There are many levels here beyond just cutting a check. The young lady driving was employed by the Athletic Department. My understanding is that the vehicle was a rental. This will play out for quite a while.
In the event that UGA has some form of liability over the crash (which we as fans wouldn’t know because we get limited information) “cutting a check” and settling is not an uncommon thing. The only thing preventing it (in the scenario where UGA is factually liable) is the family actively pursuing greater damages in court
The driver's car insurance should cover it up to the limits of the policy. I don't really know how it works because the driver passed, but presumably the estate would handle the case.
The drivers personal insurance would have nothing to do with this. Insurance follows the vehicle in Georgia and it’s a university vehicle. It’s likely the university self insures so there aren’t really traditional limits like a regular car insurance policy.
I wonder if the university has sovereign immunity for vehicle accidents. I seem to recall a case awhile back where a sheriff’s deputy did something negligent with a car, caused a lot of damage, but the injured party couldn’t sue because it was a government actor. I’m not sure if I’m remembering that right, or if they’ve since carved out car accidents, or if that even applies to UGA or UGAA. But I’m sure the relevant attorneys are checking on it.
That’s not usually the case. There would be no point to the immunity if it went away for (alleged) negligence, which is the vast majority of tort claims.
It’s not unusual for immunity to go away for intentional torts. Like if a state employee purposely punches you in the face, that employee *may* be able to be sued. (This is my recollection of general principles, not necessarily Georgia state law.)
The deputy analogy isn’t really a good one. There are different limitations. Qualified immunity still doesn’t cover negligent acts if they are acting outside of their duties. Officers have been sued personally for acting outside of their duties in a negligent way. Like speeding to a call without lights or sirens, that wasn’t an emergency and having an accident.
In this matter, it is an employee driving a vehicle rented by the employer. If it is determined that she was speeding or something else illegal, the employer can be excluded from the suit by the court. She wasn’t acting in her capacity as an employee in a safe manner.
They can sue anyone, but the court most likely would not hold them liable.
The State of Georgia at the end of the day. They'll be named in the suit, along with the university, athletic department, probably Kirby and whoever else Go Big Injury decides to name. The state will settle though. Kemp, pretty much most of the legislature and all that makes these decisions are alumni that probably want this gone.
>Go Big Injury
This feels like something you'd see on a billboard on the highway. I have no idea if they're good or not, but Georgia (and whoever else is named) will have the highest powered lawyers.
Surely outside of the scope of employment and not a case of respondeat superior. University might cut a small check to avoid a fight, but the insurance companies will be doing the legwork.
That really depends on how the family's legal team approaches this. They could just go for the whole 9 and sue the state, the university, and anyone else they can. And if that happens, feelings about this whole situation will drastically change. Sad really.
Of course they will. There’s zero reason not to include them if you’re going to file and a thousand reasons to include them. But just because you file suit doesn’t mean you have a good case, and the case against the university is weak.
Assuming this was indeed a rental, wouldn’t the university be seen at least partially at fault if it was rented indirectly or directly for/by her employer?
There would be an argument about scope of employment and whether the act of driving to Waffle House at 2:45 in the morning fits it. I personally don’t think it does. Of course, I could be wrong, as more evidence will come up and I may be ignorant to evidence that’s already surfaced.
If it doesn’t, the university is off the hook entirely. If it does, then the university is strictly liable. That’s why it’ll settle before it gets to argument.
>outside of the scope of employment
Feels like this is the crux of the argument.
1. Was it a University vehicle or did they pay for a rental (seems like it but I haven't seen evidence yet)?
2. Was she driving them as part of her job duties or was she driving because they're all friends?
I’m not naive enough to not see this coming but it’s still upsetting to hear this news. If you’re so inclined, please pray for the families of these kids, teammates and colleagues.
I knew this was coming. I just hope first no alcohol or drugs were involved, two they don't drag those deceased young people through the mud, regardless of whatever their extracurriculars were. Hopefully, the State of Georgia settles this quickly and quietly.
I really hope all the toxicology screens come back clear.. that will add insult to injury if not. I’m thinking the family knows facts the rest of us don’t.
I live less than a mile from where the accident occurred. I can tell you this, the deer population is way out of whack in this area. So much so that they are almost oblivious to cars and human presence. Obviously speed was a factor, but having a deer bolt in front of the vehicle is a distinct possibility as well.
>deer population is way out of whack
This is why I kept saying that no one should assume it's alcohol/drug related. I got downvoted to oblivion by people who have never driven on that road. It's treacherous especially at night.
It's entirely possible that she was speeding and then swerved to miss a deer and that caused the crash. You wouldn't see a deer there unless she hit it, which wasn't in the police report.
That was my first thought as well. My husband also hit a deer on that stretch of Barnett Shoals, in a scooter. Wasn't even going that fast. Neither deer nor scooter survived that incident, but thankfully my husband only got a few scratches.
Deer are all over this area so that's a good possibility. It's why I stress to all the young drivers in my family that if any animal runs in front of you to brake as hard as safety allows but do not under any circumstances snatch the wheel.
>My only thought was maybe she was driving sort of like an Uber to help the guys per team help. Idk
That's what I was hoping too, that's she's one of the team handlers and was responsible for fetching them *from* whatever shenanigans they were involved in, but they wanted Waffle House before they went back to the dorms....
From what I’ve heard, that was exactly it. However the question is, was it in an official capacity? Also, she just graduated in December with her Masters meaning she was a student too. They’re all adults and not that far apart in age, it’s not a stretch to think they were all friends seeing that they were around each other all the time. These staff roles are usually much closer to work study positions than full time jobs. It’s not the same thing as if they were hanging out with their teachers or coaches at 2:30am.
But it is, in this particular instance, especially with how much of a business college football has become. A paid employee of the university, no matter the age, should have some sort of professional distance from the student-athletes, specifically because while 99% of the time, it’s not a big deal, we’re about to see that 1% of the time where it is and lawsuits are being filed.
>some sort of professional distance
Unless part of her University duties are to ferry the players around to avoid DUI and also the celebrity issues using Uber etc.
If that is part of the job, and that’s what this was, like I said earlier, I would imagine in the future there will be rule changes or clarifications where you have to take them straight home. I’m also sure there are probably already rules about obeying traffic laws in a university owned/rented vehicle, if that’s what was being driven.
Totally agree with this. And yes, having worked at UGA before, there are lots of rules around using University vehicles. We don’t know the situation with this one since it’s not public yet.
Good grief, there are some folks in this thread making it hard to be civil. I don’t see what’s so hard about the concept that maybe it’s not the best idea for employees of the athletic department to be driving student-athletes (key words are employees and student) to the Waffle House at 3 AM. I’m not so naive to think that kind of stuff doesn’t happen all the time, and really, it’s not a big deal, until something like this happens. If you don’t think there are probably already rules against it, that will now be strictly enforced, I don’t know what else to tell you.
As a staff person it would seem reasonable to take yourself out of the situation and call an Uber for them (even have the university pay for it as an expense). In this case, it seems more likely as a friend, you would want to take them yourself.
>call an Uber for them
Can you imagine the risk of two highly-recruited, highly-paid (via NIL) athletes getting into a random Uber? Wouldn't you rather have a staffer who knows them, drive them?
Would you agree they’re as valuable as NFL lineman? If so, are they getting into random Ubers?
I’m not saying this is her job. I am saying that the University would want to limit risk for famous people (at least Athens famous).
Great. More rules and things for lawyers to use to sue. Just what we need 🙄
Why do we need to drag these poor young adults who lost their lives through the mud. Hope it gets handle quietly.
And as far as adding rules about fraternizing or dating. I'll never understand the whole date at work thing. i know plenty of people who met their life partner thanks to their jobs and if they followed these ridiculous rules then they wouldn't have had this chance. You've also got the celebrity ones like Samantha and Christian Ponder. They met and have been happily married for several years now. There are plenty of other examples that worked out and examples that didn't work out. It is life and we are all suppose to be adults.
College is suppose to be fun and what are these young men suppose to do. Not talk to anyone but their team mates. What happened is awful and sad but it was an accident and accidents happen in life. Life is full of risks and unfortunately this accident took to beautiful young people's lives.
Apparently has to do with farmers who didn’t want to put seatbelts in their pickup trucks/like riding in the back of pickup trucks. Don’t have to wear a seatbelt in the back seat.
https://www.hawklawgroup.com/blog/do-backseat-passengers-have-to-wear-a-seat-belt-in-georgia/
This is from 2022, only front seat passengers have to wear a seatbelt if over 18
He was in the back seat on the driver side according to accident report. The driver side took the brunt of the impact against the second tree they hit.
Georgia’s negligence laws require the injured party to be less than 50% at fault for their own injury (comparative negligence) so this is probably true. Hopefully it doesn’t get litigated and settles
I’m not sure anyone understands what’s going on here… you would sue if it was your kid too.
If the car was a university vehicle being driven by a university employee they absolutely have cause to sue. Her personal car insurance would have nothing to do with it, insurance always follows the vehicle in Georgia. I doubt the University carries a policy with any major insurer, they are probably self insured or in a pool of sorts with the other state universities. So with that said it’s unclear if any actual limits would apply as it wouldn’t be a standard insurance claim.
People will say he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, and I’m sure the university’s attorneys will argue the same thing, but at the end of the day if the University provided the car and the driver was employed by the university they will be paying out the ass for it. ESPECIALLY if that tox screen comes back with her being intoxicated.
This also isn’t a standard case where you can argue Joe Smith made x dollars times average career expectancy as there’s a very real chance Devin could’ve played in the NFL and there’s no real way to calculate potential earnings with that.
Long story short, the university will settle out of court for a pretty large amount and there’s nothing wrong with the family pointing fingers.
Source: Im a fatality claims adjuster
This gets settled. They'll add the state to the suit and the state will want to get rid of it. I can't blame them, but some of it seems tacky and some can drag those kids thru the mud. Deaths do crazy things, especially with money on the table or potential for big money. What happens to the program is my greatest fear.
It’ll definitely get settled. I doubt the family want to drag anyone through the mud but they also shouldn’t feel bad for wanting some compensation for their son especially with those sorts of potential earnings.
>potential earnings
Two things -- not only potential NFL earnings, but current NIL earnings. I'm not sure the financial status of his parents, but in a lot of cases, NIL / NFL money is permanently life altering in a positive way.
They will definitely name the State so that there is a bigger purse to pull from, and they will argue that they are owed future earnings compensation commensurate with whatever his projected draft status would be.
Does it not matter if the driver wasn’t acting as an employee at the time? If the 4 of them were friends, which seems likely, why would she be seen as acting as a University employee at 2:45 in the morning? How would her personal choices have anything to do with the school? I don’t get it.
So commercial stuff gets really weird and even weirder when there are fatalities involved. I’m making assumptions here which may turn out to be false, but it’s very possible that she is a university employee who received a call or text on her university issued phone to go pick up some student athletes for the University… that’s business use all day regardless of whether it’s specifically mentioned in her job duties or not. On top of that generally with fatality claims insurance companies (or in this case the university) will pay pretty much anything to get a signed release. They do NOT want to go to court because there is zero shot the public will be on their side.
My company has paid plenty of policy limit settlements when we didn’t even really have to just to try and get it closed. They won’t fight this that hard other than trying to get the amount closed. There’s enough here to warrant them with being named in the potential lawsuit.
Dude, do you not remember Cade May's dad losing his finger because his dumbass couldn't manage a folding chair correctly? The university will be held liable, you can believe that.
That was the stupidest shakedown ever. Dad was a Tennessee alumni if I remember right, diabetic and couldn't figure out a folding chair and May ended up going to Tennessee.
They were also driving a car rented by the UGAA. There's definitely an argument to be made that they were acting in their capacity as an university employee.
Yea , regardless if they were friends or not, it will be insinuated in a court of law that the person wasn’t just a friend but working in some capacity for the school. I expected this. My assumption Is that the school will settle out of court but just my 2 cents
Are you saying that the lawyer of the family, if this hypothetical claim goes forward, would not argue that the driver of the vehicle was an on-the-job employee of UGA making the university liable to a wrongful death claim? Making fun of a poster’s incorrect lingo is not the same as disproving his arguments
If the driver was acting on behalf of UGA as an employee, they fulfill both of the requirements you posted (acting within the scope of their employment, master-servant relationship) as the driver would not be considered an independent contractor. Since we do not have all the facts, aside from the knowing that the driver was speeding and seatbelts were not used, it’s incredulous to say that that UGA is absolutely not liable in this situation
True, if they do sue the school is will likely be for wrongful death, but at the moment details on the how and why these people were in the car are undisclosed unless I’m mistaken
This will also likely be something the NIL folks look at too. If athlete is doing an appearance or function for NIL, and this had occurred, sure there would be some legal issues in play too. This is so tragic, I really hope it doesn't get ugly in the court system.
They were on university businesses I’m almost positive. We’ve heard for decades about the business cards kept in wallets (now numbers stored in phones) for when you need out of a situation. Incapacitated or whatever, you call as an athlete and they come and get you. Car was a rental too, this is almost certainly a chauffeur vehicle on the university dime. This job description also wouldn’t be on the girls paperwork, so was she really agreeing to this or was it just demanded as part of being on staff, under the table etc. I’m sure this happens everywhere to some extent but I could see it getting ugly. I want clarity I’m completely speculating have no idea. Just what comes to my mind.
Yeah, I can understand wanting to have some form of compensation (lost earnings, funeral expenses, etcetera), but there’s some gallows humor in using a firm with such a skeevy name.
This leaves a bad taste for sure. You announce this on the day of the staffer’s funeral while tons of people from the school are attending. You also haven’t even buried your own child, yet 4 measly days after the accident you go to the press to set up a press conference to tell the world you intend to pursue legal action. Terrible timing.
I'm pretty sure the brightest minds at the bar in the great State of Georgia couldn't find that place on the map before this suit was filed. Talk about hitting the lottery. These guys are going to get a settlement and if they're not jackasses it'll be pretty. If they piss people off, pretty much more than half the lawyers and judges are alumni or related to alumni.
I don't know if I'm going that far and kinda wondering when the bright minds at Go Big Injury got into the NIL business. Sounds like some Better Call Saul shit to me.
Pretty cringe. I'm just saying there's a reputable personal injury law firm that can get what is right in this situation done in a respectful and dignified manner, not the theater that is probably coming from this which will trash the memories of the deceased.
Sad. This is the response? Everyone is always looking for money. Or is it anger? Unless more than a terrible accident, I cant imagine suing would be the thing inside a WEEK
Yes, in a nutshell. They will sue her estate, the auto insurance provider, and most likely the University and/or State of Georgia.
Dev was an NFL-caliber player, and that carries millions of dollars of future earnings, plus whatever NIL deals he had while at Georgia.
NFL money (and NIL in some cases) can be permanently life-altering in a positive way for the player and the player's family (of course depending on their current financial position).
Who they sue is somewhat subject to the circumstances around the accident (was she doing university business, whose car is it, etc.). But more than likely, they'll put the school and/or the state on the suit so the coffers are bigger.
Putting myself in their shoes is hard but makes it easier to take a step back and let it all play out without passing judgment. If there is liability on the university, it could make sense for them to gain some kind of compensation. Just terrible for everyone involved.
That’s a tough one. I can’t agree with that. I have to ask myself what would I do. Agree or not, the family does have a claim. They might even be thinking that they want something, given the loss of what would have been his future earnings. And I can’t really say they’d be wrong in demanding that. It’s a tough call, either way. But I don’t think it disrespects him at all.
Yes I do. And I would never do what the family is planning. It was an accident. The kid loved the school. The school and fans loved the kid. The school did so much for the young man. Accidents happen. It doesn’t mean they have to use it as a way to get a windfall payment.
Imagine trying to explain away the death of a child by saying “accidents happen.” I guess they’ll just get over the fact that their son died because the school and fans loved him.
Let me reiterate that you are delusional.
That's easy for you to say. You have absolutely no idea of this family's hopes and dreams for their child. To be so callous as to suggest what someone should, or shouldn't do in this situation is incredibly disrespectful. It's none of your business, plain and simple.
I hear you on that and it's honestly understandable. The man had NFL quality talent and who knows how long he would have played. The problem is a firm with the name Go Big Injury (who since reading this thread is also in the NIL deal business) puts images in people's minds of the lowest of the low bottom feeders in the legal profession. You also run into a lot of us alumni who worry about the bigger picture moving forward with this in regards to the school and program at large. Still, they have something coming to them and I pray for a settlement that I trust the university and state will gladly pay out.
They’ll cut the check, settle out of court, without much fight. Not worth it getting ugly.
There are many levels here beyond just cutting a check. The young lady driving was employed by the Athletic Department. My understanding is that the vehicle was a rental. This will play out for quite a while.
In the event that UGA has some form of liability over the crash (which we as fans wouldn’t know because we get limited information) “cutting a check” and settling is not an uncommon thing. The only thing preventing it (in the scenario where UGA is factually liable) is the family actively pursuing greater damages in court
Who is it that is paying the family?
The driver's car insurance should cover it up to the limits of the policy. I don't really know how it works because the driver passed, but presumably the estate would handle the case.
Even if he had no seat belt?
In Georgia it doesn’t matter if they’re in the back seat and 18+
The drivers personal insurance would have nothing to do with this. Insurance follows the vehicle in Georgia and it’s a university vehicle. It’s likely the university self insures so there aren’t really traditional limits like a regular car insurance policy.
>it’s a university vehicle Do we know this though? I might have missed an article.
I wonder if the university has sovereign immunity for vehicle accidents. I seem to recall a case awhile back where a sheriff’s deputy did something negligent with a car, caused a lot of damage, but the injured party couldn’t sue because it was a government actor. I’m not sure if I’m remembering that right, or if they’ve since carved out car accidents, or if that even applies to UGA or UGAA. But I’m sure the relevant attorneys are checking on it.
If the deputy did something negligent, immunity does not cover them. They could be sued.
That’s not usually the case. There would be no point to the immunity if it went away for (alleged) negligence, which is the vast majority of tort claims. It’s not unusual for immunity to go away for intentional torts. Like if a state employee purposely punches you in the face, that employee *may* be able to be sued. (This is my recollection of general principles, not necessarily Georgia state law.)
The deputy analogy isn’t really a good one. There are different limitations. Qualified immunity still doesn’t cover negligent acts if they are acting outside of their duties. Officers have been sued personally for acting outside of their duties in a negligent way. Like speeding to a call without lights or sirens, that wasn’t an emergency and having an accident. In this matter, it is an employee driving a vehicle rented by the employer. If it is determined that she was speeding or something else illegal, the employer can be excluded from the suit by the court. She wasn’t acting in her capacity as an employee in a safe manner. They can sue anyone, but the court most likely would not hold them liable.
There are laws protecting on duty officers. I imagine that case fell under those, not a government employee.
If there’s med pay on their policy. If not, UGA is in deep shit
The State of Georgia at the end of the day. They'll be named in the suit, along with the university, athletic department, probably Kirby and whoever else Go Big Injury decides to name. The state will settle though. Kemp, pretty much most of the legislature and all that makes these decisions are alumni that probably want this gone.
>Go Big Injury This feels like something you'd see on a billboard on the highway. I have no idea if they're good or not, but Georgia (and whoever else is named) will have the highest powered lawyers.
I'd guess the university...seeing that a paid staff member was driving.
Surely outside of the scope of employment and not a case of respondeat superior. University might cut a small check to avoid a fight, but the insurance companies will be doing the legwork.
That really depends on how the family's legal team approaches this. They could just go for the whole 9 and sue the state, the university, and anyone else they can. And if that happens, feelings about this whole situation will drastically change. Sad really.
Of course they will. There’s zero reason not to include them if you’re going to file and a thousand reasons to include them. But just because you file suit doesn’t mean you have a good case, and the case against the university is weak.
Assuming this was indeed a rental, wouldn’t the university be seen at least partially at fault if it was rented indirectly or directly for/by her employer?
There would be an argument about scope of employment and whether the act of driving to Waffle House at 2:45 in the morning fits it. I personally don’t think it does. Of course, I could be wrong, as more evidence will come up and I may be ignorant to evidence that’s already surfaced. If it doesn’t, the university is off the hook entirely. If it does, then the university is strictly liable. That’s why it’ll settle before it gets to argument.
>outside of the scope of employment Feels like this is the crux of the argument. 1. Was it a University vehicle or did they pay for a rental (seems like it but I haven't seen evidence yet)? 2. Was she driving them as part of her job duties or was she driving because they're all friends?
2 is essentially the legal question put in layman’s terms 1 will be used as evidence to support whether she was or wasn’t
The third scenario — she could have been using a UGA rental outside of her normal duties, even though she shouldn’t have.
What?
I’m not naive enough to not see this coming but it’s still upsetting to hear this news. If you’re so inclined, please pray for the families of these kids, teammates and colleagues.
It's almost a requirement if insurance is involved.
I knew this was coming. I just hope first no alcohol or drugs were involved, two they don't drag those deceased young people through the mud, regardless of whatever their extracurriculars were. Hopefully, the State of Georgia settles this quickly and quietly.
Totally agree, but this is a veritable onion.
I really hope all the toxicology screens come back clear.. that will add insult to injury if not. I’m thinking the family knows facts the rest of us don’t.
I live less than a mile from where the accident occurred. I can tell you this, the deer population is way out of whack in this area. So much so that they are almost oblivious to cars and human presence. Obviously speed was a factor, but having a deer bolt in front of the vehicle is a distinct possibility as well.
We had a deer bounce through our tailgate at the TN game last year. It was wild. The are us covered.
>deer population is way out of whack This is why I kept saying that no one should assume it's alcohol/drug related. I got downvoted to oblivion by people who have never driven on that road. It's treacherous especially at night. It's entirely possible that she was speeding and then swerved to miss a deer and that caused the crash. You wouldn't see a deer there unless she hit it, which wasn't in the police report.
That was my first thought as well. My husband also hit a deer on that stretch of Barnett Shoals, in a scooter. Wasn't even going that fast. Neither deer nor scooter survived that incident, but thankfully my husband only got a few scratches.
Deer are all over this area so that's a good possibility. It's why I stress to all the young drivers in my family that if any animal runs in front of you to brake as hard as safety allows but do not under any circumstances snatch the wheel.
What facts could they possibly know that would affect the case if toxicology is bare?
If you mean a clean tox screen, it'll make it easier to settle. If it isn't, it'll turn into a shit show and media circus.
That's what I'm afraid of.
I imagine there will be some tightening of the rules about staffers fraternizing with players.
Exactly. That's where this gets incredibly messy.
That's some program problems depending on what's there.
I was shocked this was even allowed. My only thought was maybe she was driving sort of like an Uber to help the guys per team help. Idk
>My only thought was maybe she was driving sort of like an Uber to help the guys per team help. Idk That's what I was hoping too, that's she's one of the team handlers and was responsible for fetching them *from* whatever shenanigans they were involved in, but they wanted Waffle House before they went back to the dorms....
From what I’ve heard, that was exactly it. However the question is, was it in an official capacity? Also, she just graduated in December with her Masters meaning she was a student too. They’re all adults and not that far apart in age, it’s not a stretch to think they were all friends seeing that they were around each other all the time. These staff roles are usually much closer to work study positions than full time jobs. It’s not the same thing as if they were hanging out with their teachers or coaches at 2:30am.
But it is, in this particular instance, especially with how much of a business college football has become. A paid employee of the university, no matter the age, should have some sort of professional distance from the student-athletes, specifically because while 99% of the time, it’s not a big deal, we’re about to see that 1% of the time where it is and lawsuits are being filed.
>some sort of professional distance Unless part of her University duties are to ferry the players around to avoid DUI and also the celebrity issues using Uber etc.
If that is part of the job, and that’s what this was, like I said earlier, I would imagine in the future there will be rule changes or clarifications where you have to take them straight home. I’m also sure there are probably already rules about obeying traffic laws in a university owned/rented vehicle, if that’s what was being driven.
Totally agree with this. And yes, having worked at UGA before, there are lots of rules around using University vehicles. We don’t know the situation with this one since it’s not public yet.
how can they all be expected not to “fraternize” if they are all together on a routine basis?
Good grief, there are some folks in this thread making it hard to be civil. I don’t see what’s so hard about the concept that maybe it’s not the best idea for employees of the athletic department to be driving student-athletes (key words are employees and student) to the Waffle House at 3 AM. I’m not so naive to think that kind of stuff doesn’t happen all the time, and really, it’s not a big deal, until something like this happens. If you don’t think there are probably already rules against it, that will now be strictly enforced, I don’t know what else to tell you.
As a staff person it would seem reasonable to take yourself out of the situation and call an Uber for them (even have the university pay for it as an expense). In this case, it seems more likely as a friend, you would want to take them yourself.
>call an Uber for them Can you imagine the risk of two highly-recruited, highly-paid (via NIL) athletes getting into a random Uber? Wouldn't you rather have a staffer who knows them, drive them?
Risk? They're college football players, not the president.
Would you agree they’re as valuable as NFL lineman? If so, are they getting into random Ubers? I’m not saying this is her job. I am saying that the University would want to limit risk for famous people (at least Athens famous).
This is way too logical for some of these folks.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
Great. More rules and things for lawyers to use to sue. Just what we need 🙄 Why do we need to drag these poor young adults who lost their lives through the mud. Hope it gets handle quietly. And as far as adding rules about fraternizing or dating. I'll never understand the whole date at work thing. i know plenty of people who met their life partner thanks to their jobs and if they followed these ridiculous rules then they wouldn't have had this chance. You've also got the celebrity ones like Samantha and Christian Ponder. They met and have been happily married for several years now. There are plenty of other examples that worked out and examples that didn't work out. It is life and we are all suppose to be adults. College is suppose to be fun and what are these young men suppose to do. Not talk to anyone but their team mates. What happened is awful and sad but it was an accident and accidents happen in life. Life is full of risks and unfortunately this accident took to beautiful young people's lives.
I think the fact that he chose not to wear a seatbelt will affect how this case progresses.
You think that because you have common sense. This is something far absent in the litigious society known as America.
Not the case in the state of Georgia. It’s inadmissible
TIL. What a stupid way to write the law.
Apparently has to do with farmers who didn’t want to put seatbelts in their pickup trucks/like riding in the back of pickup trucks. Don’t have to wear a seatbelt in the back seat.
I thought that law changed years ago. At the very least it shouldn't apply to passenger vehicles.
https://www.hawklawgroup.com/blog/do-backseat-passengers-have-to-wear-a-seat-belt-in-georgia/ This is from 2022, only front seat passengers have to wear a seatbelt if over 18
Well damn. Let this be the event that gets that stupid shit off the books.
He was riding in the front seat from what I understand.
He was in the back seat on the driver side according to accident report. The driver side took the brunt of the impact against the second tree they hit.
oh I thought he was a front side passenger
Georgia’s negligence laws require the injured party to be less than 50% at fault for their own injury (comparative negligence) so this is probably true. Hopefully it doesn’t get litigated and settles
I’m not sure anyone understands what’s going on here… you would sue if it was your kid too. If the car was a university vehicle being driven by a university employee they absolutely have cause to sue. Her personal car insurance would have nothing to do with it, insurance always follows the vehicle in Georgia. I doubt the University carries a policy with any major insurer, they are probably self insured or in a pool of sorts with the other state universities. So with that said it’s unclear if any actual limits would apply as it wouldn’t be a standard insurance claim. People will say he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, and I’m sure the university’s attorneys will argue the same thing, but at the end of the day if the University provided the car and the driver was employed by the university they will be paying out the ass for it. ESPECIALLY if that tox screen comes back with her being intoxicated. This also isn’t a standard case where you can argue Joe Smith made x dollars times average career expectancy as there’s a very real chance Devin could’ve played in the NFL and there’s no real way to calculate potential earnings with that. Long story short, the university will settle out of court for a pretty large amount and there’s nothing wrong with the family pointing fingers. Source: Im a fatality claims adjuster
This gets settled. They'll add the state to the suit and the state will want to get rid of it. I can't blame them, but some of it seems tacky and some can drag those kids thru the mud. Deaths do crazy things, especially with money on the table or potential for big money. What happens to the program is my greatest fear.
It’ll definitely get settled. I doubt the family want to drag anyone through the mud but they also shouldn’t feel bad for wanting some compensation for their son especially with those sorts of potential earnings.
Considering big power in the state is pretty much all alumni from the governor to the Lt gov and so on. They want this gone.
>potential earnings Two things -- not only potential NFL earnings, but current NIL earnings. I'm not sure the financial status of his parents, but in a lot of cases, NIL / NFL money is permanently life altering in a positive way. They will definitely name the State so that there is a bigger purse to pull from, and they will argue that they are owed future earnings compensation commensurate with whatever his projected draft status would be.
Does it not matter if the driver wasn’t acting as an employee at the time? If the 4 of them were friends, which seems likely, why would she be seen as acting as a University employee at 2:45 in the morning? How would her personal choices have anything to do with the school? I don’t get it.
So commercial stuff gets really weird and even weirder when there are fatalities involved. I’m making assumptions here which may turn out to be false, but it’s very possible that she is a university employee who received a call or text on her university issued phone to go pick up some student athletes for the University… that’s business use all day regardless of whether it’s specifically mentioned in her job duties or not. On top of that generally with fatality claims insurance companies (or in this case the university) will pay pretty much anything to get a signed release. They do NOT want to go to court because there is zero shot the public will be on their side. My company has paid plenty of policy limit settlements when we didn’t even really have to just to try and get it closed. They won’t fight this that hard other than trying to get the amount closed. There’s enough here to warrant them with being named in the potential lawsuit.
But also it seems to me like she’s could possibly be at the employ of the school to drive them around. So they dont drink and drive. And if so….
Legal action against the university? What liability could UGA have in this situation?
I assume because it’s a UGA staff member that was driving.
Dude, do you not remember Cade May's dad losing his finger because his dumbass couldn't manage a folding chair correctly? The university will be held liable, you can believe that.
That was the stupidest shakedown ever. Dad was a Tennessee alumni if I remember right, diabetic and couldn't figure out a folding chair and May ended up going to Tennessee.
Yep
Fair, but unless the driver was acting on University business, I don’t see how UGA holds any liability in this situation
They were also driving a car rented by the UGAA. There's definitely an argument to be made that they were acting in their capacity as an university employee.
Yeah this is what I’ve been thinking all along instead of just getting a bunch of Ubers
Yea , regardless if they were friends or not, it will be insinuated in a court of law that the person wasn’t just a friend but working in some capacity for the school. I expected this. My assumption Is that the school will settle out of court but just my 2 cents
This gets settled quickly for "undisclosed terms" and with non-disclosure agreement.
[удалено]
What exactly is wrong about his statement
[удалено]
Are you saying that the lawyer of the family, if this hypothetical claim goes forward, would not argue that the driver of the vehicle was an on-the-job employee of UGA making the university liable to a wrongful death claim? Making fun of a poster’s incorrect lingo is not the same as disproving his arguments
[удалено]
If the driver was acting on behalf of UGA as an employee, they fulfill both of the requirements you posted (acting within the scope of their employment, master-servant relationship) as the driver would not be considered an independent contractor. Since we do not have all the facts, aside from the knowing that the driver was speeding and seatbelts were not used, it’s incredulous to say that that UGA is absolutely not liable in this situation
This, either summary judgement based on the facts or settlement.
That’s what will be alleged, it’s a fact dispute after that legally speaking
True, if they do sue the school is will likely be for wrongful death, but at the moment details on the how and why these people were in the car are undisclosed unless I’m mistaken
This will also likely be something the NIL folks look at too. If athlete is doing an appearance or function for NIL, and this had occurred, sure there would be some legal issues in play too. This is so tragic, I really hope it doesn't get ugly in the court system.
Same here. No one really wins.
They were on university businesses I’m almost positive. We’ve heard for decades about the business cards kept in wallets (now numbers stored in phones) for when you need out of a situation. Incapacitated or whatever, you call as an athlete and they come and get you. Car was a rental too, this is almost certainly a chauffeur vehicle on the university dime. This job description also wouldn’t be on the girls paperwork, so was she really agreeing to this or was it just demanded as part of being on staff, under the table etc. I’m sure this happens everywhere to some extent but I could see it getting ugly. I want clarity I’m completely speculating have no idea. Just what comes to my mind.
Ok but what the transportation during a sanctioned event? I don’t recall any celebration that would require transportation at 2:45 AM.
Shutting down the bars usually felt like a celebration.
Was she driving a personal car or state vehicle? That will be the deciding factor whether they can sue the state or sue her insurance.
Rental vehicle. Apparently rented by the Athletic Department.
The State of Georgia is going to end up party to the suit and they'll settle this quick.
Surprised they waited this long. “Go Big Injury Lawyers” more like go fuck yourselves
Go Big Injury lawyers.... Say you're a bottom feeder without saying you're a bottom feeder. Smh
Yeah, I can understand wanting to have some form of compensation (lost earnings, funeral expenses, etcetera), but there’s some gallows humor in using a firm with such a skeevy name.
I’m certainly not against just compensation and I get that he has an NIL deal with them, but that name is so cringe
Im confused why someone would choose “Go Big Injury Lawyers” as their NIL representation.
Hey, you want free money? “No, your company name is funny”
They offered more than the pork board
Was "Hearse Chasers Inc." taken?
Guarantee you they have a store front in a shopping center that looks shady as hell. Kinda like a Better Call Saul place.
This leaves a bad taste for sure. You announce this on the day of the staffer’s funeral while tons of people from the school are attending. You also haven’t even buried your own child, yet 4 measly days after the accident you go to the press to set up a press conference to tell the world you intend to pursue legal action. Terrible timing.
Would it be possible for all 4 involved in the crash to have different lawsuits against the school? Or would only the players be able to sue?
This has potential to get very messy. I’m sure “Go Big Injury Lawyers” would like to make some noise.
I'm pretty sure the brightest minds at the bar in the great State of Georgia couldn't find that place on the map before this suit was filed. Talk about hitting the lottery. These guys are going to get a settlement and if they're not jackasses it'll be pretty. If they piss people off, pretty much more than half the lawyers and judges are alumni or related to alumni.
Their website already has a picture of Devin used for advertising posted, which just feels beyond the pale gross.
They had an NIL deal with Devin and one other UGA player.
Ok now that certainly makes more sense. Faith in humanity slightly restored.
I don't know if I'm going that far and kinda wondering when the bright minds at Go Big Injury got into the NIL business. Sounds like some Better Call Saul shit to me.
Awesome username by the way.
WSMFP
Pretty cringe. I'm just saying there's a reputable personal injury law firm that can get what is right in this situation done in a respectful and dignified manner, not the theater that is probably coming from this which will trash the memories of the deceased.
Wow...seriously? Jesus.
Sure that is the case.
Sad. This is the response? Everyone is always looking for money. Or is it anger? Unless more than a terrible accident, I cant imagine suing would be the thing inside a WEEK
Legal action against whom? The girl driving is dead. Are they going to sue her family and add insult to tragedy? This makes zero sense to me.
Yes, in a nutshell. They will sue her estate, the auto insurance provider, and most likely the University and/or State of Georgia. Dev was an NFL-caliber player, and that carries millions of dollars of future earnings, plus whatever NIL deals he had while at Georgia. NFL money (and NIL in some cases) can be permanently life-altering in a positive way for the player and the player's family (of course depending on their current financial position). Who they sue is somewhat subject to the circumstances around the accident (was she doing university business, whose car is it, etc.). But more than likely, they'll put the school and/or the state on the suit so the coffers are bigger.
What a fucked up thing to happen coming off back to back championships.
I agree on an emotional level. I can't blame them, though, on a financial level. We're talking about huge money.
Putting myself in their shoes is hard but makes it easier to take a step back and let it all play out without passing judgment. If there is liability on the university, it could make sense for them to gain some kind of compensation. Just terrible for everyone involved.
No better way to ruin your son’s memory than to sue over this.
That’s a tough one. I can’t agree with that. I have to ask myself what would I do. Agree or not, the family does have a claim. They might even be thinking that they want something, given the loss of what would have been his future earnings. And I can’t really say they’d be wrong in demanding that. It’s a tough call, either way. But I don’t think it disrespects him at all.
You’re delusional. Do you have children?
Yes I do. And I would never do what the family is planning. It was an accident. The kid loved the school. The school and fans loved the kid. The school did so much for the young man. Accidents happen. It doesn’t mean they have to use it as a way to get a windfall payment.
Imagine trying to explain away the death of a child by saying “accidents happen.” I guess they’ll just get over the fact that their son died because the school and fans loved him. Let me reiterate that you are delusional.
That's easy for you to say. You have absolutely no idea of this family's hopes and dreams for their child. To be so callous as to suggest what someone should, or shouldn't do in this situation is incredibly disrespectful. It's none of your business, plain and simple.
I hear you on that and it's honestly understandable. The man had NFL quality talent and who knows how long he would have played. The problem is a firm with the name Go Big Injury (who since reading this thread is also in the NIL deal business) puts images in people's minds of the lowest of the low bottom feeders in the legal profession. You also run into a lot of us alumni who worry about the bigger picture moving forward with this in regards to the school and program at large. Still, they have something coming to them and I pray for a settlement that I trust the university and state will gladly pay out.
It was the school's fault though.
Man, what a bummer
Wow that was quick