Baja 500 Race - BE SAFE & NEVER FORGET

[Holly Luhtala]

https://www.courthousenews.com/death-in-baja-off-road-race-crash-spurs-lawsuit/

i remember reading this a few years back.

Yes I tried suing to NO AVAIL. I was told there was "NO JURISDICTION" - This was shortly before the Statute of Limitations ran out which was 2 years. Mind you I had very little memory of anything for 3 years!

 

[Holly Luhtala]

I did and nothing about the lawsuit. Where does it say what the results of the lawsuit were?

I assume if she didn’t get anything and there was a lawsuit then it seems SCORE was found to not be responsible and didn’t have to pay anything.

Mike

The case was immediately dropped in Nevada due to "Lack of Jurisdiction" and the Statute of Limitations ran out (Wrongful Death is 2 years), I had very little memory of Mark or anything with the exception for the last 5 days with him due to "Unresolved Trauma".

 

[MTPyle]

Oh that’s horrible. What a mess, I could not imagine going thru that after all you already went through.

For sure we as a group need to figure out some better insurance options.

Mike

 

[johndjmix]

There was a thread on RRC a while back with a group that was working with the military to allow medical helicopters at night to fly and save lives during the races. They seemed to have the permission thing worked out.

Let’s be real here, money talks. If SCORE raised the entry and donated that money to this cause maybe it would happen.

—John

 

[Honda48X]

I don’t understand why everyone says: If SCORE raised the entry and donated.

Roger and SCORE have PLENTY of money and he/they can DO IT WITHOUT RAISING THE ENTRY FEE.

 

[43mod]

So you have scores balance sheets ?

 

[43mod]

If i were score and wanted to fly at night i would propose hiring either a Mexican military pilot or doctor in the heli . That should solve the drug and gun running issue .

 

[Sheepdog]

No disrespect to anyone with this comment but at the end of the day racing for almost all of us is totally discretionary. If we can afford to fund our expensive hobby to get our vehicles to the starting line but dont have a solid plan for taking care of our families of things go bad, then we’re wrong. If we can afford 5 and 6 figure race vehicles in our garage but need family members to rely on GoFundMe’s if we are hurt, we’re wrong.

First and foremost, my heart goes out to Holly for the tragic loss of her husband.

That said, J Prich is absolutely right.

I have been managing risk, significant risk, in the first person, for over 40 years now. I was a professional skateboarder in the '70s. I have been involved in motorsports ever since. I've gone over 200 mph on a motorcycle. I've ridden the Snaefel Mountain Course on the Isle of Man during the TT, at triple-digit speeds. I've driven the Nurburgring Nordschleife during Touristenfahrten at triple-digit speeds. And I retired from a career spanning 30 years, of running towards gunfire when everyone else was running away. I guess I've been successful at managing significant risk, since I'm still here.

For most of the last 40 years, I've been very cognizant of the potential consequences of significant risk. A lot of that, involved my willingness to accept the potential consequences of significant risk, including the effects it would have on my family, and that has gone a long ways towards shaping my decisions when it comes to significant risk. For that reason, I quit riding motorcycles for general transportation purposes about 10 years ago, for example.

My approach to this was tested a few years ago, when I was injured in the line of duty. I received a full paycheck for a year and a half during reconstructive surgery and a lot of painful rehabilitative physical therapy before I was ultimately retired by my injuries, but all of my overtime income immediately stopped, which was like taking a sudden unexpected $50-70K pay cut, which was obviously life-changing. But we were prepared to accept things even worse than that, so we changed our life to match our new smaller income.

One thing that I have also learned, is that whenever there is a tragic loss of life, there are often important lessons that we can learn, even though it can be painful to dig into the incident. To be unwilling to dig into these incidents, and/or to ignore these lessons, is for that person to have died in vain. From this incident, I have learned a lesson- I was planning on just bringing the SCORE-recommended first-aid kit to the B1K in November, but now I have decided to also bring my BOK (Blowout Kit) for major bleeds, with multiple combat tourniquets, chest seals, Israeli bandage, "penny-cutter" trauma shears, rubber gloves, combat QuikClot, and so on.

Adding this type of medical equipment, and the training to use it, might be a good way to memorialize Holly's late husband, that other people might survive, because of lessons we learned from this incident. A proper BOK can be assembled for roughly $100, and the training only takes a day or two.

Again, Holly, my heart goes out to you for your loss.

 

[TrailReady]

Holly, thank you for this reminder. No one has mentioned it here yet, and I'm sure your painfully aware due to lawsuit details, that we all sign a multipage liability release when we register for the races and regardless whether we actually read it or not, we all know it means, just by the shear size of the document, that the promotor is taking virtually zero burden for anything that happens to us out there. I've put life and disability plans in place with specific racing coverage, but I'm not positive that other members of our team have and because of your post, I'm going to make sure it's done before we race again.
Larry

 

[ONE_RJ]

Sheepdog,

Adding this type of medical equipment, and the training to use it, might be a good way to memorialize Holly's late husband, that other people might survive, because of lessons we learned from this incident. A proper BOK can be assembled for roughly $100, and the training only takes a day or two.

Not to derail the importance of this thread. Would you share your backpack (BOK) list on a new thread? It would be very helpful to the off road community and people traveling in Baja to carry these items. Of course a YouTube training video on usage would be a incredible asset for anyone to watch. Time and reaction is of the essence and it could save a life no matter where you are.

 

[Sheepdog]

Sheepdog,



Not to derail the importance of this thread. Would you share your backpack (BOK) list on a new thread? It would be very helpful to the off road community and people traveling in Baja to carry these items. Of course a YouTube training video on usage would be a incredible asset for anyone to watch. Time and reaction is of the essence and it could save a life no matter where you are.

Yeah, sure, just give me a day or so- my wife is going in for surgery tomorrow, so I'm kinda focused on that.

One thing I will share now, is that I'm applying combat medicine to a non-combat environment, so bear with me, as it's not a perfect application, it's just what I know, and it seems mostly applicable.

The BOK (Blowout Kit) is primarily for major bleeds, and is intended to be used on the person carrying it. So for example, if we're in a gunfight, and you get shot in a femoral artery, I'm gonna use YOUR Blowout Kit to treat you, and if I get shot, I can use my BOK to treat myself.

An IFAK (Infantry First Aid Kit) is an entirely different thing, and is used to treat anyone's boo-boos.

 

[JEFFRPM]

Has anbody ever received with there official SCORE entry race propaganda an actual copy of this Alledged mandatory race insurance?

Or ever seen one?

 

[Josh 8]

Has anbody ever received with there official SCORE entry race propaganda an actual copy of this Alledged mandatory race insurance?

Or ever seen one?

no

 

[JEFFRPM]

Follow the money

 

[Holly Luhtala]

Horrible accident

Last time we were in Baja we were with Jason who was with the team and actually in the photo posted early in this thread. We were obviously not there but hearing the story from Jason was horrible and hit wrenching.

The insurance that SCORE has is to protect themselves. It protects against getting sued from people like the OP. I hate using the legal system but sometimes that’s the only way to get money from people that are liable for deaths like this.

Unfortunately we live in a world that money is used to compensate people for losses that they really can never be compensated for. But it does help the family for sure.

If I was to offer any advise I would make sure the OP has talked to a good wrongful death attorney. This type of incident is exactly what they are for. Seems like the changes to the protocols after this accidents show liability.

I am not a lawyer and again I will do anything to not use that system. But sometimes it’s the way it needs to be. Going after SCORE’s insurance is exactly why they have it.

Mike

Hi Mike -
Jason, aka Utah was a godsend to the girls and I. I met him after the accident and he slept on my couch during the days of Mark's funeral. I will never forget his love & support he provided not only Mark during his time of need, but for my girls & I afterwards. His family is beyond lovely - his wife especially!

I did hired a Wrongful Death Attorney and filed suit only to find out there was a "Lack of Jurisdiction" and the case was immediately closed. I was not in the right frame of mind to fight anyone as I could barely remember my husband for the first 3 years, by then the Statute of Limitations was over. I have NEVER sued anyone for anything and was very misguided with advise I listened to as I did not know whom to trust.

Changes MUST come directly from Score - the biggest thing is NOT TO HAVE VEHICLES COMING HEAD ON IN THE SAME DIRECTION, EVER! This accident was completely avoidable! Other change that is needed is there MUST be medics & supplies at EVERY MAIN PIT AREA and have their "Advanced Life Support Ambulances" on stand by in case of an Emergency. Score took over 6 HOURS to get Mark medical attention! HE was missing his left leg & foot and was literally "bleeding out" and also had 47 broken bones! He felt every bit of pain, The tracker (Stella System) Score installed in his truck was off by 10 miles so the first medics could NOT find him at the accident scene. This was an International "Biggest Bad Ass Race in the WORLD" and where was their help???? My husband didn't have a fighting chance and I am SO PISSED because he was such an amazing man and so didn't deserve to be treated like his life or family DID NOT MATTER.

 

[Holly Luhtala]

The case was immediately dropped in Nevada due to "Lack of Jurisdiction" and the Statute of Limitations ran out (Wrongful Death is 2 years), I had very little memory of Mark or anything with the exception for the last 5 days with him due to "Unresolved Trauma".

My husband was found NOT A FAULT according to Score's Accident Investigation.

 

[Dave Cole 4454]

I don’t understand why everyone says: If SCORE raised the entry and donated.

Roger and SCORE have PLENTY of money and he/they can DO IT WITHOUT RAISING THE ENTRY FEE.

Im sorry, but this perspective is incredibly flawed. Along with most of this thread.

I realize thats unpopular, but it is the truth.

 

[J Prich]

Im sorry, but this perspective is incredibly flawed. Along with most of this thread.

I realize thats unpopular, but it is the truth.

I think it’s unpopular because so many truly don’t know, and I think many assume they ARE covered by the orgs somehow.

 

[Dave Cole 4454]

I think it’s unpopular because so many truly don’t know, and I think many assume they ARE covered by the orgs somehow.

Even thats not accurate. I can tell you with certainty, that if you race a HKP Event, U4, CORR, GAS, and I think, the Mint...you are under USAC which has legal and medical coverage for every participant, including crew.


I did not know Mark, and havent met Holly. We have mutual friends and I cannot fathom the toll this has taken on Marks family. I can just tell you, its never as simple as it looks.

Im sorry if I am upsetting anyone. I have tried to stay clear of this thread, but I cant let inaccuracies keep getting accepted.

 

[Josh 8]

Im sorry if I am upsetting anyone. I have tried to stay clear of this thread, but I cant let inaccuracies keep getting accepted.

Dave can you elaborate on “inaccuracies”?

I am pretty sure you have a unique point of view on this that is accurate. But just labeling a thread inaccurate is not vary accurate.

I am sure your right and I feel the same about the “score has lots of money” comment. I rolled my eyes at that too. I think any one that that has not signed the front side of a few payroll checks saw it too. But was there anything else that you saw about this thread that is inaccurate?

Thanks form the broke Dick 8 truck guy.