A federal court ruled this week that the U.S. government must pay a Massachusetts lawyer $3.3 million in damages following a March 2019 snowmobiling crash in which he collided into a Black Hawk helicopter that had been parked on a trail at night.
U.S. District Judge Mark Mastroianni ruled that the government was 60% responsible for parking the helicopter on a snowmobile trail after flying from New York’s Fort Drum to Worthington, Massachusetts, but also criticized Jeff Smith for not operating the snowmobile safely, for speeding and for wearing tinted goggles, according to The Associated Press.
“The court finds the government breached its duty of care in failing to take any steps to protect against the obvious risk of a camouflaged helicopter parked on an active snowmobile trail, in a somewhat wooded area, as darkness set,” Mastroianni reportedly wrote. “The helicopter and area where it was parked were not illuminated or marked in any way.”
Smith, who was airlifted to a trauma center with a dozen broken ribs, a punctured lung and severe internal bleeding following the crash, now struggles with simple tasks, including putting on socks or pulling up his pants, the AP reports.
Read more at https://www.foxnews.com/us/lawyer-who-crashed-snowmobile-black-hawk-helicopter-awarded-3-3-million-damages
