Our Hearts and Prayers Go Out to California Limo Victims and Their Families: by Greg Perenich

A San Francisco company remains under investigation for the deaths of five women who suffered fatal burn injuries last week as they were trapped in a burning limousine. The women were among nine passengers riding in a stretch limo as it crossed the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge. Two of the surviving passengers were listed in critical but stable condition at a San Francisco area hospital where they are being treated for burn injuries and smoke inhalation. One of the deceased was a newlywed who was on her way to meet her husband after being out with friends from her wedding party. The San Mateo Fire Department is looking into the cause of the fire.

In the moments leading up to the tragedy, it appears the women were trying to escape the flames by crawling through the open divider at the front of the passenger compartment. After failed attempts get out the doors of the Lincoln Town Car, they frantically knocked on the dividing partition to summon the driver and try to exit to safety. Cell phone videos taken by onlookers depict surreal images of raging flames shooting from the back of the limo as it was traveling on the bridge. Investigators have thus far surmised that the passengers were trying to escape the heat and smoke in the passenger cabin by climbing through the partition. At least one of the survivors was able to make it through the opening, but sadly the charred remains of the other passengers were found near the partition after the fire was extinguished. Initial reports and statements from the survivors indicate the driver may not have realized, at least not initially, that the passengers were attempting to alert him to smoke in the cabin. The driver has stated publicly that he did not know the vehicle was on fire until stopping the vehicle. Passersby heroically rescued three of the women from the vehicle before it was completely engulfed in flames.

Obviously, many questions will be raised by this incident once the cause is determined. Was there an electrical or mechanical defect that sparked the blaze? What items of safety equipment, such as fire extinguishers, were readily available? Were the efforts of the passengers to notify the driver in any way thwarted by an inability to communicate with the driver? As with any burn or smoke inhalation injury case, determining the cause of the fire and identifying whether any fire safety equipment and procedures were in place will be paramount to properly redressing liability. The vehicle was modified to safely transport up to 8 passengers and so far it is unclear if the additional passenger played a role in the deaths.

Florida Common Carrier Law
While this horrible tragedy has caught the attention of our nation and made for many heavy hearts at our firm, it should be a resounding call to action for proper regulation of common carriers and the stretch limousine industry in particular. This is especially so as typically smaller companies own limousine companies and are directly involved in the vehicle modification work. And while civil liability actions can never turn back the clock and erase the effects of such events, they can provide essential monetary damages to confront the financial and emotional losses for the surviving family members and injured survivors. Such actions will undoubtedly involve claims of product defects, negligence and common carrier liability.

In Florida civil actions for personal injuries, economic losses or wrongful death, common carriers are required to provide the highest degree of care for the safety of passengers consistent with the type of transportation used and the practical operation of the business. Thus, according to Florida Standard Jury Instructions, “negligence of a common carrier is doing something that a very careful person would not do under like circumstances or failing to do something that a very careful person would do under like circumstances.”

While common carriers are not obligated to guarantee passenger safety, the law does impose a very high duty of care with the recognition that such carriers have been entrusted to safety transport passengers only after taking such careful and prudent efforts for their safe transportation.

Protecting Victims of Common Carrier Accidents
I sincerely hope that the proper authorities in California fully investigate the circumstances that led to the tragic limo fire and all the other important issues bearing on the limousine company’s obligation to provide a safe vehicle for its passengers, equipped with proper emergency equipment and an experienced driver who was properly trained and had performed the necessary vehicle inspection. The lives of those 5 deceased women and the remaining 4 injured victims should not have suffered such a fate. An thorough understanding of these important issues will help these victims and their families as they search for justice and prevent such a tragic event from happening again.