Police blotter statistics are showing an increase in the number of deaths due to texting while driving.
It was dark, raining, and the highway was slick. The moon cast a shimmering glow on the water that had pooled in the depressions left behind on the highway, thanks to heavy traffic constantly traveling in the same lanes. The big rig was on a roll to its destination to deliver steel rails. The trucker was booting it because he was late and time means money to a trucker.
Reaching for his cell phone, the trucker decided to text his employer to advise him he was on time and rolling, and expected to be at his final destination within two hours. Those Blackberrys are great when it comes to texting; they have a pullout keyboard and should be easy as pie to handle and drive at the same time. “Yup,” he thought whipping out the phone, “this will only take a couple of minutes max.”
Right in the middle of typing the sentence, “I am on time and expected in at….” the big rig hit a larger puddle of water and began to hydroplane, causing the rig’s back end to jackknife around. The whole unit whiplashed into the opposing lane of traffic.
Josh Dvernik was 20 years old. He had his whole life in front of him; he was on his way to college in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He never saw the oncoming truck cross the center line. Josh died at the scene. The carnage was something a 30-year veteran State Trooper said he had never seen before and hoped to never see again.
Including Josh, there were three fatalities that night, all because the truck driver chose to text while driving. In the split second his eyes left the road to commence texting, he lost control of the truck. His negligence resulted in profound tragedy.
Josh Dvernik’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit. The trial will be a long one, as chasing commercial carrier truckers is a difficult ordeal. There are many rules, regulations, owners, insurance companies and exceptions; and big rig attorneys fight hard to restrict justice.
During the course of trial preparation and indeed during the trial itself, life’s daily expenses for the Dvernik family will continue. Josh’s mother quit her high paying job as an OR nurse due to a mental breakdown over her son’s sudden death. The family must make do with less income in the wake of a tragedy that has resulted in increased expenses. They must find a way to pay ordinary and extraordinary bills and expenses.
A plaintiff involved in lengthy litigation, concerned over bills and expenses, may consider inadequate settlement offers that pay the bills and allow the litigant to put the litigation to rest. Certainly, there is peace of mind to that approach, but your attorney will often advise you that additional time will result in a substantial increase in case proceeds. You don’t need to settle your valuable case for pennies on the dollar. There is a high probability, just as in a case like this one, that you will qualify for a cash advance against your personal injury case. How?
Lawsuit funding may be used to pay important bills, including medical bills and mortgage payments. Simple online research will return a reputable lawsuit funding company capable of providing you financial assistance needed to permit you to wait out the process for an equitable resolution of your personal injury or wrongful death case.
Daren Monroe writes for Litigation Funding Corp. To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit Litigationfundingcorp.com.
