Another Tennessee family has been devastated by the callous disregard of motorists who are too much in a hurry to look where they are going. It happened on Dec. 31 to a husband, his wife and their 7-year-old twin boys. They were stopped properly at a red light on Dinah Shore Boulevard when they were rear-ended by a car reportedly going at a high rate of speed. The impact of the car crash sent the family of four and their crushed minivan into the front of a truck also stopped for a red light.
One of the twins died at the scene. The father, mother and the other twin were extricated and taken to a hospital in critical condition. The boy was reportedly lingering in critical condition hours after the accident. The condition of the parents was not reported.
The driver of the vehicle that rear ended the family’s vehicle was an 83-year-old woman who was reportedly traveling at a high rate of speed, according to witnesses. She died later at a hospital from injuries suffered in the crash. Her estate will likely be liable for compensation of personal injuries suffered by the injured victims, and for wrongful death damages to the deceased boy.
Where one party is liable for a death and several serious injuries from a car crash, there may be a shortage of insurance coverage to compensate all victims. Going beyond the very weighty considerations of loss of life, familial destruction and the indescribable anguish and suffering of the victims, the issue of monetary compensation must be resolved. The decedent’s estate is presumably liable to all injured victims and to the estate of the deceased twin boy. Without special coverage for catastrophic injuries, the wrongdoing driver’s estate will not have sufficient insurance proceeds to fully compensate all claims. There may be other sources of compensation available under Tennessee insurance and liability law, but the complexity of those questions are best taken up in consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney.
Source: heraldchronicle.com, “Another Dinah Shore Boulevard accident victim passes“, Jan. 1, 2016
