Wrong-Way Car Crashes Often Prove Deadly
Fatal wrong-way car crashes are some of the worst occurrences on our nation’s roads. This is because a wrong-way car crash can do so much devastation, and involve persons, property, and both state and private businesses and institutions. Take, for example, a recent wrong-way car crash that killed five people in Ohio. There, it is suspected that the driver had been drinking and driving in the wrong direction before causing an interstate crash. The driver died in the collision, as did four people in the SUV that the driver’s vehicle slammed into.
There are multiple twists to this story. First, the driver had been arrested the day before for the drinking and driving offense of “operating a vehicle without reasonable control” after his car collided with a parked car. This fact raises questions as to why the authorities allowed the man to even be in a position to drive again so soon after the arrest. Second, there is the wrong-way aspect of the crash. Were directional signs on Ohio’s freeways not sufficiently large and visible? The fact that 10 other fatal wrong-way crashes occurred in Ohio in 2014 may suggest that off-ramp/on-ramp signs are ineffective or defective in some way.
Here, in California, there has been a spate of fatal wrong-way car crashes, as well. The fact that Caltrans – the state agency in charge of highway, bridge, and rail transportation, planning, construction, and maintenance – has been making recent efforts to improve on-ramp/off-ramp signs suggests a relationship between the quality of the signs and the occurrence of wrong-way crashes. Still, in the Ohio case, it is hard to know whether the accident was purely the result of drinking and driving or of a number of factors, including inadequate signage. For both survivors and for loved ones of those killed in the accident, many questions – some factual, and some legal – remain. If you have been involved in a wrong-way crash, or lost a loved one to a wrong-way car crash here in California, contact an experienced California personal injury and wrongful death attorney.
Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Lawsuits Seek Damages in the Form of Financial Compensation
If you have been injured in a wrong-way car crash as a result of the carelessness, recklessness, or intentionally harmful driving of another, you can bring a personal injury lawsuit against the responsible party for damages. Damages include the cost of past, present, and future medical treatment, lost income due to missed work, pain and suffering, and more. If you have lost a loved one in a wrong-way car crash as the result of another’s careless, reckless, or intentionally bad driving, you may be able to bring a wrongful death lawsuit against the party responsible. In a wrongful death lawsuit, as an eligible survivor, you essentially step into the shoes of the deceased – seeking the damages they would have been entitled to seek had the survived the crash. In either case, contact a skilled and experienced California personal injury and wrongful death attorney today.
