Some accidents happen in odd ways and end in tragedy. This reported case devastated a young man’s family.
The 26-year-old man killed in this accident was out riding his bicycle on a nice day. He was an experienced rider, but that did not help him on that fateful day. The man had nowhere else to go but under a fuel tanker to try and avoid an accident. He would have made it, had the tanker not run over him.
How did something like that happen? The man was riding his bike south in the northbound lanes on a busy avenue. Alongside him was an 18-wheeler from a local fuel company, also traveling south, just about parallel to the bike rider. The trucker suddenly turned into the man’s path as he went to enter a parking lot.
There was nothing the biker could do but try and stop. He did not succeed, and his bike slammed into the tanker, sliding under the truck. A wrongful death? Yes and the young man’s family filed a lawsuit asking for compensation for medical and funeral expenses, pain, suffering and the loss of companionship of their son.
Was there negligence involved in this case? Yes, the trucker turned into the man’s path without taking due care to check his mirrors. After all, he had just been riding side by side with the cyclist minutes before he was killed. Was there something going on in the truck’s cab? There may have been, and only an investigation will tell. The trucker may have been texting, talking on a cell phone or leaning over to pick up papers on the floor of the cab.
What is painfully clear is that the family left behind is beside themselves with grief. Their son just went for a bike ride. They did not expect that they would never see him alive again. Filing a wrongful death lawsuit is one way to bring closure and move forward with their lives. Often people think wrongful death lawsuits are about revenge. They are not. They are more often than not about a family wanting to make sure a similar incident does not happen to someone else.
The family’s pain and shock often translates into concern for the welfare of others, not their own financial gain. In many cases such as this, though, there is often insurance money on the table, and the trucking company would be insured. Working in partnership with an experienced Austin personal injury lawyer would assist the family in facing the challenges to come as their case makes its way through the courts.
Never hesitate to contact an Austin personal injury lawyer if you find yourself involved in a situation like this. You need to know your legal rights, what constitutes a wrongful death, how compensation is awarded, and what to expect while you are waiting for a judgment.
Brooks Schuelke is an Austin personal injury attorney with Perlmutter & Schuelke LLP. Contact an Austin injury lawyer at Civtrial.com or (512) 476-4944.
