Damages

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Car Accident Round-Up – PA Woman Dies in Crash

Woman was ejected from the car in the single-car accident

Florida Woman Rescued When Car Plunges into Canal
A Palm Beach County deputy saved a woman from drowning after she crashed her car into a 20-foot-deep canal.  The woman was driving home after working the night shift at Target on Black Friday.  The 36-year-old woman who apparently fell asleep at the wheel near Muck City Road and Conners Highway in Pahokee, FL awoke in the canal and called 911.  She is not able to swim and the deputy arrived in time to pull her to safety.  She was treated at a local hospital and released. 

Fatal NC Accident
An SUV traveling westbound on N.C. 211 unexpectedly slowed and attempted to make a U-turn when it was struck by a tractor-trailer Monday morning.  The driver of the tractor-trailer, traveling behind the SUV, […]

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Ford Motor Company Found Negligent in $73 Million Lawsuit

The Sacramento Bee reports a Sacramento Superior Court jury found Ford Motor Company negligent in informing dealers and owners of defective tires on their E-350 Econoline van, and they must pay $73 million for a crash that killed two people and injured two.

The accident happened more than seven years ago in Kern County, CA after the tread on the rear right tire separated causing the van to skid off I-5 flipping at least four times.  Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, who settled out of court, had contacted Ford alerting them of the tire defect.  Ford did not distribute that information to their dealers or customers.

The auto company must pay $50 million in punitive damages to the families in the suit.  The remaining amount in damages was distributed to the family of a man who died in the accident, and the two others injured.  The family of the second man who died in the accident previously settled their lawsuit. […]

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Kentucky Woman Awarded Over $800,000 in Tractor-Trailer Crash

A Kentucky woman was awarded more than $800,000 by a Vanderburgh Superior Court jury for injuries she suffered in a 2008 vehicle accident with a Fat Boys Trucking semi.  The tractor-trailer driver was cited for disregarding a traffic signal after he ran a red light at U.S. 41 and Indiana 57 in Evansville, KY and struck the woman’s van.

The woman has been unable to work since suffering knee and shoulder injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the accident, according to her lawyer.  The lawsuit was filed seeking compensatory damages against the trucking company.

The woman was traveling westbound on Indiana 57 attempting to turn south onto U.S. 41. when her Dodge Caravan was struck by the semi as it came through the traffic light.  The woman’s van then went to the left, overturning on its side. The truck was hauling over 100 cattle from Kentucky to Kansas.  […]

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GA Men’s Club to Pay $1.75 Million for Over-Serving Alcohol Leading to Deadly Crash

The family of a woman who was killed in a vehicle accident with a drunk driver, who had just left a men’s club in Conley, GA, outside Atlanta, will receive $1.75 million from the club.  The driver had a blood alcohol content of .398, nearly 5 times over the legal limit, at the time of the accident.

The drunk driver was driving his Lincoln Town Car the wrong way on I-20 eastbound in July 2008 and slammed head-on into the victim’s car.  Both drivers died at the scene of the accident. A passenger in the woman’s car died enroute to the local hospital.

The lawsuit alleged that Club Blaze should have known the man was intoxicated and should have stopped serving him.  The jury found that the club over-served alcohol to the man.

If you have been injured or a loved one killed in a vehicle accident that was caused by another person’s carelessness or recklessness, […]

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Nebraska County Found Liable for Accident Due to Poor Signage

A Nebraska jury awarded a 24-year-old Michigan man $407,000 to be paid by Furnas County, Nebraska for the county’s failure to adequately mark a sharp turn in a road where the man crashed his car leaving him with significant injuries.

The judge in the case found the man 40% liable and the county 60% liable. This reduced the amount of the original award of $678,000 for the county. The man was not wearing a seatbelt and was speeding at the time of the accident.  The judge ruled that the signage at the accident site could not be seen at night, and it was placed too close to the 90-degree turn, giving drivers inadequate time to react.

The accident occurred in December 2007, when the man missed the turn and drove off the road causing his car to flip, trapping in the car for hours.  He suffered spinal cord damage requiring multiple surgeries and weeks of hospitalization. […]

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Car Accident Round-Up – Three Die in NY Head-on Collision

Ford Explorer drifts into oncoming lane causing fatal head-on car accident

Three Die in New York Accident
A head-on collision Monday morning between a Ford Explorer and a GMC Jimmy near Bethel, New York killed three people and injured one.  According to police, the Ford Explorer carrying two passengers, was heading east on 17B between White Lake and Fosterdale and drifted into the west bound lanes colliding with the GMC.  The driver of the GMC was wearing his seat belt and his airbag deployed, but he was pinned in the vehicle and died at the scene.  The driver of the Explorer and a back seat passenger, neither of which were wearing their seatbelts, were both ejected and died at the scene.  The front seat passenger was wearing his seatbelt and suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

NY Man Arrested for Vehicular Manslaughter After Accident
A Freeport, […]

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Pennsylvania Family Awarded $2.9 Million in DUI-Hit-and-Run

The family of a 14-year-old Bensalem, Pennsylvania girl who was killed in a 2004 hit-and-run crash while she was trying to cross a road has been awarded $2.9 million by a Bucks County judge.  The case was decided without a jury.

The 21-year-old driver that struck the girl was driving with a suspended license and was found to be intoxicated at the time of the crash.  The police did not charge him with DUI-related hit-and-run saying that road condition and other factors, not his drunkenness, caused the crash.  The driver, however, was sentenced to three to six years in a state prison for the accident, and is currently in jail.

The family of the deceased brought a civil trial against the driver and the owner of the vehicle the man was driving.  According to PhillyBurbs.com, the judge awarded the plaintiffs $697,749.92 in wrongful death damages against both defendants; […]

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Car Accident Round-Up – NJ Town Mourns Four Teenagers

Teen driver loses control of SUV killing four of the eight teen passengers in tragic accident

Four Teenagers Die in NJ SUV Accident
In a tragic single-car accident on Sunday, four teenage football players from Mainland Regional High School in Linwood, NJ lost their lives, and four others were injured, as they headed to a team brunch.  The 17-year-old driver apparently lost control of his SUV, on the Garden State Parkway around 11:45am, as he rounded a crest and came upon heavy traffic, causing the vehicle to flip several times, ejecting two of the passengers.  All eight of the boys, aged 15-17 years-old, were riding in the same vehicle.

NC Accident Kills Three Generations of Women
An SUV carrying eight family members on a return trip home to New York, after vacationing in Florida, crashed on I-95 near Raleigh, NC. According to police, […]

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PATCO to Pay $10 Million in Crash Settlement

After only twenty minutes into a car accident trial last week, a recess was called and the two parties came to agreement on a $10 million settlement to be paid by the Port Authority Transit Corp. (PATCO).   The transit authority had admitted before trial that its truck driver was liable for the collision.

A 55-year-old Berlin, NJ man was driving to work in July 2007 when he was struck by a PATCO truck in Philadelphia, PA.  The man had just crossed a bridge into Philadelphia when the PATCO driver ran a red light and shoved the man’s vehicle into a median strip.  The accident resulted in shattered bones and a broken ankle to the driver.

The man has since undergone 12 surgeries and a painful debriding procedure to try to rid the leg of a serious infection which had begun to cause his flesh to rot.  […]

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Car Accident Round-Up – Teens Involved in Serious VA and NY Accidents

Car accidents claim lives around the United States

Teenagers Die in VA Car Accident
A car accident in Portsmouth, VA late Saturday night left two teenagers dead and one seriously injured.  The accident that occurred on Elmhurst Lane near Victory Boulevard apparently was the result of speeding.  The car swerved off the road then struck several trees and a utility pole ejecting two of the occupants and pinning the third in the car.  The two girls that died were 16-years-old. The third occupant, a 17-year-old male, was hospitalized with unspecified injuries.  Police are unsure of who was driving the car.

Former KY Governor’s Son Dead After Single-Car Wreck
According to the Lexington-Herald Leader, former Kentucky governor Julian Carroll’s son, Bradley, died in a single-car accident Sunday in Franklin County, KY.  Carroll was traveling south on US 421 near the Versailles Road overpass when his Ford Explorer went off the right side of the road, […]

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San Diego Man Awarded $2.4 Million in Asbestos Exposure Lawsuit

A San Diego Navy Veteran who was diagnosed in 2010 with mesothelioma, an asbestos-caused cancer, was awarded $2.4 million in damages after his disease was found to be attributed to his work in ship boiler rooms.

The lawsuit, filed against John Crane, Inc., claimed the plaintiff was exposed to asbestos while serving in the Navy from 1961 to 1971 in his work in the maintenance and repair of boilers, pumps and valves.  The suit claimed John Crane made some of the asbestos-containing packing material and gaskets in the equipment.

The total damages of about $2.4 million include nearly $1.4 million in noneconomic damages and $450,000 for loss of consortium.  The jury found John Crane five percent liable, the Navy and insulation companies 57 percent at fault, some manufacturers and suppliers 37 percent at fault.  The plaintiff himself was found to be one percent at fault. […]

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Car Accident Round-Up – CO Accident Takes Life of TX Billionaire

Texas billionaire broadsided by sports utility vehicle in Colorado

Texas Billionaire Dies in CO Car Accident
Charles Wyly, a 77-year-old Texas billionaire and philanthropist, died near Aspen, CO in a two-car crash on Sunday.  Wyly, who was driving a Porsche, was turning back onto the highway near the airport, when his car was broadsided by a sport utility vehicle. Police believe Wyly failed to yield prior to entering the highway.  Wyly, who was central to building the Dallas Arts District, was pronounced dead at the local hospital.  The other driver suffered moderate injuries.

Rear-end Collision in FL on I-95 Kills One, Injures Two
A car stopped on the northbound lanes of I-95, north of Okeechobee Boulevard near exit 71, was rear-ended by another car early Sunday morning resulting in the death of a passenger, and serious injuries to the two drivers.  The interstate was closed for close to four hours while rescue workers worked at the scene.  […]

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Family of WVa Nursing Home Resident Who Received Poor Care Awarded $91.5 Million

The family of an elderly woman suffering from Alzheimer’s, dementia, Parkinson’s disease and several other conditions, received $91.5 million in damages from a Charleston, West Virginia nursing home.  The elderly woman was a patient for just three weeks at Heartland of Charleston nursing home where the workers failed to feed and care for her leading to her death just one day after transferring to another facility.

The lawsuit alleged that while living with her son, the woman’s health had improved to where she could walk, speak and recognize family members. However, when she was checked into Heartland the staff confined the woman to a wheelchair, labeling her a fall risk.

The family’s lawyer argued that Heartland did not have enough staff to properly care for the woman and the other patients.  Some former Heartland workers testified properly caring for all of the residents was impossible. […]

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California Women Awarded $1.2 Million in DUI Civil Lawsuit

Two CA women receive settlement after being hit by drunk driver

Two women, who suffered permanent injuries after an automobile accident with an assistant district attorney in Los Angeles who was driving drunk, agreed to a $1.2 million settlement in a civil lawsuit against the woman.  The two women had already been awarded more than $1 million in compensatory damages by a jury.

The assistant DA had a BAC of .26, more than three times the legal limit, and admitted that she knew she was drunk. She decided to drive anyway in hopes that she would get home without getting caught.  In the April 2010 accident, she rear-ended the two women near Long Beach, CA resulting in one woman suffering back injuries, facial scars and lost teeth, and the other suffering from back injuries.

The women had sought $2 million, but agreed to the settlement to avoid a second trial and to get immediate payment. […]

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VA Trooper Killed in Crash While Responding to Call

VA Trooper dies in tragic accident; collides with oncoming car and runs off the road striking a pole

Virginia Veteran and State Trooper Killed in Crash

A Virginia State Trooper responding to a call Friday night in King George County, Virginia, collided with a Hyundai Elantra where his car ran off the road and struck a light pole resulting in his death.  He was traveling westbound on Route 3/Kings Highway when he entered the intersection of Route 3 and Madison Drive and collided with the eastbound vehicle. The driver and a passenger in the Hyundai were taken to Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg with minor injuries.  The trooper was also an Iraq war veteran. The police are continuing their investigation.

Ohio Accident Claims Two Lives

Two women died and three men were injured when their car flipped on I-76 near Akron, […]

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PA Driver Tries to Run Down Pedestrians

No one injured after man drives on sidewalk targeting pedestrians

Virginia Accident Leaves One Dead

A Sunday morning crash on I-81 near Abingdon, Virginia has left a 23-year-old college student dead.  The driver of the 2005 Jeep Wrangler left the northbound lanes of the highway, struck several trees then overturned. The deceased was the only person involved in the single-vehicle accident.

Fleeing Man Causes Fatal Accident in West Virginia

Deputies in Loudon County, Virginia attempted to pull over a speeding driver before he fled the scene and raced across the state line into West Virginia causing a multi-car accident leaving one person dead and five others injured, including the fleeing driver.  The DC man was driving a stolen Toyota 4Runner on Wednesday morning around 3am when he crossed into oncoming traffic and sideswiped a car carrying three people, […]

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NY Man Charged with Vehicular Assault, DWI in Motorcycle Crash

Drunk driver hit motorcyclist, who suffered serious leg injury

Man Charged with Vehicular Assault, DWI in Motorcycle Crash

A Montour Falls, NY man was charged with vehicular assault when he hit and injured a motorcyclist while driving drunk. The accident occurred Friday after the drunk driver turned into the path of a motorcycle at College Avenue and Turner Park in Montour Falls. The motorcyclist sustained a serious leg injury and was airlifted to Robert Sayre Hospital. In addition to the first-degree vehicular assault charge, the driver was also charged with driving while intoxicated, failure to yield the right of way and failure to keep right.

Drug-Impaired Driver Charged in Accident

A New York woman was charged with driving while impaired by drugs, leaving the scene of a property damage accident and various other traffic violations after crashing her car into several road signs on Thursday. […]

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$322 Million Awarded To Man Over Asbestos Exposure

Negligent companies were aware of the cancer-causing nature of their asbestos product

In what is believed to be the largest award in a single plaintiff’s asbestos case, a jury has awarded $322 million to a 48-year-old man who is suffering from asbestosis and has to be on oxygen 24 hours a day.

The jury awarded $300 million in punitive damages and $22 million in actual damages and found the defendants were liable for defectively designing their product and failing to provide an adequate warning to workers.

The lawsuit, filed against Chevron Phillips Chemical Company and Union Carbide Corp., states the man worked in the oil field from the age of 16 in 1979 to the mid-1980s and mixed an asbestos drilling additive. It was during this time, the lawsuit claims, he inhaled the harmful substance.

The drilling mud was manufactured by Union Carbide and sold by Chevron Phillips. […]

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Nine-Car Accident Causes Injuries in MA

Reckless driver weaving between lanes causes nine-car accident

Fatal Car Accident In Woodford County, Kentucky

The driver of a Volkswagen Jetta ran a red light and ran into a Mercedes at the intersection of Falling Springs Boulevard and McCowans Ferry Road around 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, according to Lex18.com.  One person in the Mercedes was killed and another in that car was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. The driver of the Volkswagen was taken to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

Traffic Snarled Following Three Car Accident in Michigan

U.S. 23 north of Lee Road in Green Oak Township was the scene of a three car accident around 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.  Traffic was slowed on both sides of the freeway and one person in the accident was taken to the hospital.   Michigan State Police are still investigating the accident in which one vehicle ended up on the southbound side of U.S. […]

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Fiery Crash in NY Kills One Teen, Injures Four

Speeding suspected to be the cause of the fatal teen crash

Teen Pulled From Burning Car after Fiery Crash In N.Y.

One teen is dead and four are injured following a Wednesday night crash in Rush, N.Y.  Speed is suspected in the crash where the vehicle overturned and caught fire.  One man heard the car go by, and then heard the crash.  He rushed to the scene in his truck and was able to pull one girl out by cutting her seatbelt, saving her life.  All she remembers of the incident is swerving, panicking, and calling her mom to tell her she had been in an accident.  Most of the five teens grew up together.

Iowa Man Killed In Head-On Collision

A 61-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene of an accident on I-80 Wednesday night when a van crossed over the median and crashed with his Chevy HHR, […]