Lessons Uncovered Due To The Review Of 2 Automobile Accidents
By: J. Hernandez
Submitted: 2010-07-02 13:02:56 | Word Count: 694
There will be roughly three million people injured this year in a motor vehicle accident. Two million of these victims will suffer irreversible disabilities. That is approximately 1 permanent injury from a motor vehicle accident every 16 seconds. Each case is different and presents its own individual challenges. Three such cases are discussed below so as to see the lessons that may be learned from the way they were handled.
In one case involving a motor vehicle accident, while his view of a stop sign was obstructed by a truck that was parked in a no-parking zone, a driver from a local Pizzeria failed to stop the a stop sign. Entering the intersection, he broad-sided another car. The victim in the automobile that was broadsided suffered nerve damage to his hand and disc herniations in the neck and back. He went through a total of four surgeries for his neck and back and an additional surgery for his arm. He He required 4 surgeries for the disc herniations. He furthermore needed a separate surgery for his hand. After the accident he was no longer able to play sports, a favorite activity of his. The law firm that handled this claim announced a combined settlement for the sum of $900,000 from the driver, the owners of the truck, and the pizzeria.
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The defendant in a second lawsuit somehow lost control of the vehicle she was driving. The car went across a number of lanes striking another car that was approaching from the opposite direction. Due to the crash, the driver of the car that was hit suffered injuries to both her cervical and lumbar discs, and tore both the lateral and medial menisci of her right knee. The plaintiff required surgery for her knee injury. The defendant driver had a maximum of $100,000 coverage in her insurance policy. The case went to trial and the law firm that helped the victim documented that they were able to achieve a jury verdict for the sum of $625,000 for the plaintiff. It was not clear from the report if the entire sum was recovered (possiblye from the victim's own underinsured coverage, from a bad faith lawsuit against the defendant's insurer or from other assets of the defendant).
An important lesson that can be learned from these cases is that there may be individuals or even entities other than a driver who has at least partial responsibility for the accident. In the first case, for example, the driver was in the course and scope of his employment for a pizzeria at the time of the accident. As such, the pizzeria was also liable for the negligence of its driver. The owners of the truck that obstructed the stop sign while parked illegally were also partially at fault and thus were also liable.
The second lesson is that injuries from Motor vehicle accidents May have Significant, even devastating long-term results. These can include permanent disabilities, the necessity for costly medical treatment, the loss of time from work or even an inability to return to work, and permanent pain.
The third and last lesson is that one should always hold sufficient uninsured and underinsured coverage under one's own policy to deal with possible substantial lifelong disabilities. Getting additional insurance to protect against significant damages is only marginally more expensive than taking out basic coverage. Too many people do not carry adequate insurance in the event the defendant does not carry enough insurance.
An experienced motor vehicle accident lawyer will handle each lawsuit as unique, will calculate an appropriate value for the claim, and will consider all possible means of compensation. Since the law limits the time within which a victim can pursue a personal injury lawsuit, you should contact an attorney immediately.
Author Resource:-
Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting catastrophic injury cases. You can learn more about
motor vehicle accident matters and about other matters including bicycle accident visit the websites
