Near-Fatal Hit-and-Run Pedestrian Accident on Highway 6
Two motorists struck a man who was crossing the northbound lanes of SH 6. One stopped and the other one didn’t.
According to police, a man was trying to cross the northbound lanes in a dark stretch of road where there wasn’t a crosswalk. Police say the man was first struck by a Toyota sedan and then run over by a dark vehicle. The driver of the Toyota sedan stopped and attempted to render aid, but police say the driver of the second vehicle continued driving.
The man was taken to the hospital with very extreme injuries. Investigators have little hope of locating the hit-and-run driver, according to police.
Hit-and-Run Basics
These victims hardly ever obtain justice or compensation in criminal court. Fewer than 10 percent of hit-and-run drivers are successfully prosecuted in criminal court. Furthermore, at most, a criminal court judgment may order the defendant to pay some medical bills.
A well-prepared Sugar Land car accident lawyer, on the other hand, can obtain both these things in civil court.
The burden of proof in civil court is only a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not). If an attorney spots a vehicle with collision damage on a blurry image from a nearby surveillance camera, that vehicle was, more likely than not, involved in the hit-and-run crash. Likewise, the vehicle’s owner was, more likely than not, driving the car at the time.
Additionally, an attorney can obtain substantial compensation in court. This compensation includes money for all economic damages, including medical bills and lost wages, as well as noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. Furthermore, since most jurors intensely dislike most hit-and-run drivers, additional punitive damages may be available as well.
Multiple Tortfeasors in Car Crash Cases
Cause is difficult to determine if multiple tortfeasors (negligent drivers) were involved in an accident, like the one described above, or a chain-reaction crash. Usually, a Missouri personal injury lawyer doesn’t need to worry about this problem.
Under Texas law, tortfeasors are jointly and severally (completely) liable for damages if they were more than 50 percent at fault or acted intentionally. These defendants may be eligible for contribution and indemnity (partial setoff). But that dispute is between defendants.
Instead, personal injury lawyers are free to concentrate on victims and their injuries. Car crash injuries usually include head injuries and other wounds that are serious or fatal.
Defenses in Pedestrian Accident Claims
Insurance company defenses, usually sudden emergency or comparative fault, could reduce or eliminate compensation in a pedestrian accident case, even if the tortfeasor was clearly at fault.
The sudden emergency doctrine is a complete negligence defense that torpedoes the victim’s injury claim. It applies if the tortfeasor:
- Reasonably reacted to
- A sudden emergency.
In the above story, the first driver, who stopped, reasonably reacted to the wreck. The second driver, who didn’t stop, didn’t react reasonably.
However, the first driver probably cannot claim this defense. A jaywalking pedestrian is usually not a sudden (completely unexpected and impossible to anticipate) emergency.
Contributory negligence is usually a partial defense. Generally, comparative fault in a pedestrian accident claim is a victim’s failure to stop and look both ways and/or cross in a safe location. If the victim in the above story didn’t do either of these things, the comparative fault defense might apply.
One out of two probably means the victim’s negligence didn’t substantially contribute to the wreck, which means the defense is legally unavailable.
If the judge allows the insurance company to use the defense, jurors must divide fault on a percentage basis between the two parties. Texas is a modified comparative fault state with a 51 percent line. Victims are eligible for a proportionate share of damages if they’re no more than 49 percent responsible for a wreck.
Rely on a Detail-Oriented Harris County Lawyer
Injury victims are entitled to significant compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Missouri City, contact the Henrietta Ezeoke Law Firm. We do not charge upfront legal fees in these matters.
Source:
fox26houston.com/news/houston-hit-and-run-crash-sh-6-ashford-point
