$1.215 Million Verdict for Hall of Fame Sprint Car Driver Burned in Track Fire
Won by Shamberg Johnson & Bergman.
Victor Bergman won a $1.215 million jury verdict for sprint car driver Doug Wolfgang, who suffered severe burns after track operators at Lakeside Speedway left him trapped in a burning cockpit for eight to ten minutes with only two undertrained firefighters on site.
What happened
Doug Wolfgang was one of the most decorated sprint car drivers in the country when he arrived at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas on April 3, 1992, for a media day practice session. He was there as a professional, driving in an event organized by World of Outlaws, Inc. and sanctioned by track operator Mid-America Motorsports.
Wolfgang's car struck an infield tire during the session, spun out of control, and hit a concrete retaining wall. The vehicle's design allowed methanol fuel to pool in the cockpit. The fuel ignited, and Wolfgang was trapped inside a burning car for eight to ten minutes before other drivers finally pulled him free.
The reason the rescue took that long was not mechanical. Lakeside Speedway had stationed only two firefighters at the track that day. The standard for a race of this type called for five to seven. The two who were present lacked the training, coordination, and equipment needed to handle a methanol fire. No one came to Wolfgang's aid in any organized way while he burned.
He was airlifted to the University of Kansas Medical Center with severe burns. The injuries ended his season and altered the course of his career.
Victor A. Bergman of Shamberg, Johnson and Bergman, along with co-counsel Patrick A. Hamilton and Stephen N. Six, took the case to trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas. The theory was premises liability and wanton conduct: Lakeside Speedway, as the track operator, owed Wolfgang a duty to maintain adequate fire rescue capability, and World of Outlaws, as the sanctioning body, bore its own duty to ensure the race environment was safe for its competitors. The jury agreed on both counts.
The verdict totaled $1,215,000. The jury allocated sixty percent of fault to Lakeside and forty percent to World of Outlaws. Both defendants appealed. The Tenth Circuit affirmed the verdict in full on April 28, 1997, upholding the trial court's liability findings and the damages award.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
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