Porsche Fires Back at Paul Walker’s Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Lawyers for Porsche said Paul Walker was responsible for his death in a 2013 auto crash, but an attorney for the actor’s daughter disputed the claim in a statement Monday, November 16, 2015.

“It is beyond regrettable that Porsche is trying to deflect its own responsibility by blaming the victim – Paul Walker – for his own death by getting into the passenger seat of its Carrera GT. Contrary to Porsche’s assertions, the facts are clear: Paul was the passenger in a auto that was not created to protect its occupants, in a crash on a dry, empty straightaway in broad daylight and at speeds well below the vehicle’s advertised capabilities”.

A lawsuit was filed in September on behalf of the late actor’s 16-year-old daughter, Meadow Rain Walker, alleging a defective seat belt kept her father trapped alive for more than a minute in the sports auto in which he died before the vehicle became engulfed in fire.

The Fast & Furious actor was a passenger in his friend Roger Rodas’ Porsche Carrera GT when it crashed into a pole and burst into flames in Santa Clarita, California on 30 November, 2013.

Coroners also ruled out drugs or alcohol as contributing factors. She seeks damages under the claim that the defects were contributors to her father’s death.

Meadow filed a lawsuit against the company two months ago as she believes the auto wouldn’t have spun out of control if it had a substantial stabilization system.

The seatbelt anchoring was faulty as well, as it essentially broke Walker’s clavicle, ribs, pelvis, and spine upon impact.

“PCNA [Porsche Cars North America] alleges that Mr Walker knowingly and voluntarily assumed all risk, perils and danger in respect to the use of the subject 2005 Carrera GT”, said the manufacturer.

The County Sheriff also stated that speed was what killed Walker and his friend. Police deemed the cause of the accident speeding, saying that the driver was going between 80 and 93 miles per hour at the time of the incident.

Porsche and their investigators state that there was nothing mechanical that caused the crash and made the vehicle leave the road.