One Person Killed and Five Injured When Pickup Truck Overturns and Crashes in Jacksonville, Florida
One person died and five more were injured when a pickup truck flipped and crashed on Bartram Park Boulevard near Old St. Augustine Road in Jacksonville, Florida, according to an article on www.News4Jax.com. All six of the injured individuals were riding in the pickup truck at the time of the crash. Three of them were in the cab, and three of them were riding in the bed. Jacksonville police indicated that the pickup truck driver may have been speeding, and they are testing the driver's blood alcohol content (BAC).
After such a serious accident involving a death and significant injuries, if a personal injury or wrongful death case results, there will be an extensive investigation done and many questions asked to determine to whom the cause of the injuries should be attributed. Personal injury and wrongful death lawyers for the passengers and the family of the deceased passenger will argue that the pickup driver was completely at fault and his insurance company should bear all of the responsibility for the subsequent death and injuries. If, as the article indicates, the pickup driver was speeding with three individuals in the bed of his truck, that is further evidence of the carelessness of the driver. Further, if the driver was intoxicated from alcohol or drugs,that is evidence of reckless conduct by the driver. However, in some auto accident cases, negligence is not absolute. In other words, the insurance company lawyers can argue that the victims bear some percentage of responsibility for their injuries. Depending on how the facts come out, the insurance company lawyers may argue that the passengers knew the driver had been drinking or was prone to speeding and should not have ridden with him. They could also argue that the passengers in the bed of the truck were negligent by sitting in a place that cannot be protected by seat belts and air bags.
In serious accidents such as this one, there are several issues related to the cause of the accident and the subsequent injuries that arise. When making a claim for an injury or death, it is important to begin the investigation quickly and uncover all of the facts so the anticipated defense from the insurance company lawyers can be dealt with and maximum compensation can be obtained.
