People serve their communities in a variety of different ways. One way is by working as a medical care professional. One North Carolina community is reeling from the news that a veteran emergency care doctor was killed in a fatal car accident recently. Such an unexpected death could have significant financial repercussions on the man’s surviving family members, making a wrongful death claim possible.
The accident occurred in mid-March. Police reports indicate that a sedan driven by a 60-year-old female was slowing to make a turn. A pickup truck driven by a 17-year-old man was behind her. The teenager allegedly failed to slow, causing his vehicle to crash into the rear of the sedan.
Police claim that the young driver then overcorrected, sending the pickup across the center line into the path of the vehicle driven by the 64-year-old doctor, who died at the scene. Three occupants of the sedan were treated at an area hospital but have now been released. The teenager now faces several charges, including a misdemeanor charge of death by motor vehicle. He has since been released to his parents.
As a result of the man’s death, his family may face several financial obstacles, including funeral expenses and the loss of his income. A successfully argued wrongful death claim in a North Carolina civil court could help with these expenses. If the family can prove the man’s death resulted from the teenagers’ negligence, they could receive a monetary award to help with expenses, allowed by state law, stemming from the fatal accident.
Source: The Pilot, Doctor Dies in Collision, No author, March 14, 2014