Posts Tagged ‘Wrongful Death’

Around 4:00 p.m. on June 28^th, a 25-year-old Nashville man was driving an Explorer and was moving from one lane to the other to pass through the slower moving traffic on Briley Parkway in Nashville, Tennessee. He soon lost control on the wet road, and slid and rolled over. The man was not wearing his seat belt and was ejected from his car, where he died at the scene.

Our sympathies go out to this young man’s family and friends. This was a pointless, unnecessary death and I am sure they are suffering from this loss. Is there anything that can be learned from this kind of accident? A couple of things maybe: First, wet roads present a much greater risk to drivers than they think (click here for more info). Dropping your speed, regardless of your vehicle, tires, or handling is the smart thing to do. Second, even if this crash was unavoidable, would this young Nashville man have died if he were wearing a seat belt?

According to the National Traffic Safety Administration, fifty-five percent of people killed in car accidents were not wearing seat belts (see here). The numbers for car wrecks in Nashville aren’t any different. The unasked question has to do with this young man’s age. His greatest risk of death at this age is from a car accident. Statistics prove it (see here). What are we doing about it? The smart thing would be to restrict vehicle use among young men under 30 – that alone would save tens of thousands of lives, and hundreds of deaths in Tennessee from car accidents.

1-800-377-HURT (4878)

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A driver of a pick up truck was driving on Bell Road in Nashville around 7:45 p.m. in early September, when he struck a pedestrian and fled the scene. The young lady he hit was heading home from Percy Priest Lake here in Nashville, when she was carelessly run over. Her sister was on the way to pick her up, and saw the accident unfold. The passenger of the pick up truck in this later returned to the scene, and told officers who the driver was, and told officers that he pled with the driver to go back after the truck hit this young woman.

It is alleged that the two people in the truck were drinking before the accident. After the accident was aired on News channels, the driver turned himself in. He was later released on bond. The young woman struck in this collision later died in a Nashville hospital.

This is another sad case of what drunk driving can do to yourself, and families. You not only can destroy your life, but another’s in seconds. The family of the 22-year-old young woman now wants to know why the man responsible was able to leave with no charges, still with his license. Drunk driving is the cause of thousands of fatalities each year, (for more information about fatalities linked to drunk driving, click here). The criminal justice system is only part of the solution to this problem, as you can see by what has happened here. For example, can we be sure that this driver isn’t driving today? Suing these kinds of drivers makes sense and sends a message that you can’t walk away by paying a fine, attending classes, and spending a few days in jail.

1-800-377-HURT (4878)

www.seriousinjury.com

Just before noon last Saturday, The Tennessee Highway Patrol responded to a Nashville car
accident that took the life of an innocent 4 year old child, and the driver of another car that was
involved. Authorities say that a 28 year old woman was driving a black Honda south on
Nolensville Road when she lost control of her car, and veered into oncoming traffic, causing
the fatal car crash.

According to the State Troopers, she had clipped two cars, then inevitably
crashed head on into another car. Five vehicles were involved in the end. The sweet little girl was
thrown from the back seat of her mother’s Nissan Maxima. She was pronounced dead on the way
to the hospital.

The driver of the Honda, we are told, may have been under the influence of alcohol,
as the investigators found alcohol bottles inside her car. She was pronounced dead on arrival.
Neither the driver of the Honda, nor the little girl were wearing seat belts. The mother of the
toddler was transported to Vanderbilt Hospital, where her condition is now unknown. The driver
and passenger of one other car were arrested for leaving the scene of a car accident, and not having
a valid license.

Certainly, this little girl should have been in proper restraints but she would be alive today but for the irresponsible behavior of the drunk driver.  Drunk drivers cause car wrecks in Nashville and Tennessee on a daily basis. Let’s not blame the victim.

1-800-377-HURT (4878)

www.seriousinjury.com

On May 13 a 57 year old woman was killed in a Nashville car wreck on I 40.  A black SUV is suspected as having hit her in the rear and causing her to lose control. If you have information about a Black SUV that was on the scene on this date, please contact the Metro Police or reply to this blog.

This poor lady was killed. Was there insurance for the family left behind?  Maybe. The kind of insurance that can provide for your family if you are killed in a Nashville hit and run accident is called “uninsured motorist coverage”

Unfortunately, getting the insurance company to pay an “uninsured motorist claim” isn’t always easy. You have to be able to prove you left the road (that’s what happened here) because of someone else’s bad driving. When there are eyewitnesses or an arrest, it’s easy. In a case like this you have to take advantage of physical evidence at the scene and property damage on the car, and it may require expert testimony.

If you are a victim of a hit and run accident in Tennessee, you will need legal help if you are making a claim using your uninsured motorist coverage.

If you or anyone you know has been killed or suffered a personal injury in Nashville, please contact Nashville injury attorney Phillip Miller and the Nashville personal injury attorneys at Phillip Miller and Associates at (615) 356-2000, or contact our office online here. No matter what you do, before you settle your case with an insurance adjuster, read our materials on dealing with insurance adjusters first!

One last thing: If you are hurt and have any questions at all, contact our office at (615) 356-2000. Don’t delay. Cases involving personal injury or death in Tennessee must be acted on quickly. Time is running. Call for an appointment, if it’s bad enough that you need to read this far into a website blog, it’s bad enough to get an attorney involved. Contact us before you settle your case with an insurance adjuster!

Car accidents that are head on create a different risk for those involved. A  7 year study released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that despite the use of airbags and seat belts, deaths from head on or frontal collisions continue. Head-on crashes have always been very dangerous collisions, but the presence of airbags was expected to almost eliminate the risk of death from these kind of car accidents. The study shows that among other things the size of the occupant may determine how effective an airbag and seat belt system will be in preventing death from a head-on or front collision. Too big or too small and the airbag may not protect you. If the angle of impact is not completely head-on the airbag may not protect you. If the impact is very severe, the airbag may not protect you. Will this study bring about changes in airbag design? Unlikely in my opinion – at least anytime soon, the American auto industry has too much going on and safety improvements are unlikely to be part of their agenda (profits will be). The lesson is for drivers everywhere to not put too much faith in the “safety technology” in their cars. A front end collision in Nashville or anywhere else can result in serious injury even in a car with all the latest safety equipment. To review this study and other information about your rights go to our website, or click here for the details of this NHTSA study.

Guardrails save thousands of lives each year by keeping cars away from dangerous drop-offs, ravines, and other traffic. Traffic deaths would be infinitely higher without them. Like most things, there is a right and wrong way to place guardrails. There is a safe way, and an unsafe way.  If guardrails are place too high, too close to the roadway they don’t serve their purpose and can become an object that can cause injury and death. A recent case in New Jersey illustrates the tragedy from the unsafe, incompetent use of guardrails. A 34 year old man was in a car on his way to the airport. When the driver lost control of the car, the car hit the guard rail. So what? Usually this would mean some damage to the car, and missing an airplane…but nothing more. Unfortunately, this guard rail was too high and too close to the roadway, it served as a spear that ended up piercing the passenger compartment and killing the passenger. This unnecessary, wrongful death resulted in a lawsuit and ultimately a multi-million dollar settlement, but despite the settlement and dangers of the guardrail the turnpike authority didn’t fix it. They paid the money but didn’t fix the problem?  What kind of goobers are in charge of things up there? The widow has gone on record pointing out that the guardrail is still unchanged, and needs to be. Let’s hope they pay attention to her, finally.

A Minnesota Judge has punished Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad for destroying evidence and lying about the cause of a rail road crossing accident that killed 4 young people in 2003.  After considering the conduct of the railroad, the Judge ordered them to pay an additional $4 million to the families and their lawyers. Hoorah! Businesses of all kinds can go over the top when it comes to defending themselves in lawsuits, often spending more to defend a case than it would cost to settle it. Why? Someone in the organization has an ego that prevents them from admitting a mistake, or accepting any personal responsibility for a tragedy. It’s always easy to blame the victim, and unfortunately there are some people on juries who will do the same. Is that the kind of society we want to live in? A society where companies can hire lawyers to fight off victims so that they get little or nothing? The railroad isn’t the only industry that has done this, the same has been said of insurance companies handling automobile accident claims. For more information about auto insurance companies attempts to unfairly deny, delay and defend claims, click here.  For additional information about this Minnesota case punishing the railroad, click here.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration traffic deaths for the first six months of 2009 decreased 7% from 2008, the lowest number of car accident deaths since 2005. Still over 16,626 people were killed in auto accidents, with Nashville and Tennessee getting more than their share. So far in 2009, February has the largest drop in motor vehicle deaths, more than 16%.  So, what’s the reason for the reduction in deaths from car wrecks in Nashville and other cities? One factor is a reduction in miles driven, but that’s only about 1% for the year. The rest of the explanation? Safer cars certainly has contributed to the drop, with anti-lock brakes and airbags being more and more common. For anyone who thinks they are getting a deal on a used car – don’t waste your money on anything that doesn’t have anti-lock brakes and airbags.  For more information about fatality data for 2009, click here.