Two Pedestrian Death Lawsuits With Recoveries Greater Than $1.0 Million

Two Pedestrian Death Lawsuits With Recoveries Greater Than $1.0 Million

If past information can assist us in foretelling the future, a pedestrian will die from a motor vehicle accident around once every 111 minutes meaning approximately 4,500 total pedestrian deaths this year. Attorneys who handle motor vehicle accident cases involving the death of a pedestrian should have the experience and the skill to grasp the damages to the victim's family and need knowledge of insurance issues to be able to fully pursue different sources of recovery.

In one case, as he tried to make a left hand turn a driver struck and killed a sixty two year-old male pedestrian crossing the street. There was no dispute that the pedestrian had the right of way. The man died from the resulting injuries. Liability was not disputed in this lawsuit. The driver admitted he was responsible the accident. The issue concerned the amount that could be recovered. The defendant only had fifteen thousand dollars worth of insurance. The law firm that handled the case achieved a settlement on behalf of the victim's adult children that included the defendant's policy limits as well as $1,000,000 from the insurance policy covering the employer of the driver. They accomplished this by showing 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 demonstrated 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.

In the other case, a pickup truck hit a ninety year old male pedestrian while he 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 victim did not survive the accident. The law firm that handled this matter on behalf of the victim's adult children brought claims against the driver, he driver's employer, the developer at the site, and the contractor. The developer settled for $200,000. The contractor settled for $150,000. Even though the driver's employer did not deny liabity if the driver were liable, the employer took the position that the driver was not liable since the real cause of the accident was the developer who failed to have a lookout person at the location while the driver was backing up. After the trial, the jury found against the driver and the employer and ordered that they pay $1.3 million to complensate the victim's family for their loss.

The lesson from these lawsuits is the importance of understanding the value of the damages and to fully check out all possible sources of recovery. A lawyer handling one of these lawsuits needs to look to all possible defendants. This can include employers and anyone else who can be vicariously liable. Applying this lesson may make a major difference in the amount recovered on behalf of the family of a pedestrian killed in a motor vehicle accident.

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