Archive for the ‘Wrongful Death’ Category

Fatal Traffic Crashes: Let the Accident Reconstructionists to Their Job

Monday, April 14th, 2014

There has been a spate of well-publicized fatal traffic crashes in Oregon and Northern California recently.  Initially, it may be instinctive to want quick answer to the question, “What happened?”  Fortunately, accident reconstructionists are available to answer this question using scientific and engineering principles.  But it does take patience to let them do their job.  For example, in Oregon all traffic crashes resulting in fatality must have a formal reconstruction of the motor vehicle crash performed by a professional.  Most experienced accident reconstruction professionals are certified and licensed through various governing bodies.  There are both private professional engineering firms as well as a number of law enforcement and other government personnel (e.g., National Transportation Safety Board) qualified to collect the proper data, apply engineering principles, and prepare a formal accident reconstruction report.  Oftentimes, the reports reach conclusions as to the proximate cause(s) of a crash.  While there can be disagreement among experts as to, “What happened?” in certain crashes, it is still better for the public and media to wait until the professional reconstruction is final before engaging in harmful speculation.  We owe as much to the families left behind following a tragic—and all too common–motor vehicle crash that ends in fatality.

Defense Attorneys Delay Justice for Wrongful Death Victims in Fiery I-5 Crash

Saturday, June 19th, 2010

On October 12, 2007, 34 vehicles crashed inside a tunnel along I-5 in Southern California.   A diesel tanker spilled fuel onto the freeway which exploded.  Three people died.  Although the California Highway Patrol completed their accident investigation fairly quickly–and assigned responsibility to speeding drivers, including a trucking company using faulty brakes–the three surviving families have not recovered a dime for their losses.  One of the dead, an entrepreneur carefully driving his recently purchased tractor-trailer on the slick roads, left a young family behind in dire financial straits. Tragically, the defense seems to be able to avoid paying money to help make up for the losses of these families by taking advantage of the sheer number of people involved in the crash and related pressures on the court system.  Here is an L.A. Times article discussing the matter: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-tobar-20100618,0,4762224,full.column