Houston is apparently dodging a major storm as Ike has turned south. However, our gain appears to be Corpus Christi’s loss, as Ike turns its lonely eye toward her. Living along the Gulf Coast during hurricane season reminds me of the role chance plays in our lives. One minute, we are making evacuation plans. The next, we are out of danger, thanks to some high pressure system coming from the North.
Being a trial lawyer offers many other examples of chance, as a momentary loss of attention or a single bad decision can lead to a tragedy that affects numerous lives. This is particularly true in car accidents. I represented a woman who was driving along on her way to work, doing everything right (proper speed, seat belt, not using her cell phone). Suddenly, a high school kid driving a vehicle in the opposite direction jumped the median and hit her head-on. Her legs were crushed in the accident. From that moment on, her life changed. Her treatment (surgeries, therapy, etc.) and recovery became her focus, as she attempted to regain the physical ability that had marked her daily life for as long as she remembered. She went from being a “workout girl” (her words) to a patient.
Had my client left home one minute earlier or later, she would have been elsewhere when the kid lost control of his vehicle. Instead of her, someone else would have become the patient. She would have continued with her life and probably gone on to have a day that, at worst, would have been uneventful. She may have made a big sale, and that day could have become a day she would celebrate.
As for the kid, his actions were anything but momentary. He was driving at an incredibly high rate of speed. That means he made a decision to drive like an idiot. He did not care about the health or safety of anyone. He was the hurricane on the highway, just looking for some peaceful shore to disrupt.
Some of our cases involve momentary lapses of judgment. Some driver drops his cell phone and bends down to pick it up, or fails to notice traffic stopping in front of him. Other cases involve a conscious decision to ignore safety, such as the trucking company that intentionally drives with overweight loads, or the manufacturer that sells products with a known defect. Some corporations put money before safety, and those are other hurricanes in search of victims. As with a storm on a collision course with land, it is not a matter of whether someone will be injured, but whom and when.
I am relieved that Houston is being spared the devastating effects of Hurricane Ike. But, I pray for those folks farther down the Texas coast who will take the brunt of the storm. I realize how precarious our place on this earth is, and how forces of nature show no favoritism in deciding whom to strike.
Steve Waldman – swaldman@gwlawyers.com
