Recall a few weeks ago a story about a neurosurgeon who'd attended one of McLaren's—yes, the supercar company—experiences. The event took place in the Arctic, where guests were treated to 5-star accommodations and food, as well as ice-track driving in the supercar company's vehicles. Along with the option to go on a snowmobile ride through the forests surrounding the event.
Based on that description, it sounds like heaven. But that's not how it all went down for neurosurgeon Andrew Cannestra and his partner.
Instead of a brisk and fun trek into the snowy woods behind the bars of a snowmobile, Cannestra and his partner crashed head-first into a tree, throwing the two off the sled, and causing multiple injuries to both. Cannestra, for his part, was supposedly unconscious for around 30 minutes while emergency response attended to the crash. The surgeon recently brought a lawsuit against the brand, alleging they had not made a reasonable effort in ensuring everyone's safety at the event, and was seeking around $15 million in damages.
McLaren, on its side, said Cannestra was to blame. And now, after only a few weeks, so have the courts, which have tossed Cannestra's lawsuit out.
Cannestra was done in by himself in the end, as McLaren submitted evidence of the surgeon asking the guides for "more speed," telling the staff he was an "adrenaline junkie," and joking with staff after the crash, asking them through text, "I owe you guys a snowmobile?" after telling them it was "my error and my responsibility" due to "my little self-destructive snowmobile behaviour", in the court filing reported by The Times. Basically, he admitted he'd caused the crash, and not that the guides had been irresponsible with their instruction, the setup of the event, and weren't at fault for his crash as he alleged in the original lawsuit.
Maybe don't text it was your fault and then try and sue folks for what you allege as their malfeasance? You'd think a neurosurgeon would've been smarter...
Adding insult to injury, however, is that because of how Cannestra sued McLaren, where he sued McLaren, and the resulting verdict that it was Cannestra that had caused the accident, as well as essentially lied about the whole thing, the doctor will now have to face whether or not he'll be paying for McLaren's legal bills. Yep, he's possibly liable to cover McLaren's legal costs.
So in the end, Cannestra not only paid for the experience, not only caused the accident, not only has to pay his lawyers, not only won't get the $15 million he was seeking, but also will likely have to pay an additional fee to cover McLaren's bills. All because he just couldn't ride at his own limits. Let that be your reminder, you aren't a race driver, and the forest is a harsh place to find that reminder.
