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The Oregon Department of Transportation has agreed to pay $1.45 million to the estate of Dr. Steven Fritz, late husband of Portland Commissioner Amanda Fritz.
Steven Fritz, a psychiatrist at the Oregon State Hospital, died in a September 2014 crash on southbound Interstate 5 near Salem after a pickup and freight truck collided during heavy rain in the northbound lanes, launching the pickup over a dirt berm into Steven Fritz's Nissan Sentra. His passenger, Cary Fairchild, also died in the head-on collision.
In June 2015, Amanda Fritz and her husband's estate filed a $9.5 million wrongful death suit against the driver of the pickup, Michael Lippmann, and the company to which the freight truck belonged, Carson Oil Co.
She did not, however, list the Oregon Department of Transportation as a defendant. Fairchild's estate also filed suit, for $6.17 million, but included the state agency.
So how did the Fritz estate end up settling with an agency it didn't plan to sue?
Tom Fuller, a spokesman for ODOT, says the settlement is the outcome of a third-party complaint filed by Lippmann, the driver of the pickup truck, against ODOT. That complaint sought to defend Lippmann from liability.
The stretch of road where the crash occurred lacked a cable barrier that probably would have blocked Lippmann's truck from launching into oncoming traffic and saved the lives of Fairchild and Steven Fritz. A report by The Oregonian showed ODOT knew as far back as 1996 that that section of the interstate needed the barrier.
ODOT also agreed to a $750,000 settlement with Fairchild's estate.
Amanda Fritz and her attorney, Michael Wise, were not immediately available for comment.
Here's the statement from ODOT on the decision:
On November 2, 2015, the Oregon Department of Transportation settled all claims in legal actions against the State of Oregon arising out of the deaths of Dr. Steven Fritz and Mrs. Cary Fairchild in a September 24, 2014, automobile accident on Interstate 5 at Salem. The accident happened during a heavy rainstorm when a car driven northbound by Mr. Michael Lippmann lost control, hit a northbound tanker truck in the next lane belonging to Carson Oil Company, and then crossed the highway median and collided with the southbound Fritz car.
The two lawsuits against Mr. Lippmann and Carson Oil Co., Inc. are still pending at this time. The Fritz Estate is seeking $9.5 million in its lawsuit, and the Fairchild Estate is seeking $6.17 million in damages.
The estates of both Dr. Fritz and Mrs. Fairchild settled all claims against the State of Oregon for $1.45 million and $750,000 respectively. While the Oregon Department of Transportation settled these lawsuits without admitting liability, it also put in median barrier at the location where the freeway crossover accident occurred, in an effort to minimize the chance of similar accidents in the future. We at the Department of Transportation offer our sincere condolences to the families of Dr. Fritz and Mrs. Fairchild.
Last week, Amanda Fritz spoke about her husband's death in emotional testimony about the Portland City Council's 3-2 vote to give Uber and Lyft the green light. The vote allows both ride-sharing companies, also known as TNCs, to operate with limited insurance requirements.
"Four innocent people were harmed in the crash that killed my husband," Fritz told colleagues last week. "Under this ordinance, another grieving spouse like me in a crash with four injuries would receive only $25,000 in compensation for a death caused by a TNC driver—even if the insurance company paid out without the fees of 35 percent or more deducted if the estate has to engage a lawyer to collect on damages. I am baffled as to why any of you would consider your own life, or that of the person you love most in the entire world, to max out in value at $50,000."
Willamette Week