Pedestrian sues after truck driver hits and injures them
On behalf of Jeffrey Frederick of Frederick & Hagle posted in Truck Accidents on Friday, February 15, 2013.
In Illinois if the driver of a small passenger vehicle escapes a collision with a tractor trailer without injury, that is considered lucky. The sheer volume of a tractor trailer means that any accidents that they are involved in Illinois or elsewhere almost guarantee serious damage and injury. If the thought of another vehicle being hit by a truck in an accident is scary, the thought of a pedestrian being faced with a truck is terrifying.
One out-of-state pedestrian was hit by a truck “suddenly, violently and without warning.” Thankfully the pedestrian survived impact, however, he was not as lucky to avoid injury. The victim struggled to recover from and likely continues to deal with the lingering ramifications of extensive injuries to primarily his head, back, neck and shoulders.
It appears that liability for this accident is landing squarely on the truck driver and the truck driver’s employer. It appears that the truck driver was using an excessive amount of speed in the zone of impact and was further not fully engaging his attention on the road, thereby failing to see the pedestrian. In such happenings, there is not necessarily always an option of holding such an individual criminally liable.
Accordingly, in some situations, injury victims will choose to pursue some form of justice through recovery in a civil courtroom. The pedestrian victimized in this accident has filed a lawsuit seeking over $500,000 in damages naming the company employing this driver as liable for negligently entrusting this truck to him.
The outcome of this lawsuit remains to be seen. Under similar circumstances in Illinois, victims can pursue compensation for their injuries, subsequent lost wages, medical expenses and other circumstances relating to the negligence of another in causing a similar accident.
Source: The Southeast Texas Record, “Houston resident sues Florida motorist for $500K over auto-pedestrian crash,” John Suayan, Feb. 7, 2013
