Michigan car owner sued after Jeep kills mechanic during oil change

It's no-ones fault...

This is what I call a classic accident...

* I'd guess that the older mechanic that lost his life, was the one who parked the beast on the hoist & left it in gear, so it wouldn't roll when setting-up the hoist-pads ?...This is what I'd do if the vehicles are known to roll / creep once setting-up for a hoist. I also have the drivers-window down so that I can select neutral again once the car is hoisted, so that all the wheels are free to rotate & inspect whilst the oil is draining-out...Strange it was left in gear imo.

Just bad-luck here, & this is where new laws & rules are made from to try & prevent this.

One man, one job is also a good safety measure to consider...(It's likely the above accident wouldn't have happened).

It's the 19 year old kid's fault, but the dealership's insurance should pay for it.

Yes, the kid did cause the death with his ignorance, or just plain lack of a visual to see if it was still in gear. I'm sure he knows how a stick works, he just hadn't driven one enough to have a working knowledge. 

Back in the old days this kind of thing happend all the time, and it was not exclusive to mechanics... I have let the cluch out a few times back in the day only to slam on the brakes as it lurched forward... hell I don't even think they had clutch safety switches on some cars from the factory way back in the day... go back far enough you had to hand crank your engine! Imagine how many people we would lose each year to Darwin if they brought that back? 

Then there is the fact this is MICHIGAN... and we all know how protected dealerships are here in this state. It's possible with the laws the dealership, well at this point we should call it the dealerships insurance companies lawyers, it's possible that they could wiggle out of some parts of this, but ultimatly they will have to pay out compensation for the person who died on the job. I think in this case a settlement might be reached, but that won't bring back the dead guy and the kids gonna have to live with it the rest of his life, may even face charges if he doesn't at least appear to be remorseful.

It's a dangerous business the Automotive Repair business... no lie.