An 83-year-old female passenger was killed in a car accident on Halstead Boulevard in Elizabeth City, North Carolina (NC), when the car she was riding in was hit by another vehicle. The fatal wreck occurred on November 20, 2011, and the 81-year-old driver of the hit vehicle was left in critical condition.
The Virginian-Pilot reported that police did not immediately file charges against the driver of the SUV that ran into the side of the car.
As experienced North Carolina accident injury attorneys with offices in Elizabeth City, my colleagues and I see a number of accidents in which passengers are injured or killed. If the driver of the car a passenger is traveling in makes a mistake or is reckless, the passenger or family members may have grounds for a lawsuit. This was graphically illustrated in an accident in October 2011 in which a 19-year-old from Moundsville, West Virginia (WV) lost his life in a Dodge Neon. The driver was operating the Neon erratically and crossed a double yellow line, according to media reports.
In 2010 we reported on a case in which a woman with a revoked license crashed her car, killing a passenger in Richmond, VA. She was charged with involuntary manslaughter.
It’s not common knowledge that when a loved one riding in a vehicle is killed due to the negligence and/or irresponsibility of the driver, the family of the loved one could have grounds for a wrongful death claim. Although some families decide not to file a claim, this is a mistake because the focus of the claim is to recover against the negligent driver’s insurance policy, and that is why we all have liability insurance.
DM