Navy Man Dies in Multiple Car Accident
Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
Last week Thursday four cars were involved in a major accident on State Route 15 near Ocean Boulevard. A man enlisted in the Navy was driving his Jeep Cherokee SUV at high speed down the highway. In an unusual driving maneuver, the driver turned right suddenly and lost control of the Jeep. The Jeep rammed into the side of a Honda Civic and then smashed into the rear of Cadillac De Ville. The impact caused the Cadillac to collide with a Toyota Corolla.
Due to the high-speed impact the Jeep flipped landing on top of the Cadillac. The drives in all 4 cars were men with 3 of them being in the military.
The unnamed driver of the Jeep was pronounced dead on the scene. Two of the other drivers sustained injuries. The only uninjured driver was in the Honda Civic, the first car hit. The driver of the Toyota was complaining about both neck and head pain before being transported to a local hospital. The driver of the Cadillac was also being evaluated and treated for possible neck and head injuries.
This deadly crash is certain to have started an avalanche of investigative work and legal wrangling. The insurance companies for all four drivers will be trying to determine responsibility for paying for damages and medical costs. It just makes sense. They do not want to spend money they do not need to spend.
Now here is an important question for us to consider when we think about this accident. Was the single navy man in the Jeep the only one responsible? Should his insurance company be the only one to pay for all of the damages? His Jeep never hit the Toyota Corolla.
Those are questions most of us have no answer for and hope we never need to know. What would you do if you were the driver of one of those other cars and an insurance company called you and started asking questions? Would you answer them?
When an insurance adjuster from one of the other companies shows up at your door and hands you papers to sign what should you do? You want the money. You desperately want to get your car fixed and to pay for your medical bills. Have you ever stopped to think about what happens when you sign those papers?
Often in the midst of all the confusion someone signs a paper which gets them a check. When they signed those papers they may have just guaranteed they will not get another cent of money even if there are more damages discovered on their car or they have physical problems which show up later for the accident.
Making decision on the spur of the moment without consulting an wrongful death attorney can leave you financially vulnerable. Take a few extra hours or days to get everything done right and make sure you really get the settlement you deserve. If you are not 100% sure of what is put in front of you do not take a risk. It is painful enough to overcome an auto accident. You do not want to overcome a lapse in judgment, too.
Tags: Wrongful death