Generally, when an auto accident occurs, it’s a relatively simple analysis that leads to allegations of liability. There is usually one party at fault and one or more victims of negligence or recklessness. However, there are certain situations that give rise to little-known and potentially complicated legal questions, and those involve the intrusion of an unforeseeable, superseding event. Unfortunately, a shooting death or something equally morbid are generally the fact scenarios that give rise to these situations.
The facts of such a situation were laid out by CBS 4:
“Detectives were called out to investigate a four vehicle accident and found 24-year-old Ernesto Otero dead in one of the cars.
The crash happened just after midnight Monday. According to Hialeah spokesperson Carl Zogby, the accident at the intersection of West 12th Avenue and 68th Street was the secondary crime scene.
Prior to the pile-up, a man and a woman in a silver Lexus were parked along the road in a residential area near 6th Avenue and 76th Street, said police. Gunfire erupted as the shooter filled the passenger side door with bullets, and struck Otero who was in the front seat.
The woman in the driver’s seat sped off in an effort to get the man to a hospital but she became involved in the four car wreck while on the way to the hospital. Zogby says it’s unclear if the Lexus caused the crash.”
Generally, the woman driving the vehicle would be facing civil liability. However, the shooting that led to this situation could be seen as a superseding event, and if anyone had been injured in the crash that followed the shooting, the shooter would also face liability if not all of it. What this should tell anyone is that if you’ve been injured in an auto accident, you need the help of a Hialeah auto accident lawyer to work through these doctrines and situations to make sure that your rights are protected. Contact Bernstein & Maryanoff today to schedule a free initial consultation.
Mon, Oct 12, 2009
Auto Accident