A daughter of the late actor Paul Walker is suing Porsche for wrongful death, claiming the sports car that her father was in when he was killed suffered from numerous design defects.
The lawsuit filed by Meadow Rain Walker seeks unspecified damages for defects that her lawyers claim kept the actor trapped in the Porsche Carrera GT when it crashed and burst into flames in November 2013.
Walker was on a break from filming the seventh film in the Fast & Furious franchise when he was killed.
He was riding in the Carrera GT driven by friend and business associate Roger Rodas when the car spun out of control, struck three trees and burst into flames on a street in Santa Clarita, California.
The wrongful-death suit claims the car, which was marketed as a street-legal race car, lacked a proper stability control system and safeguards to protect occupants and keep it from catching fire after a collision.
“Absent these defects in the Porsche Carrera GT, Paul Walker would be alive today,” the lawsuit states.
An email sent to representatives of Porsche Cars North America was not immediately returned.
The 18-page lawsuit includes a detailed recounting of the crash and contends that the Porsche was travelling 63-71 mp/h (101-113 km/h)when it spun out of control.
Investigators concluded the Porsche was going much faster - up to 94 mph (150 km/h)- when it crashed.
The investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and California Highway Patrol concluded that it was unsafe speed and not mechanical problems that caused the crash. That investigation was aided by engineers from Porsche, who evaluated the wreckage of the rare car.
Ms Walker’s lawsuit contends Porsche did not include a stability control system in the Carrera GT model Mr Rodas was driving but includes it in other models. It also claims the car lacked proper reinforcements in its doors and used rubber fuel lines that did not break free to prevent a fire in a crash.
Similar allegations of design and safety defects were included in a wrongful death lawsuit by Mr Rodas’ widow, Kristine Rodas, that remains pending in a court in Los Angeles.
Mr Rodas was trained as a race car driver and was only driving 55 mp/h (88 km/h), according to his wife’s lawsuit. He left behind two young children when he died.
Walker co-owned a car racing team with Mr Rodas named Always Evolving. Ms Walker (16) is the sole heir of his estate.
Walker’s two brothers helped complete action scenes in Furious 7, which earned more than $1.5 billion (€1.33 billion) globally after it was released in April.
PA