Articles Posted in Wrongful Death

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On March 19, 2010, an Iowa jury returned a $32.8 million verdict in favor of Ivon Toe, Assata Karlar and five passengers in a 1997 Chrysler minivan that rolled over after sustaining a tire tread separation on the rear mounted Cooper Tire. Ivon Toe was rendered quadriplegic and Assata Karla suffered a wrongful death. Part of the jury verdict included punitive damages assessed against Cooper Tire. The plaintiffs’ attorneys relied on Cooper Tire’s delay for years in making needed changes to its tires despite Cooper Tire documents wherein Cooper Tire executives discussed tire failure rates and the cost of remediation. Cooper Tire claims its tires, including the tire involved in the Toe case, “are safe and reliable, exceeding not only all government standards but also our own, more rigorous, internal standards.” Cooper Tire says it will appeal the jury’s verdict. The case is Toe v. Cooper Tire and Rubber, CL 10694, Iowa District Court, Polk County (Des Moines).
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On March 3, 2010, the operator of a Harley Davidson motorcycle changed lanes into the path of an International 18 wheeler as he approached the Gause Boulevard exit on I-10 in Slidell, Louisiana. The motorcycle operator was pronounced dead at the scene from the injuries sustained in the motorcycle wreck.

According to Baton Rouge, Louisiana motorcycle accident lawyer, Scott Andrews, a following motorist who strikes a preceding motorist is usually presumed at fault for the rear-end collision because the following motorist must maintain a sufficient distance from the vehicle in front of him to avoid a collision under circumstances which should be reasonably anticipated. The presumption is rebutted by proving that the driver had his vehicle under control, that he closely observed the preceding vehicle, and that he followed at a safe distance under the circumstances. The following driver may also rebut the presumption of liability by proving that the other driver created a hazard which he could not reasonably avoid, such as changing lanes suddenly and without warning.
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A 2007 International 18-wheeler driver fell asleep and crossed the center line of Louisiana Highway 24 in Larose, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, killing a Dodge truck driver. The pick-up driver was unable to avoid the collision with the oncoming big rig. According to a study conducted by the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research, through interviews with randomly selected long-distance truck drivers, 47.1% had fallen asleep at the wheel at least once, and 25.4% within the last year.
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On February 16, 2010, a Southland Steel Fabricators construction worker suffered a fatal traumatic brain injury and another worker sustained minor injuries in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after the construction workers fell 20 feet to the ground from a lift after it was struck by a beam.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 1,178 fatal work injuries occurred in the construction industry in 2007, the most of any industry, with laborers accounting for the largest number of fatal work injuries among construction occupations.

According to Baton Rouge, Louisiana brain injury attorney, Scott Andrews, construction workers injured or killed on the job are usually barred from filing a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit because of Louisiana’s strict worker’s compensation immunity for direct and statutory employers. However, if the construction worker’s accident was caused in part by the fault of the employee of a different subcontractor or independent contractor, then the injured construction worker may be able to file a third-party tort action. Injured workers or their families should always consult with an experienced industrial accident or construction accident injury attorney before accepting the employer’s representation that worker’s compensation is the exclusive remedy for the injury or death.
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A pickup truck crossed the center line and collided head-on with Trace Adkins’ tour bus in Caddo Parish, Louisiana on February 13, 2010. The truck driver and his passenger were killed instantly. Five members of Trace Adkins’ band received minor injuries.

According to Baton Rouge, Louisiana truck injury lawyer, Scott Andrews, when a driver on the wrong side of the road collides with another vehicle which is in its correct lane of travel, there is a presumption that the driver on the wrong side of the road is at fault, and he is required to show that he committed no fault, however slight, that contributed to the accident. This is in line with the general duty that a motorist owes to the traveling public of remaining in his own lane of traffic. When he undertakes to enter the lane devoted to approaching traffic he must be held strictly accountable for all damages resulting therefrom unless he clearly exhibits that his conduct in no wise contributed to the accident. In order to be exonerated, he must establish his freedom from all fault by convincing proof. The trespassing motorist having caused the accident by leaving his own traffic lane, is presumed guilty of negligence and the onus rests on him to demonstrate that the accident resulted from such a state of unforeseeable circumstances beyond his control and to which he did not contribute, that he could not extricate himself, despite the efficient use of all protective measures at his command.
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Former chamber of commerce director and dean of a technical college in Opelousas, Louisiana was killed in an accident with a big rig on January 29, 2010. The truck accident occurred when an 18 wheeler exited I-49 onto U.S. 190 and drove past the stop sign and into the path of the car being operated by the former dean. The dean was taken to a hospital in Opelousas where he was pronounced dead.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), and the General Estimates System (GES), in 2006 there were 368,000 accidents involving large trucks. Of those, 77,000 accidents involved injuries and 4,321 accidents involved fatalities.
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On Sunday, February 7, 2010, a 25 year veteran of the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office was killed while escorting a Mardi Gras float by motorcycle. The accident occurred when a car made an illegal left turn in front of the float and hit the deputy’s motorcycle as it was passing the float.

During this Mardi Gras season, Louisiana injury attorney, Scott Andrews, reminds motorists to be on the lookout for vehicles, motorcycles, and pedestrians around Mardi Gras floats. It is best to assume that another vehicle or person is present but hidden, and therefore, to proceed with caution.
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A Tickfaw, Louisiana woman was killed on January 12, 2010 on I-12 in Hammond, Louisiana, when her 2004 Mercury Mountaineer sustained a rear left tire blowout, causing the SUV to roll over several times. The cause of the tire blowout is unknown at this time. It could have been caused by impact damage, excessive wear, or improper installation, inflation or maintenance. Or, many SUV rollover and tire blowout accidents are actually caused by product defects in the SUV and tire. In order to properly investigate the potential product defects in the SUV and tire, the SUV and tire must be preserved for testing.

Common tire defects include a lack of an adequate antidegradant and antioxidant package; inadequate adhesion in the tread belt system; lack of or insufficient belt edge wedges or “gum strips”; a thin inner liner that allows air to leak into the carcass of the tire; and lack of nylon overlays or cap plies. Correction of these common tire defects can prevent catastrophic tread belt separation that lead to tire blowout. Additionally, some SUVs are improperly designed and manufactured with defective handling characteristics; with a roof structure that does not maintain structural integrity in a rollover; with an extremely high center of gravity which results in a propensity to roll over; and with a suspension designed and manufactured in such a manner as to allow the rear end of the vehicle to skate under foreseeable circumstances, resulting in a propensity to overturn. Some SUV manufacturers have even allowed and approved the installation of larger size tires than the vehicle was designed for, thereby increasing the vehicle’s center of gravity and the potential for SUV rollover, and required a substandard inflation pressure for the SUV’s tires.
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On January 4, 2010, and 18 wheeler being operated by a Jonesboro, Louisiana man traveling northbound on U.S. Highway 167 near the Jackson Parish and Winn Parish line crossed the center line and struck an oncoming car being operated by a Winnfield, Louisiana woman. Both drivers were killed.

While Louisiana is a pure comparative fault state, meaning that the fault of each person, however slight, must be apportioned, a driver who crosses the center line and strikes a vehicle in its proper lane of travel is presumed to be at fault for causing the auto accident.
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A Baton Rouge, Louisiana senior citizen was killed in a September 3, 2009 car accident on Jefferson Highway near its intersection with Airline Highway when she turned left into the path of an oncoming vehicle. It was initially presumed that the senior citizen was completely at fault in causing the accident, but further investigation revealed that the oncoming motorist was exceeding the posted speed limit. Because speed, and not the improper left turn, was determined to be the main factor in the car crash because the senior citizen would have been able to complete her turn if the oncoming motorist had been driving the speed limit, the speeding motorist was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on one count of reckless operation of a vehicle and one count of negligent homicide.

According to Baton Rouge, Louisiana injury attorney, Scott Andrews, of the Louisiana personal injury law firm of Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C., “all too often the investigating police officer assumes that when a car accident occurs involving a left turning motorist, that the left turning motorist must be at fault and no further investigation is conducted.” Fortunately for the family of the senior citizen killed in the Jefferson Highway automobile accident, the police continued their investigation and uncovered the truth–that the auto accident was avoidable had the oncoming motorist been acting reasonably.
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