Wrongful Death – “She Was The Glue That Bound The Family Together”
Note: Some names and details have been changed to protect the privacy of our clients
Bob will never forget that night in October when his wife, Betty, left for her monthly club meeting. It was a normal evening. They had dinner together and Bob settled in to read a book while Betty headed off for her meeting. They both said, “I love you” before she left, but neither of them ever dreamed it would be the last time they saw each other.
After Betty arrived at her meeting, she went back out to her car to get something. As she walked through the parking lot to her car, another club member drove into the parking lot, striking Betty, knocking her down, and pinning her under her car. Betty died before help could arrive. Hours later, a police officer knocked on Bob’s door and told him his wife would never return.
This tragic and heartbreaking case sounds like an “open and shut case.” One person caused the death of another and an insurance company would certainly pay the claim quickly, right? Unfortunately, this was NOT the case. The woman who caused Betty’s death refused to accept responsibility and denied that it was her fault. To make matters worse, she didn’t have enough insurance coverage to fully compensate Betty’s family.
Fortunately, Betty’s family hired Nelson Boyd. Here is how we helped Betty’s family obtain financial compensation for her tragic death.
First, we hired expert witnesses to prove what caused Betty to die (and it wasn’t natural causes). Next, we worked with expert witnesses to prove that the driver who caused her death could have seen Betty, if only she had been looking and paying attention.
We also worked with Betty’s insurance company to make sure that it paid the full value of Betty’s underinsured motorist insurance to her family. Fortunately, Betty and her family had “underinsured motorist insurance” on their automobile policy which meant that Betty’s own insurance company had to pay because the woman who caused Betty’s death did not have enough insurance.
Because the person who caused Betty’s death did not have enough insurance, we investigated her and determined that she did have personal assets in addition to her insurance coverage. Since her personal assets were at risk, the woman who caused Betty’s death fought for years to keep from paying any money to Betty’s family. This was extremely painful for Betty’s family, who were still mourning the death of their wife and mother.
We fought tenaciously to protect our clients and fight for justice to honor the memory of this beautiful woman who was so tragically and needlessly killed. Ultimately, we were able to obtain a settlement that honored her memory.
Wrongful death cases are difficult because no amount of money can ever replace a person who was killed. However, these cases are important not only to provide financial compensation for the family left behind, but also to honor the memory of the person killed as well as to force the person who caused the death to take responsibility for choosing not to behave more responsibly. Even though people usually don’t “intend” to cause the death of another person, their failure to be careful can sometimes result in a death occurring. Grieving family members who have the courage to require accountability ultimately make things safer for all of us.
