subject: Families Are Compensated In Excess Of $1,000,000 For Death Of Pedestrian With The Right Legal Approa [print this page] Pedestrian accident cases commonly cause fatalities. As per information from a few years ago, a pedestrian fatality happens due to a motor vehicle accident approximately every 111 minutes. That is 4,500 killed pedestrians each year. When handling a case involving a fatal pedestrian accident, attorneys need to be able to be aware of the nature of the damages that may exist in the individual case and to thoroughly go after all possible assets that could be used for a settlement.
Look at, for instance, the documented case in which the driver actually admitted to being at fault for the motor vehicle accident. The driver was turning left when he hit and killed a 62 year-old man crossing the street on a walk signal. These facts were not denied by the driver. The issue concerned the amount that could be recovered. The defendant only had fifteen thousand dollars worth of insurance. The law firm that represented the family of the victim achieved a settlement for the victims adult children that included both the defendant's policy limits plus $1,000,000 from the drivers employer. They accomplished this by demonstrating that at the time of the accident the driver, even though he was driving his own automobile, was on his way to a store to buying starter fluid for his employers truck. They established that the driver was acting within the course and scope of his employment when the accident happened and thus reached the employers insurance policy for the extra $1,000,000.
In another lawsuit, as a man was walking on a sidewalk, the 90 year-old was hit from behind by a pickup truck. The accident took place 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 law firm that handled this case on behalf of the victims adult children brought claims against the driver, he drivers employer, the developer at the site, and the contractor. Two of the defendany settled. The developer for two hundred thousand dollars and the contractor for an additional one hundred fifty thousand dollars. While the driver's employer did not deny liabity if the driver were liable, the employer took the position that the driver was not liable because the real cause of the accident was the developer who did not have a lookout person at the location as 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 look into all possible sources of recovery. An attorney handling one of these lawsuits must look to all possible defendants. This can include employers and anyone else who can be vicariously liable. Applying this lesson may make a substantial difference in the amount recovered on behalf of the family of a pedestrian killed in a motor vehicle accident.
