By: J. Hernandez
Submitted: 2010-07-22 13:09:38 | Word Count: 571
Pedestrian accident cases commonly include fatalities. As per a study from a few years ago, a pedestrian is killed in a motor vehicle accident around every 111 minutes. That amounts to 4,500 pedestrian fatalities every year. Lawyers who handle motor vehicle accident claims that resulted in the death of a pedestrian should have the experience and the skill to understand the damages to the victim's family and need knowledge of insurance issues to be able to completely pursue alternative sources of recovery.
In one lawsuit, while attempting to make a left hand turn a driver hit and killed a sixty two year-old male pedestrian crossing the streeton a walk signal. The man did not survive the accident. Culpability was not an issue in this matter. The driver admitted he was responsible the accident. Accordingly the single issue that remained was how much compensation should be awarded to the family of the victim who was killed in the accident. The defendant had an insurance policy with limits of only $15,000. The law firm that represented the family of the victim achieved a settlement on behalf of the victim's adult children that included both the driver's $15,000 insurance policy plus $1 million dollars from the driver's employer. They were able to do this by demonstrating that when the accident happened the driver, even though he was driving his own vehicle, was heading to a store to buying starter fluid for his employer's truck. They established that the driver was acting within the course and scope of his employment at the time of the accident and thus reached the employer's insurance policy for the extra $1,000,000.
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In the other case, a pickup truck struck a ninety year old male pedestrian who was walking on a sidewalk. The accident happened at a construction site as the driver of the trucck was backing up. And hitting the pedestrian, the truck ran over him, and then pulled forward, running over him a second time. The man died of his injuries. The man was survived by his adult children. They retained a law frim which pursued a lawsuit on their behalf. They named the driver, his employer, the developer of the construction site, and the contractor as defendants. The developer settled for $200,000. The contractor settled for $150,000. The employer, while admitting liability, argued that it was the developer was at fault because it did not provide a lookout person as the truck was backing up. The law firm took the case to trial and the jury awarded the family an additional $1.3 Million.
The lesson from these claims is the importance of understanding the value of the damages and to fully look into all possible sources of recovery. A lawyer litigating one of these cases must look to all potential defendants. This can include employers and anyone else who can be vicariously liable. Applying this lesson, even when the potential defendant denies liability, could significantly increase the sum recovered on behalf of the family of a pedestrian killed in a motor vehicle accident.
Author Resource:-
Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting car accident cases. To contact a pedestrian accident lawyer and for further information about othermotor vehicle accident cases visit the websites
