Injury Victim gets Life Flight to Hospital...

by Anonymous
(USA)

A person was driving a company pickup and pulling a utility trailer. There were 2 boxes in back of the truck and they were secured. One box came lose and landed on the dotted line between the inside lane and middle lane. The driver of the truck stopped immediately by pulling to the shoulder. He got out and walked back to the driver side rear tire area.

All traffic had slowed to a stop for the driver to cross and get the box. Then out of nowhere another vehicle came flying up in the middle lane. It swerved to the left, then to the right which caused the vehicle to slide out of control and head straight at the driver of the pickup.

The vehicle crossed 3 lanes of traffic out of control and struck the pickup and the driver, throwing the driver over the trailer into a ditch approximately 30 ft away. The vehicle then bounced off the pickup truck, spun around and slammed into the left front tire area of the pickup, breaking the front axle.

There was a passenger in the pickup which was slammed to the floor on the first hit then thrown out the door on the second hit. The driver got a life flight to the hospital, the passenger was taken via ambulance. Both received multiple bruises and swelling.

The driver took the worst of the hit but had no broken bones. Both were lucky to walk away with their lives. The other vehicle's driver reported 2 minor injuries. Witnesses at the scene stated the vehicle was out of control when it hit the driver of the pickup.

Who's at fault in this scenario? Who should pay the medical bills? Thanks for any info you can give.

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ANSWER for "Injury Victim gets Life Flight to Hospital...":

From the facts you present there seems to be no doubt the “interloper” driver decided to ignore all reasonable notice and proceeded at a high rate of speed, no doubt in violation of the speed limit, and up the middle lane.

Although the driver of the pickup might seem to have some fault, from the facts you present it seems the driver took every reasonable precaution to mitigate and minimize the danger to other drivers.

Now if upon investigation of the collision the police, the courts, or the insurance companies believe the box on the back of the pickup was not tied down properly, an allegation of contributory negligence may arise.

The legal expression, “but for” the box being secured improperly the whole incident would not have happened may have some bearing in this case. Regardless, even if it is found the driver of the pickup has some liability, referred to as contributory negligence, that liability should be minor.

The driver of the speeding car better hope she has plenty of insurance, as there will be multiple lawsuits filed by multiple drivers, against her.

Since laws change frequently and across jurisdictions you should get a personalized case evaluation from an attorney licensed in your state (if you haven't already). Find an experienced local attorney to give you a FREE personalized case review here.


Best of luck,

Law Guy