Earlier this month, a 38-year-old man was killed in a tragic tow-truck accident, and now his family believes the fatal accident could have been avoided.
According to reports, the man saw that his vehicle was in the process of being towed, so he rushed over to the tow-truck driver to try to stop the driver from taking his vehicle away. Instead of stopping to speak with the man, the tow-truck driver started to tow the vehicle away, but while driving away, the truck almost ran over the man.
To avoid being run over, the man grabbed onto the truck and held on tightly to the moving vehicle for several hundred feet. The driver failed to stop the tow truck, and eventually the man got too tired to hold on to the vehicle. He fell under his car that was being towed by the truck. The man was crushed under his vehicle’s wheels.
The man was hospitalized after the accident, but he did not survive his injuries. He was an associate dean at Keiser University in Fort Lauderdale and he had three young children.
The victim’s family is now pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit against the tow-truck driver and the company he works for. The family claims that the driver had a responsibility to discuss the situation with the man since he had arrived at the towing scene while the tow truck was still there. The victim’s family also claims that the tow-truck driver should have been paying attention to his surroundings and to any pedestrians nearby before driving away. The driver’s company is being sued for contributing to the fatal truck accident by failing to investigate the employee’s driving record.
Although no amount of money recovered from a wrongful death lawsuit will ever make up for losing a close relative, compensation recovered from filing a lawsuit may at least provide family members with the financial support they need after losing a loved one.
Compensation recovered from filing a wrongful death claim may be used to pay for a loved one’s funeral expenses and medical bills. In some cases, compensation may even cover lost wages after a loved one’s death. Determining an amount that a family thinks they are entitled to recover after a fatal accident can be an emotionally challenging and draining process, but an attorney can assist families during this difficult time.
Source: The Miami Herald, “Family of dean killed in tow-truck accident files lawsuit,” Jan. 24, 2013