Will Wilkens
I wanted to share an experience I had a few years ago and find out how many other people had a similar experience. On August 6, 2005 I chased a severe thunderstorm in Perris, California, during a significant monsoon event. The storm produced a microburst with straight line winds that snapped 16 power poles along a 1 mile stretch of road in the northeast side of town. One of the poles crushed a vehicle traveling along the road and trapped its driver. He sustained major injuries and had to have one of his legs amputated. I did not witness the accident, but found out about the incident later on the news. I also found out I was within 1/4 mile of the incident at exactly the time it happened. I had video taped the chase and posted several frame grabs of the video on my personal website photo gallery.
About 7 months later, in March, '06 I was contacted via email by a claims investigator for Southern California Edison who was searching for eyewitnesses of the storm event. He had found my photos and blog through a Google search using keywords related to the storm and the location and date of the event.
Initially he was asking for a copy of the video, which he wanted to purchase, so he could use it in his investigation. I, being naive at the time, thought it was only about the damage to the poles. He never disclosed anything more about the case, and I never asked any details either. However, I did agree to meet him and show him the video, as a courtesy.
The viewing took place at my home, and that's when he dropped me the bomb and disclosed that his investigation was part of a law suit against Edison by the injured man. The investigator was working for Edison and wanted to hire me as an expert witness for Edison. The plaintiff was claiming the power poles were old and neglected and failed to withstand the 40mph gusts the plaintiff claimed the storm produced. The 40mph gust was based on data recorded at a RAWS station 5 miles away. Power poles are supposed to be rated to 65mph and Edison was defending themselves that the incident was an act of God. Although I felt sorry for the guy who lost his leg, I was confident the winds in my vicinity did exceed 65mph. The storm was that bad. However, I declined to be an expert witness for Edison because I was absolutely not qualified to be an "expert" witness. I referred the investigator to the San Diego NWS office for any storm data for the event. I also knew I was screwed. I was set up. I knew what was about to come.
Sooo, to make a long story short, I received a subpeona and participated in a deposition, representing Edison, in August, '06, a year after the incident. I had to surrender the original copy of my video, and endure the longest, most grueling 9 hours of my life, detailing every minute by minute move I made from the time I left my house until I arrived back home. I was grilled by the plaintiff's legal team, almost to the point of humiliation and shame for even being a storm chaser. I became openely frustrated at times and was angry at Edison for putting me into that situation, especially since I had no personal stake in the settlement. Edison offered to pay me compensation for my time, but I declined because if it ever went to trial I did not want to sit on the stand and have my credibility raked over the coals because I accepted money. I just wanted the nightmare to be over.
6 months later, in February, '07, Edison settled with the plaintiff without going to trial, and I was notified by Edison that my statements along with my video was evidence that the storm was indeed severe enough beyond the plaintiff's claims, and that helped Edison negotiate a settlement in their favor (much much lower). They thanked me for my help.
Poor guy who lost his leg. I felt absolutely terrible.
So, my question I present to you all: has anyone here ever gone through a similar experience with the legal system related to their storm chasing? Would love to hear your stories.
BTW, here is my video of that event on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgIPmL6wzdI
About 7 months later, in March, '06 I was contacted via email by a claims investigator for Southern California Edison who was searching for eyewitnesses of the storm event. He had found my photos and blog through a Google search using keywords related to the storm and the location and date of the event.
Initially he was asking for a copy of the video, which he wanted to purchase, so he could use it in his investigation. I, being naive at the time, thought it was only about the damage to the poles. He never disclosed anything more about the case, and I never asked any details either. However, I did agree to meet him and show him the video, as a courtesy.
The viewing took place at my home, and that's when he dropped me the bomb and disclosed that his investigation was part of a law suit against Edison by the injured man. The investigator was working for Edison and wanted to hire me as an expert witness for Edison. The plaintiff was claiming the power poles were old and neglected and failed to withstand the 40mph gusts the plaintiff claimed the storm produced. The 40mph gust was based on data recorded at a RAWS station 5 miles away. Power poles are supposed to be rated to 65mph and Edison was defending themselves that the incident was an act of God. Although I felt sorry for the guy who lost his leg, I was confident the winds in my vicinity did exceed 65mph. The storm was that bad. However, I declined to be an expert witness for Edison because I was absolutely not qualified to be an "expert" witness. I referred the investigator to the San Diego NWS office for any storm data for the event. I also knew I was screwed. I was set up. I knew what was about to come.
Sooo, to make a long story short, I received a subpeona and participated in a deposition, representing Edison, in August, '06, a year after the incident. I had to surrender the original copy of my video, and endure the longest, most grueling 9 hours of my life, detailing every minute by minute move I made from the time I left my house until I arrived back home. I was grilled by the plaintiff's legal team, almost to the point of humiliation and shame for even being a storm chaser. I became openely frustrated at times and was angry at Edison for putting me into that situation, especially since I had no personal stake in the settlement. Edison offered to pay me compensation for my time, but I declined because if it ever went to trial I did not want to sit on the stand and have my credibility raked over the coals because I accepted money. I just wanted the nightmare to be over.
6 months later, in February, '07, Edison settled with the plaintiff without going to trial, and I was notified by Edison that my statements along with my video was evidence that the storm was indeed severe enough beyond the plaintiff's claims, and that helped Edison negotiate a settlement in their favor (much much lower). They thanked me for my help.
Poor guy who lost his leg. I felt absolutely terrible.
So, my question I present to you all: has anyone here ever gone through a similar experience with the legal system related to their storm chasing? Would love to hear your stories.
BTW, here is my video of that event on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgIPmL6wzdI
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