Tuesday morning a family of five was traveling eastbound on the Loop 202 when their vehicle hit a truck parked in the emergency lane. All five family members were taken to the hospital by ambulance. Apparently, the driver of the truck had pulled to the side of the road and parked in the emergency lane. While it was there, the driver of the victim’s vehicle became distracted and ran into the parked truck. The injured were all taken to the hospital.
According to police, all five of the people injured were properly restrained. Whew! Thank the heavens for responsible parents!
Liability assessment: We do not know why the driver of the truck had to pull over, where he was on the roadway, and whether anything he did contributed to this collision. The police have not relayed how long the truck was parked there, or whether the driver was even present at the time of the accident. There certainly appears to be fault on the part of the driver of the vehicle that the victims were in. Accordingly to police, at a minimum, he was not paying attention.
Arizona is a comparative fault state. That means that more than one person can be found responsible for any accident. Also, more than one person can be found responsible for injuries to another sustained in any accident. For example, the driver of the victims’ vehicle can be found partly responsible, as well as can the driver of the parked vehicle, if discovered that his actions in some way were unreasonable, and contributed to this collision. But further, IF it were found that the children in the vehicle were not properly seatbelted, and as a result sustained some injuries they would not have otherwise sustained, then an argument could be made that BOTH parents had liability to the children for not taking proper care. The laws of comparative fault stem far and wide. We are all held to the care and actions expected of a reasonable person. Reasonable people pull off to the side and park their vehicles properly and legally. Reasonable people keep their attention on the roadway. Reasonable people make sure they wear seat belts and make sure their children wear their seatbelts.
In assessing liability under Arizona law, each person found to have some liability pays for their percentage of the fault, assessed against the total damages awarded. This has been determined to be the fairest way to assess and appropriate justice in Arizona. What do you think? Do you agree?
A speedy recovery is wished for the people injured in this unfortunate accident.
**If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email Chris Zachar directly at Czachar@zacharlaw.com, or visit our website at www.ZacharAssociates.com
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