Woman Killed in Accident in Nassau County, Florida
A woman was driving on I-95 in Yulee, Nassau County, Florida when a motorcycle apparently sped up behind her and caused her to swerve, lose control of her vehicle and crash, according to an article on News4jax.com. The driver, who was from Jacksonville, Florida, was killed in the crash while her passenger suffered minor injuries.
There is no indication that the motorcycle made contact with the Jacksonville woman's vehicle who crashed and was killed. Does the Jacksonville woman's family still have a claim for wrongful death against the driver of the motorcycle? In other words, does their have to be an impact between vehicles for there to be a valid personal injury or wrongful death claim? The answer is clearly that the woman's family would have a claim for wrongful death despite the fact that the motorcycle did not crash into the woman's vehicle. A driver can be negligent and cause a crash without impacting another vehicle. For instance, when a driver speeds behind traffic and forces another vehicle to swerve to avoid a potential accident, that is careless and dangerous driving that can cause serious accidents. This type of non-impact accident also often occurs when a driver switches lanes without looking and forces another vehicle to swerve, lose control and drive off of the road. In such cases, even though there is no impact between vehicles, the car that is speeding or switching lanes without looking causes the resulting accident, and that driver should be held accountable for the injuries and damages that result.
