Widespread fallout was most assuredly coming in the wake of the massive 40-vehicle pileup that occurred on a stretch of I-10 in eastern New Orleans in late December of last year.

As we reported in an earlier blog post (January 3, 2012), that chain-collision car accident took the lives of two people and injured scores more. Emergency responders, law enforcement officials and witnesses say that a combination of factors most immediately brought about the crash, especially bad street lighting and poor visibility owing to fog and smoke.

Now the lawsuits are starting. One of them, filed by an injured New Orleans motorist last week, alleges that multiple parties were lax in their duty to take proactive steps to reduce known dangers and to warn drivers of them prior to the crash. He says that, had they done their jobs, the chain collision likely would never have occurred.

The man was in the middle of the accident and driving a pick-up drive that crashed into a truck in front of him. He broke a bone in his foot.

His legal complaint cites negligence on the part of the state of Louisiana, the city of New Orleans and Pine Island Limited Partnership, which owns marshland adjacent to the interstate that has been burning over a several-month period.

That should have never been the case, the lawsuit alleges. The burning was creating a noxious smell and making people ill and, even more importantly, greatly reducing motorists' vision on the road, reducing it at points to zero visibility. The state and city were well aware of the adverse condition, the complaint states, and failed to provide either proper lighting or warnings concerning the poor visibility.

The marsh fire continues to burn on the east side of the city.

Source: WWLTV Eyewitness News, "Lawsuits filed in 40-vehicle fatal accident" Paul Murphy, Jan. 17, 2012