Paul Walker's daughter gets $10.1 mln settlement in actor's death

The 17-year-old daughter of late actor Paul Walker has reached a $10.1 million settlement with the estate of the man driving the car that crashed and killed them both in 2013, her attorney said on Friday.

Walker was a passenger in a 2005 Porsche Carrera GT driven by Roger Rodas when the car, traveling at speeds of 80 to 93 miles per hour (129 to 150 kilometers per hour), careened into trees and a utility pole in Santa Clarita, northwest of Los Angeles.

Meadow Walker's attorney, Jeff Milam, said in a statement that the settlement would go into a trust for the teen.

The settlement, reached in November 2014, went unnoticed for nearly a year and half because it was filed under "Meadow W.", according to celebrity news website TMZ, which first reported the story.

According to Milam's statement, Rodas was only partially responsible for the crash, and the settlement covers a "fraction of what her father would have earned as an international movie star had his life not been tragically cut short."

Attorneys for Rodas' estate could not immediately be reached for comment.

Walker's death at age 40 led to a lull in production of "Furious 7," the latest movie in the mega-hit action series about illegal street racing that propelled his career.

The 2015 film grossed more than $1.5 billion worldwide, making it among the highest-earning films of all time.

Milam said the actor's daughter was continuing her lawsuit against Porsche AG and that she "intends to hold the company responsible for producing a vehicle that was defective and caused Paul Walker's death."

Meadow Walker, the actor's only child and sole heir, filed the complaint against the German automaker last September, accusing it of skimping on safety features that could have prevented the crash or at least kept him alive.

Porsche has maintained that the actor was responsible for his own death. After a four-month investigation, Los Angeles officials said the crash was caused by excessive speed, not mechanical failure.

Milam said Paul Walker survived the impact of the crash, but "burned to death because of Porsche's defective design."

A federal judge presiding over a similar lawsuit filed by Rodas' estate against Porsche in Los Angeles ruled in favor of the car company on Monday, saying: "Plaintiff has provided no competent evidence that Rodas' death occurred as a result of any wrongdoing on the part of Defendant."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Paul Walker's daughter sues Porsche

The daughter of late actor Paul Walker, who died in the fiery crash of a Porsche sports car in California two years ago, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the car company in Los Angeles on Monday, court records show.

Meadow Walker claimed in the complaint that the automaker skimped on safety features for the vehicle, which could have either prevented the crash entirely or at least kept Walker alive.

Paul Walker was a passenger in the 2005 Porsche Carrera GT driven by Roger Rodas, who lost control of the vehicle before it careened into trees and a utility pole in Santa Clarita, northwest of Los Angeles, killing both men in November 2013.

The suit said Porsche AG (PSHG_p.DE) knew the car model had a "history of instability and control issues" and added that the seat belts were designed such that in a crash, the shoulder belt anchor would be pulled along with the rear engine compartment while the seat anchor would remain in place.

"This snapped Walker's torso back with thousands of pounds of force, thereby breaking his ribs and pelvis, flattening his seat and trapping him in a supine position, where he remained alive until the vehicle erupted into flames one minute and twenty seconds later," the filing said.

"Absent these defects in the Porsche Carrera GT, Paul Walker would be alive today," the complaint added, citing the seat belt design and other issues.

Porsche could not be immediately reached for comment on Monday. But attorneys for the German car company said in April that Rodas was to blame for the crash following a lawsuit filed by his widow against the company's North American unit last year.

Attorneys for the company had then denied that the car had any defects.

Walker's death at the age of 40 led to a temporary halt in production of "Fast & Furious 7", the latest movie in the successful series about illegal street racing that helped popularize his career.

The Los Angeles Times has reported that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and California Highway Patrol found that unsafe speeds were to blame for the crash, not mechanical problems. The newspaper said investigators made the determination after consulting with technicians from Porsche.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com