Pedestrian Compensated $1.2 Million When Evidence Showed Defendant Falsified Testimony Of How Accident Took Place
By: J. Hernandez
Submitted: 2010-11-29 21:57:48 | Word Count: 863
One would anticipate that a person who brings about an accident in which another person is badly injured would take responsibility for their actions and do everything in their power to help the victim recover for his or her injuries. Any attorney who handles motor vehicle accidents that result in disastrous injuries, though, will at some point come across a situation in which the driver simply lies about what occurred in an effort to avoid legal responsibility.
When lawyers run into a scenario in which they believe this to be the case they should fully investigate the circumstances of the accident. Sometimes this requires getting the help of experts, for example, an accident reconstruction expert or a toxicologist. In other cases, though, the best approach could be to let the facts of the matter speak for themselves. Finding and reviewing every detail of the location of the accident, interviewing everyone who saw the accident, and using common sense might be difference in being able to rebut the story made up by the driver. Look at the way the attorney representing the victim managed to position the following matter:
[ advertisement ]
In this case, the driver who caused this pedestrian accident was driving a company truck and was acting in the scope of his employment at the time of the accident. The driver lost control of the tractor-trailer which went up onto the sidewalk and crashed into a pedestrian. In response to the victim's claim the driver asserted that he was not at fault in the accident since the reason he had lost control of the truck was that he had lost consciousness following a severe fit of coughing. The driver was driving the truck on behalf of his employer. This meant the employer was liable if the driver was liable.
The driver alleged that he was not liable because a medical emergency caused the accident. The employer thus took the position that it too had no liability. The direction of the case began to change, however, as the law firm representing the victim did not accept the claims by the driver and his employer. They pursued the claim and discovered that the driver had on 3 prior occassions also claimed medical emergencies were the reason he had had accidents
The employer responded with a doctor's certificate written just sixteen days earlier than the accident clearing their employee as able to drive a tractor trailer. By disclosing the certificate the employer kept going in their attempt to keep making their argument that the accident was the result of a medical emergency and to refute any liability for the accident. Yet this did not keep the law firm from handling the case. By carring out a methodical investigation they established that the defendant had given the doctor a bogus medical history materially influencing the physician's conclusion as to his ability to drive a truck. In addition, the driver never said anything about having lost consciousness to the policewhen intervied shortly after the accident and seemed lucid.
The female victim, only 58 years old, suffered multiple serious injuries. A ligament on the thumb of her dominant hand was ruptured. Her clavicle was fractured. Three of her ribs were fracture. She also suffered a skull fracture. Given that the defendants claimed they had no responsibility for the accident, and consequently had no liability, the law firm that represented the woman went forward with the case all the way to trail. While in the trial the trial the law firm was able to convince the jury that the defendant had invented the story of the coughing fit and the loss of consciousness only after the victim went forward with her case so as to avoid responsibility for the accident. As a result, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the female victim in the amount of $1,200,000.
Most defendants are honest and give an accurate account of the way the accident happened. Most even admit that they were responsible for the accident. Even those who are honest in their description of the accident, however, sometimes remember it incorrectly. Finally though there are those that simply lie. As this matter illustrates there is no substitute for a thoroughly working up a case.
It takes experience to recognize when a driver's version of the accident is suspicious, it takes the ability to spend the time and resources to uncover the true facts, and it takes the willingness to take on the challenge. If the law firm helping the victim had stopped with the story as told by the driver and the information released by the driver's employer they would never have uncovered the evidence that led to a $1.2 million jury award.
Author Resource:-
Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting motor vehicle accident cases. To learn more about the way a truck accident attorney may be able to help you and about other vehicle accident matters including fatal car accident matters visit the websites
