Who Bears Responsiblity?

An interesting, but frightening story that ended in the death of a young mother caught my attention the other day. The victim and her 6-year-old daughter set out on a road trip as a passenger in the vehicle driven by her stepmother. Shortly before the trip began the victim sent a text message to her sister in which she stated that she really didn’t want to go because her stepmother had taken too many pills and she was frightened. The message ended with the request to pray that they arrived alive.

Unfortunately the woman decided to go despite having knowledge of the pills. Two hours later, as they drove along I-75 the stepmother suddenly swerved, left the road and crashed. The stepmother claim that a white car had driven in her lane and caused the accident but witnesses claim they saw no white car and that the vehicle simply veered from the roadway. The woman died at the scene and the child was air lifted to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga.

Police at the scene found the stepmother to be coherent and didn’t take a blood sample but since they received the contents of the text they have re-opened the investigation.

Whenever an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney looks at a case one of the first things that we do is try to determine who or what casued the accident. In this case it seems clear that the driver was under the influence of drugs and that the white car excuse was either a hallucination or a fictional excuse to avoid liability.

But, what about the responsibility of the victim? She knew that the driver had taken pills and was obviously aware that they would alter her reality and put her an her daughter in jeopardy. She had a clear chance to stay home but chose to get into the vehicle anyway having clear knowledge of the danger. In Tennessee a jury would be asked to consider the comparative negligence of the actors, who was more responsible for her death, the driver who took the pills or the woman who knowingly got into the vehicle with a driver under the influence?

It’s cases like this one that make it clear why you need to consult with an experienced Tennessee automobile accident attorney like those you will find at Phillip Miller & Associates.

Double Roadway Fatality

As an experienced Nashville auto accident lawyer I have often written about dangerous roadway conditions and there relation to car crashes. A recent story out of Maury County Tennessee shows how conditions might be the culprit on a double fatality pickup truck accident. Rally Hill Road in Maury County was seriously damaged during recent floods in Middle Tennessee. The damaged area, according to local media, was more than 20’ wide and over 2’ deep. Quite a pothole.

Family members blame the deaths on County officials who they claim failed to repair the road.  On the other hand, a family member said that everyone who lived in the area knew of the damage and most avoided using the road because of it. This situation creates an interesting legal issue if the family of the deceased intend to sue the County.

Is the county responsible for keeping the roads in safe condition? The answer is , absolutely. Did the driver of the vehicle have knowledge of the road condition and fail to exercise due care when he used the road? It appears from the statement of a family member that the road condition was well known.

The legal concept at play here is the rule known as comparative negligence. The court will be asked to decide what percentage of negligence would be attributed to each party. This illuminates the reason why it is important to retain an experienced Tennessee auto accident attorney. Specialized training and experience can make the difference between a recovery and a ruling that the deceased driver is responsible for his own death and that of his friend.

If you or a loved one is seriously injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by the negligence of another driver or a government agency you owe it to yourself to take advantage of a free consultation with the experienced Tennessee auto accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates to find out about your rights and remedies.