What is a Loss?
A loss is the monetary value assigned to an injury or damage in a personal injury claim, including pain and suffering, past and future income, future medical care, at-home assistance, current medical bills, etc.
According to Black’s Law Dictionary, “loss” is defined as “the harm or damage resulting from an injury; the deprivation or detriment to an owner or possessor as a result of a judgment or voluntary transfer of property.” As such, loss is often a broad term in law, encompassing both tangible and intangible impacts as loss can come from a variety of forms of damages.
Legal principles governing loss aim to provide remedies, compensation, or restitution to individuals or entities adversely affected by wrongful acts, accidents, or adverse events. Loss can include economic loss, personal loss or property loss. The assessment of loss often involves evaluating evidence, calculating damages, and applying legal standards to determine liability and appropriate remedies in civil litigation or legal disputes. As a legal term, loss underscores the importance of addressing and mitigating the impacts of losses through legal recourse and equitable remedies in accordance with applicable laws and judicial principles.
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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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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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Single-Car Accidents Result in Deaths Throughout US
Recent series of single-car accident claimed the lives of people across the U.S.
Virginia Teenager Dies in Single-Car Accident
According to WAVY.com, a teenager lost her life early Saturday morning in a single-car accident after she lost control of the vehicle she was driving on I-64 in James City County, Virginia. The 17-year-old girl was traveling east when she over-corrected, ran off the road and struck a tree. A passenger in the car was taken to the local hospital with unspecified injuries. Police are investigating the cause of the accident.
Woman Dies After Driving into Oklahoma Lake
A 95-year-old Norman, Oklahoma woman apparently suffered a medical episode before driving her car off Alameda Drive and ending up in Lake Thunderbird on Monday. She was driving east, “at a high rate of speed” when she struck a pipe gate causing her car to veer off the road and sink in the lake. […]
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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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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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Woman Who Lost Arm To Receive $8.8 Million
In 2004, a 16-year-old girl got the pocket of her coat caught on a bolt protruding from the drive shaft of an auger-like post-hole digger operated by her stepfather. Her arm wrapped around the auger resulting in the loss of her arm.
A New York jury hearing the case in State Supreme Court decided the manufacturer of the digger, Ford New Holland (now known as Case New Holland) sold a defective product and awarded the now 21-year-old girl $8.8 million. The jury placed 35% of the blame on Case New Holland and 30% each on Peter A Smith, the owner of the digger and the person who loaned the digger to the stepfather, and on SMC Corp. from Sioux Fall, S.D., the company who assembled the digger.
The bolt that caught on the girl’s coat was supposed to be covered by a shield, but the shield broke and was removed by Smith, […]
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Car Crashes into a Home in Georgia
Woman arrested for driving with a suspended license and not obeying seatbelt laws
Three Go To Hospital Following 4-Car Crash In California
Just before 3pm on Tuesday a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck rear-ended a van, went through a chain-link fence then down a 15-20 foot embankment onto the freeway. The Toyota then struck the post of a speed limit sign and continued across the northbound lane of highway 49 into the path of a 1968 Jeep, catapulting the Jeep which eventually stopped across both northbound lanes. The driver of the Jeep was flown to Sutter Roseville Medical Center with moderate injuries, reports The Union.com. The other drivers suffered minor injuries.
Montana Man Killed In One Car Rollover Accident Was Not Wearing a Seatbelt
A 34-year-old Great Falls man was killed Monday in a single car rollover accident near mile marker 6 on the Vaughn South Frontage Road, […]
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Tragic Two-Car Accident Results in Loss of Unborn Child
Tragic Two-Car Accident in Florida Results in Death of Unborn Child
A Wednesday morning crash near Bradenton, Florida left a 19-year-old pregnant woman in critical condition and resulted in the death of her unborn child. The accident occurred around 10 a.m. when the car in which the woman was a passenger, was making a left-hand turn and was stuck by a Ford pickup heading northbound on 14th Street West. The car was stuck on the passenger side, then hit a pole before coming to rest. The passenger was not wearing a seatbelt. The driver of the car suffered serious injuries, and faces charges of violation of a right of way while making a left turn. The driver of the pickup was not injured.
Stray Dog Causes Kansas Accident
A dog running on I-70 in West Topeka, Kansas, contributed to a two-car crash on Thursday morning that sent one person to the hospital. […]
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Man Killed in Snowmobile Collision with Car
Car accident round-up: accidents around the country
NY Man Killed In Snowmobile and Car Accident
A 37-year-old Bergen man was killed Thursday when his snowmobile was hit by a car in Riga, Monroe County, reports The Batavian. The accident happened about 10 p.m. on the Buffalo Road Bridge when a car crossed the center line and hit a group of three snowmobile riders head on. One man died, one rider was taken to the hospital and the third man was uninjured.
One Man Dead in 4 Car Crash In Virginia
A 27-year-old man is dead from injuries he received in a four-car accident in Bedford on Thursday night. Police report the man was going south on Independence Boulevard when he crossed the center line and hit two cars, then his car was hit by a fourth vehicle. […]
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Car Accident Round-Up – Alcohol a Factor in Serious Ohio Car Accident
Plans to improve education of dangers of drinking and driving underway
Three Injured in 5 Car Accident on California Freeway
The Los Angeles Times reports that three people were injured, one seriously, in a 5 car accident on southbound 101 near Los Angeles. One of the victims had to be extricated from the vehicle. The cause of the accident, that shut down the freeway for over an hour on Sunday, is still being investigated.
Train/Car Collide in Durham, North Carolina
A CSX freight train collided with a Toyota Camry around 10:30a.m. Thursday after the driver of the car drove around the lowered crossing arm. The woman escaped injury when the train struck the front corner panel of the car. The accident occurred at NC. 54 near N.C. 55 in Durham, North Carolina. The accident is under investigation.
Costa Mesa Car Accident Injures Two
In a Thursday morning car crash in Costa Mesa, […]
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Car Accident Round-Up – Infant Dies in Tragic Car Accident
Child got out of the house and was hit by family member moving the car
Michigan Teen In Critical Condition Following Accident
SouthBendTribune.com reports a 17-year-old Paw Paw female is in critical condition with life threatening injuries after losing control of her car and being ejected from the vehicle when she crossed the center line into oncoming traffic. The 44-year-old driver of the car that collided with the teen’s car suffered significantly minimized injuries due to the use of his seat belt.
Florida Woman Pinned In Car After Accident
A two-car accident around 7 p.m. Thursday shut down State Road 82 in Lehigh Acres, reports 2RSWFlorida. The accident left one woman pinned in a vehicle for over 30 minutes as firefighters used the Jaws of Life to free her. Eventually they had to use a tow truck to pull the two vehicles apart in order to free the woman. […]
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Car Accident Round-up — Cell Phone/Text Messaging Implicated In S.C Teen’s Death
Distracted driving is a leading cause of car accidents in the United States
Cell Phone/Text Messaging Involved In S.C Teen’s Death
South Carolina State troopers say a high school senior was killed when her Honda Accord crossed the center lane and hit the rear tires of a log truck’s trailer which was traveling in the opposite direction. The accident happened in Beaufort County. Witnesses say the student appeared to be looking down at the time of the accident and information retrieved from her phone shows she was reading and sending text messages while driving home from school. She had read a text less than a minute before the first 911 call was made, reports WITN.com.
One Dead and One Injured In Fiery Salt Lake City Crash
It is not yet know if a woman died from her injuries after her Mazda sedan hit a pickup truck in downtown Salt Lake City or if she died from the flames when her car caught fire after the impact, […]
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South Carolina Mother Files Lawsuit Over Fire That Killed Her Son
SCnow.com reports a Lamar, South Carolina mother has filed a lawsuit against several parties, including her landlord and an electric company, over her 11-year-old’s death in a fire two years ago when the family lived in a manufactured home.
The lawsuit claims the home was “sloppily, recklessly and dangerously electrically wired and uninhabitable” as the suit cites several electrical wiring errors. The lawsuit also claims gross negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress and wrongful death. Knowledge of the electrical problems and the “defendants’ failure to exercise reasonable care and comply with the law” led to the child’s untimely death.
A fire investigator has testified the fire was a result of faulty wiring in the home’s stove.
The lawsuit alleges the landlord was aware of the electrical hazards and of other recurrent electrical problems at the home, and Carolina Power and Light Company had been given notice and also knew of the problems. […]
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