Articles Posted in Car Accidents

A new trial has been granted to a car accident victim who successfully asserted before a state supreme court that the defense misrepresented material evidence.

She had been seeking more than $17,000 in damage, but only received $4,000 at trial; – which was far less than even what defense counsel thought was reasonable under the circumstances.

Now, she will have an opportunity for a retrial after the Montana Supreme Court found that was the only fair remedy for plaintiff, who was unduly prejudiced when defense counsel admitted into evidence photographs of defendant’s vehicle that did not reflect the accident in question, but rather a different collision that happened a year later. Not only that, but defense stipulated when those photos were admitted that the images reflected the damage in question, even though it was later conceded the images were of a different crash.
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The Labor Day weekend is a time to honor the nation’s workers. It’s also unfortunately for some an excuse to drink and drive in Florida.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that during the 2013 Labor Day holiday, which runs the course of the long weekend, almost half of those ages 18 to 34 killed in traffic accidents were in crashes that involved a drunk driver. Further, just in 2013, more than 200 children younger 14 in the U.S. died in drunk driving crashes over the long weekend. Even drunk drivers themselves aren’t safe. Between 2009 and 2013, more than 500 drunk drivers were killed during labor day weekend.

In response to this dire issue, many law enforcement agencies throughout Florida – and the country – are initiating public awareness campaigns as well as increased DUI enforcement effort. The goal is to drive down the number of drunk driving deaths during the Labor Day holiday.
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The tragic death of a 17-year-old in Connecticut has affected many lives forever, including those of her parents and also her peers, who allegedly allowed her to get behind the wheel with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.27 – more than three times the legal limit for someone over the age of 21. It’s 13 times the legal limit of 0.02 for a driver under the age of 21.

The girl had been drinking at a party prior to the crash. Four teenage boys got into the vehicle she had borrowed from her parents. She didn’t drive initially, one of those 16-year-old boys did. He dropped off one of the other boys. He then drove to his own house and got out of the vehicle. At that point, another of male teen passengers got behind the wheel of the car and drove to his own home. There, he and the fourth boy got out, leaving the visibly impaired 17-year-old with her own keys. They never tried to stop her.

Less than a mile down the road, she crashed her vehicle into a tree and was pronounced dead. The last two of her friends to see her alive are facing charges of reckless endangerment for allowing her to drive drunk. And now, the girl’s father has filed a civil lawsuit against not just them, but their parents, as well as the female teen host of the party and her parents, for negligently supplying alcohol.
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Authorities in Plantation have launched an extensive investigation into the death of a 31-year-old Davie man who was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver.

The man was driving when he crashed at an intersection of South Pine Island Road. For unknown reasons, the truck veered off the road and struck a utility pole. His 37-year-old passenger was ejected from the vehicle in that initial impact and later pronounced dead at the scene. But the driver managed to crawl out of his truck. As he did so, he was struck by a passing vehicle. The other driver failed to stop. Victim was rushed to a nearby hospital where he also was pronounced dead.

Police have released detailed information to the public, hoping for a break in the case.

Sadly, it’s just one of many hit-and-run cases in South Florida. In fact, despite a law that hardens the penalties for those convicted of hit-and-run, the crime is on the rise.
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In any car accident case, an experienced injury lawyer must carefully review the facts and identify all possible defendants.

These will include not only the alleged at-fault driver and his insurance company, but also:
–The owner of the vehicle (if different from the driver) and his insurer;
–The bar or establishment that sold alcohol to an underage, at-fault drunk driver;
–The manufacturer of the vehicle or vehicle equipment (if a defect was a factor);
–Other passengers in the car of the at-fault driver (if they encouraged or helped carry out reckless operation of the vehicle);
–The employer of the at-fault driver (if he or she was working at the time of the crash);
–The city, county or state responsible for unsafe roads.

These are just a few examples, and it depends heavily on the underlying situation.

In the recent case of Cordova v. City of Los Angeles, the California Supreme Court remanded a case back to trial court, finding plaintiff may have grounds to sue the city after the negligent driving of a third party resulted in several death on city roads in Los Angeles.
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The ride-sharing service Uber has been under a barrage of fire lately for everything from the way it pays its workers to questions of whether it wrongly advertises safety claims to issues of liability for crashes.

But there is apparently one bit of good news to emerge recently.

A study conducted by Philadelphia’s Temple University analyzes the effect of this service on alcohol-related traffic deaths. Researchers looked at the data collected on DUI fatalities from a five year span, stretching from 2009 through 2014 in California. The ride-sharing phenomenon has picked up a great deal of steam there.

What they discovered was this: In cities where ride-sharing services were prevalent, incidents of alcohol-related traffic accidents dropped by nearly 6 percent.
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Motorcycling was just one of the many things original plaintiff in State Farm v. Earl used to love. He also greatly enjoyed fishing, hunting, playing in a local men’s basketball league and playing with his grandchildren. He also co-owned a small construction business, offering custom excavating and sewer services.

But all that changed in September 2008. While he was operating his motorcycle along I-65 in Indiana, a tractor-trailer entered his lane. He was forced into the median and thrown from his motorcycle at an estimated speed of 65 miles-per-hour. It did not look good at first. His injuries were extensive, including numerous bones that were crushed and fractured. His left lung collapsed, his liver was lacerated and he suffered a blood clot in his left leg that could have been fatal. In fact, the trauma team that treated him noted most people don’t survive that kind of crash. This one did, but the recovery was long.

Despite the seriousness of the crash, the driver of that tractor-trailer did not stop and was never identified. This left motorcyclist with few options for recovery of damages for medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering. In addition to personal injury protection benefits, he and his wife had an uninsured motorist coverage plan.
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The National Transportation Safety Board has completed a report following a fatal tractor-trailer crash in June that happened in Tennessee, but could just as easily have happened in Florida.

The driver was contracted to transport a refrigerated trailer from Kentucky to Florida and back along I-75. After a series of roadway mishaps and failure to adhere to national drive time standards, the driver crashed into numerous vehicles on the highway.

In all, six people were killed and four were injured as he was driving through Ooltewah, TN.

According to media reports, the driver has since been charged with numerous felonies, including driving under the influence of narcotics and six counts of vehicular homicide.
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The majority of car accident lawsuits are settled outside of court, prior to the trial phase.

However, the personal injury lawyer you choose to handle your case should have ample trial experience. Some cases are best resolved at that level, and trial procedures are complex and fast-paced.

Although the actual crash may have been a fairly straightforward occurrence and fault is clear, liability may be less clear when a defendant calls into question the medical history of a plaintiff relative to causation of injuries. One example was seen recently in the Nevada Court of Appeals case of Sanders v. Sears-Page.

In fact, defendant admitted she was at-fault for the crash. She had made a right turn from the left lane and struck plaintiff’s vehicle. Initially, the collision appeared minor and plaintiff did not complain of any trouble or seek medical attention. But as the hours wore on, her neck pain intensified. It worsened over the course of several days, and she sought treatment at a local neck and spine care center.
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For years, it seemed as if the officials with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration were asleep at the wheel.

The agency was slammed by members of Congress during hearings on Capitol Hill in which lawmakers criticized the failure to take swift, aggressive action over both the General Motors ignition switch failures in 2014 and Toyota’s sudden acceleration problems in 2009. The agency was seen as weak as it was openly challenged by Chrysler in 2013 over the recall of 2.6 million Jeep sport utility vehicles.

But now, with new leadership, it seems the agency may finally be shifting gears.
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