A rainstorm, a flood, children trapped in a minivan. Rushing water sweeps a senior citizen into a sewer. The shocking nature of the deaths belie the bigger issues involving neglected urban infrastructure and the potential liability of engineering consultants.
Personal injury attorneys often file lawsuits that engineering companies and engineers consider frivolous. These "shotgun" lawsuits really are attempts to intimidate the engineers into a settlement, insurance broker Jeffrey Cavignac wrote years ago, because the cost of defending against the lawsuits can easily surpass any fees earned on the project and it's cheaper to give in.