subject: The Importance Of Determining The Right Defendants In Automobile Accident Matters [print this page] If we go into an intersection as a driver or even as a passenger we assume that we will be safe, provided that any controls for example traffic lights, one-way signs, and stop signs, are obeyed by those entering the intersection. People anticipate that an intersection onto a one-way street permitting travel from the left to the right only would either have a one-way or a no-left-hand-turn sign clearly delimiting which actions are permitted and which are not. When an intersection does not have any signs or controls indicating that it is for one-way traffic alone this leaves people a false feeling of security.
Take into account for instance what led to a reported vehicle accident lawsuit in which two vehicles collided as one was going straight and the other was making a left hand turn. The intersection was situated near to a neighborhood parish which was getting construction work done in the vicinity. The construction company had removed not left turn and one way signs that had previously been placed by the city so as to to control the intersection. By taking a left hand turn the vehicle went the wrong way into a one way street. So by taking the left hand turn this vehicle ended up going the wrong way straight onto traffic coming in the opposite direction.
The vehicle that turned left had a thirty five year old female in the passenger seat. As a result of the collision, the passenger suffered a cervical fracture leaving her a quadriplegic. When the claim was resolved the victim had incurred hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of medical costs |The victim's initial medical expenses came to over $435,000 and will need roughly another $4 million for future medical treatment. The victim lost an estimated half a million dollars in future income because she would be unable to go back to work.
The lawsuit named several defendants. The parish was a defendant. The construction contractor was a defendant. And the project engineers were also named as defendants. The claim claimed that each was in some way liable for the accident by taking down the signs showing that it was a right turn only intersection. The law firm reported that it was able to reach a settlement with the parish for $500,000 (the maximum amount recoverable from that defendant under the applicable state law), $1,000,000 from the project engineers, and $2 million from the construction contractor . The law firm was thus able to report a total settlement amount of $4.5 million for the victim.
Identifying the right defendants is an essential step in positioning the claim. Given the facts of this accident neither driver seems to have been liable for the accident. It does not seem that they did not follow any of the rules of the road and/or violate any posted rules relating to the intersection. Nor was the accident the result of any evident distraction on their part. Not surprisingly, though, at least some of the defendants reportedly originally denied liability and tried to blame the driver who took the left-hand turn.
by: Joseph Hernandez
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