Motorcyclist Injured by Mattress That Flew Off of Truck
I saw an article over the weekend that discussed a motorcyclist who was seriously injured in an auto accident after he hit a mattress that fell off of a truck on the highway. According to the article, the motorcycle was riding safely along the highway when an unsecured mattress fell from a truck in front of the motorcycle. The motorcyclist was unable to avoid the mattress and crashed his motorcycle causing him serious injuries.
When a person is injured by something that comes off of another vehicle, the analysis regarding liability and responsibility for the injuries and damages is similar to a regular auto accident. First, the attorney for the injured driver in a personal injury lawsuit or wrongful death lawsuit would look to see if the object that fell from the vehicle was adequately secured and if not, who was involved in placing the object on the vehicle. If the driver and/or some other party failed to properly secure the object and the object fell off the vehicle as a result, that driver and person who negligently secured the object would likely be liable for that negligence. Another issue is whether the object should have been transported by the particular vehicle in the first place. Every now and then on the roads in Florida we see vehicles transporting objects on the roof or in the trunk which appear unsafe and should be transported by a bigger, more appropriate vehicle. While this does not exhaust the list of issues and inquiries regarding potential negligence in these kinds of cases, a personal injury/wrongful death attorney would always investigate whether the driver was driving appropriately given the nature of the load he/she is carrying. When a driver is carrying a heavy or unwieldy load, he/she needs to drive more carefully to ensure that the load does not fall off of the vehicle and create a hazard not just for vehicles in the immediate vicinity but other vehicles on the roads that may later come into contact with the fallen object.
