Systems Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 251:

In Re: Neomedic Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation

Highly Awarded Trial Attorneys

The Krause & Kinsman Law Firm is one of the nation’s leading mass-tort & personal-injury law firms. The founding partners, Adam & Robert, have been selected to serve on steering committees for some of the largest pharmaceutical mass-tort cases.

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Partnering with Krause & Kinsman is easy. When you partner with Krause & Kinsman, you can be sure that our mutual clients’ complex matters are handled with the utmost care and dedication. In addition to our top-notch representation, we will ensure our mutual clients receive frequent communication about the status of their cases.

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Recognized leaders in mass-torts with vast experience in complex litigation.

Your clients will appreciate the high-quality representation provided.

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Collaborate on the case together and receive co-counsel fees.