Ruling bars lawsuit in Iraq fuel convoy injury
By Walter Putnam – The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jun 30, 2009 18:34:29 EDT
ATLANTA — The wife of a soldier incapacitated by a brain injury in a wreck during a fuel convoy in Iraq cannot sue the civilian contractor delivering the fuel, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
Sgt. Keith Carmichael was a gunner assigned to ride in a tanker truck operated by Kellogg, Brown & Root during the 2004 convoy. He was thrown and pinned beneath the truck when the civilian driver failed to negotiate a curve.
According to court documents, Carmichael was left in a permanent vegetative state.
Annette Carmichael of Atlanta sued KBR on behalf of her husband, along with its former parent company, Halliburton, and the driver in Georgia state court in 2006.
KBR had the lawsuit moved to U.S. District Court in Atlanta, then sought for it to be dismissed on grounds that the military was in charge of handling the convoy, including security details and choosing the route to take from Balad, north of Baghdad, to a U.S. air base 100 miles west of the Iraqi capital.
Judge Timothy C. Batten found that the lawsuit could not be adjudicated because it raised a political question involving the military role in the convoy. Batten dismissed the lawsuit for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.
Carmichael appealed, saying the civilian contractor, not the military, was responsible for the accident.
In Tuesday’s 2-1 ruling, a panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it found “no judicially manageable standards” to settle the suit and upheld Batten’s dismissal. The opinion said the suit was barred by “the political question doctrine.”
“After thorough review, we conclude that adjudicating the plaintiff’s claims would require extensive re-examination and second-guessing of many sensitive judgments surrounding the conduct of a military convoy in war time — including its timing, size, configurations, speed and force protection,” said the opinion written by Judge Stanley Marcus and joined by Judge R. Lanier Anderson.
Judge Phyllis A. Kravitch concurred that the military controlled the convoy but said Carmichael “sufficiently alleged a claim of negligent supervision” by requiring the driver to work unreasonably long hours, causing fatigue. Kravitch said she would return the case to the lower court to gather more facts on that question. (Click HERE for original article)
Before leaving on each convoy, the driver’s sign/initial a federal document stating that each driver was rested and able drive in this convoy – if the attorney’s would go back and gain access to these documents that KBR required the driver’s to sign/initial before leaving – and that particular driver signed/initialed that document and in fact lost control of the vehicle because of being tired -then, I would think that KBR would be liable? Please pass this on to the law firm handling that poor family’s attorney’s. God Bless his heart and his wife and family.
Ms Sparky’s Response:
THANK YOU!! I will do that. You never know. That might make a difference.
The driver(s) may have been fully rested before going out on convoy, but how long into the shift/convoy did the incident occur??
There were many times that it took over 20 hours to get from Camp A to Camp B with no “authorized” breaks, unless you want to count being stopped on the MSR waiting for EOD to clear the road, while you sit in the drivers seat waiting for insurgents to appear out of the desert and open fire or mortars to start coming in because you are stopped out in the open, or IED’s to go off that EOD missed or the insurgents actually planted while you were sitting there and couldn’t see them.
What is this document that you say drivers are signing before going out on convoy? When did this policy start? If you are referring to the TSTI (Total Safety Task Instruction)sign-in sheet that had nothing to do with the amount of rest the drivers had before leaving on convoy.
My heart goes out to the family of the injured soldier, but when in a combat environment with a mix of military and civilians outside the wire there is just no way to determine who is actually in charge of what, and way to much finger pointing of who is actually in charge, especially when it comes to vehicle accidents on the MSR.
Mr. Putnam of the Associated Press wrote :
“The opinion said the suit was barred by “the political question doctrine.”
I feel strongly the court would be more accurate if they said the suit is barred by political corruption that includes the judicial system.
KBR’s latest Press Release.
http://www.kbr.com/news/press_releases/2009/07/06/Federal_Appellate_Court_Issues_Significant_Ruling_in_Contractor_on_the_Battlefield_Case.aspx
I’m sure KBR is doing the “happy dance” in Houston!
I don’t know all the specifics of this case. But I feel bad for the family all the same.
Wonder if someone can look up contributions to the judges campaign and associated charities.
Ms Sparky’s Response:
Well well…..you might be on to something there.
We did not start using the 8 Hour Rest sheet until 2006.
It is not a Federal document – It is an internal KBR TTM document and is proprietary as stated in the footer.
Ms Sparky’s Response:
So before that KBR could run their drivers 24/7 without rest and without any responsibility for their safety or the safety of the convoy?
It’s just another way for KBR to CYA especially when it comes to convoy hours worked!! I’m betting if you didn’t sign the “rest sheet” you were sent home for some BS excuse.
Anyone confirm this??
If you did not sign or circled No on having 8 hours of rest, than you were pulled from the mission. When the form was first implemented, a copy had to be given to the Military C2 who was required to review the document.
If the driver circled No, we would verify the driver’s schedule and determine if they had indeed received the required 8 hours off. If is the driver’s responsibility to notify his leadership that due to the time he/she was released, they would not be able to receive 8 hours off.
In early to mid 2004, the average Bulk Fuel driver had a lot of time on their hands between missions due to an abundance of drivers.