Tennis Star Venus Williams Faces Wrongful Death Lawsuit After Car Accident
Tennis Star Venus Williams has been named as the Defendant in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit which arose out of a June 9 car accident that killed 78 year old Jerome Barson and injured his wife Linda.
The collision occurred near Venus’ home in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
According to Police, Venus was making a left hand turn into a gated community at a traffic light and the light was red at the time she made the turn.
Witnesses confirmed that Venus ran the red light while turning left.
Venus’ story to police was that she entered the intersection on a green light but then was caught in the middle of the intersection. Venus was trying to clear the intersection and did not see the Barson’s car approaching when she made the left turn.
According to Linda Barson, who was driving the other vehicle, she was approaching the intersection and the light turned green. When she noticed Venus was making a left in front of her, she was unable to avoid the collision.
Fortunately for Venus, there was no evidence of cell phone, drug or alcohol use.
Who Violated Traffic Rules?
In terms of who will ultimately be found liable for causing this car accident, there are three traffic rules in play.
First, the traffic rules require cars to stop at red lights. If the light was, in fact, red, then Venus violated the rule by making a left turn on a red light. Clearly such action was dangerous because oncoming traffic would have a green light making a collision likely.
Second, the traffic rules require cars making left hand turns to yield the right-of-way to oncoming traffic and wait to make the turn until there are no vehicles so close as to constitute a hazard. Again, it appears that Venus violated that rule. The Barson vehicle was approaching and Venus should have given it the right-of-way and not turned left in front of it.
Third, the traffic rules require cars to obey the speed limit. According to the Wrongful Death lawsuit, there was massive damage to both vehicles. Mr. Barson was killed and Mrs. Barson sustained significant injuries. This raises the question of the speed of the Barson vehicle. Mrs. Barson had a responsibility to drive within the speed limit. If she was speeding, then that could have been a contributing cause of the accident.
Ultimately, if the Wrongful Death lawsuit goes to a trial it will be up to the jury to decide who was at fault for causing the collision. It is likely that the drivers will testify, as will the eye witnesses and the Police officers. In addition, both Venus’ lawyers and the lawyers for the Barsons could have crash reconstruction experts study the evidence and testify regarding who was responsible for causing the crash.
What Will Happen in the Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Because it appears fairly clear that Venus was at fault for causing this collision and, by all reports is devastated that she made a mistake that took someone’s life, this is likely a case that will be settled out-of-court rather that tried in front of a jury.
Car accident and Wrongful Death lawsuits resolve one of two ways, with an agreed upon settlement or a verdict in court.
In this case, with Venus being a high profile and wealthy professional athlete, I would expect her to have protected herself ahead of time with significant insurance coverage. Car insurance will protect Venus from her liability to pay compensation to Mrs. Barson for her injuries and to Mr. Barson’s family for his Wrongful Death. I would also expect Venus to have an Umbrella Policy protecting her assets well above the liability limits of her car insurance.
(As an aside, as a Personal Injury Lawyer, I always recommend that everyone have liability insurance on their car of at least $250,000 and an Umbrella Policy of at least $1 million to protect their assets if they cause a serious car accident like this one.)
In Venus’ case, I would expect that her personal lawyers will pressure her insurance company lawyers to settle the case out-of-court and to insist on a confidentiality provision in the settlement to protect her privacy.
About the Author – Tim Rayne is a Pennsylvania Personal Injury and Car Accident Lawyer who regularly handles Car Accident Injury and Wrongful Death Lawsuits. For over 20 years, Tim has been helping injured victims of Car Accidents and their families receive fair treatment from insurance companies. Tim has offices in Kennett Square and West Chester, Pennsylvania. Contact Tim at trayne@macelree.com or 6108400124.
It CAN Happen to Your Family – Four Tips to Prevent Hot Car Deaths
An average of 37 children per year die of heat stroke in Hot Cars in the U.S. These tragic deaths result from children accidentally locking themselves in vehicle cabins or trunks and by adults intentionally or accidentally leaving children in Hot Cars.
Hot Car deaths can lead to criminal charges for the responsible adult.
Fortunately, Hot Car deaths are also easily preventable.
Why Do Children die in Hot Cars?
Vehicles have a greenhouse type effect in which they can heat up to dangerous temperatures very quickly. On an 80 degree day, a car can heat up to 125 degrees in just minutes. 80 percent of the increase in temperature happens in the first 10 minutes. It may surprise you to learn that children have died from heatstroke in weather as cool as 60 degrees.
Moreover, contrary to what you might expect, cracking car windows does NOT prevent the vehicle from heating up to deadly levels.
A contributing factor to child injuries and deaths from heat stroke is that children overheat 3-5 times faster than adults.
It is a dangerous phenomenon that most parents believe that they could never leave or forget their child in the car, but over 55% of Hot Car deaths are caused by caregivers.
These cases in which children are accidentally left in the car usually involve a responsibile and loving parent who just makes a terrible inadvertent error. A common scenario is that the parent who doesn’t normally drive the child to day care is called into action in an emergency and then forgets the child because it is not part of his or her usual routine.
Accidental Hot Car deaths have been caused by parents whom you would not expect to be easily distracted including a teacher, dentist, social worker, police officer, nurse and even a rocket scientist, so it can happen to anyone.
Four Tips to Prevent Hot Car Deaths?
Hot Car deaths are 100 percent preventable. Here are some tips:
1- Never Ever leave a child alone in a car – Even if you think you are going to just be gone a minute, anything can happen when you leave a child alone. You could get hurt or distracted and your child could be trapped with the heat rising dangerously. By the way, in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland it is ILLEGAL to leave your child alone in the car.
2- If you see a child alone in the car don’t ignore it – Get involved and save a life. Call 911. Make sure that the child is rescued.
3- Keep your vehicle locked and keys secure – Prevent children from getting injured or killed by playing in the car cabin or trunk by keeping your car locked and your keys secure.
4- Have a plan to avoid accidentally leaving your child in the car – Just when you think it could never happen to you or your family, you might accidentally leave your child in the car. People get stressed and distracted. Even something as critical as the safety of your child can be overlooked. So, plan ahead to avoid tragedy.
Always LOOK BEFORE YOU LOCK
Store something essential in the back seat where your child is – like your purse, wallet, briefcase, cell phone or employee badge.
Have a strict policy with your daycare that if the child does not arrive on time both parents must be contacted immediately.
Consider using car seat sensor devices that will notify you if you accidentally leave a child in the car like Sense-a-Life and iBabyseat.
About the Author – Tim Rayne is a Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyer with the law firm MacElree Harvey, Ltd. For over 20 years, Tim has been helping injured victims of accidents and their families receive fair treatment from insurance companies. In addition, Tim regularly pubishes articles and videos on Safety and Insurance issues to prevent accidents and protect people when accidents occur. Tim has offices in Kennett Square and West Chester, Pennsylvania. Contact Tim Rayne at 6108400124 or trayne@macelree.com or check out Tim’s website, timraynelaw.com.
Pennsylvania Court Decides Spanish Speaking Car Accident Victims Tricked Into Releasing Claims
On November 26, 2016, the Pennsylvania Superior Court decided an important case, Del Peilago v. Orwig, finding that two Spanish speaking car accident victims may have been tricked into signing a Release giving up their injury claims for minimal compensation because of the unfair tactics of a predatory car insurance adjuster.
What Happened in the Car Accident Case
Armando was injured in a violent rear-end collision that occurred in York County, Pennsylvania. In his car accident lawsuit, Armando’s lawyer alleged that he sustained multiple injuries including a shoulder rotator cuff tear requiring surgery, carpal tunnel syndrome, headaches, dizziness and low back injuries.
The Predatory Conduct of the Car Insurance Adjuster
Just twelve days after the car accident, an insurance adjuster from Progressive Insurance Company, the insurer of Orwig who was the driver who rear-ended Armando, went to Armando’s home with the intention of trying to settle the legal claims arising out of the accident.
The adjuster knew that Armando and his wife were Spanish speakers and had very little ability to speak or understand English. Despite this knowledge, the adjuster did not bring an interpreter with him when he visited their home.
During the meeting, the insurance adjuster presented a Release to Armando and his wife which promised payment of $2,851.92 and a maximum of $7,000 of medical bills and lost wages incurred within 45 days of the accident in exchange for them giving up all of their legal claims for any compensation.
(As a Pennsylvania Car Accident Lawyer, I can tell you that the compensation offered in the Release was outrageously low. Based upon Armando’s alleged injuries, it’s likely that the fair value of his claims was in excess of $100,000, not less than $10,000.)
Although the facts were disputed, appears that Armando and his wife telephoned their English speaking daughter at work while they were reviewing the proposed Release with the insurance adjuster. However, the testimony of Armando, his wife and daughter was that they all believed that the Release only covered lost wages.
The Armando’s signed the Release and accepted compensation from Progressive Insurance.
What Happened in the Lawsuit
When the Armando’s sued Orwig, the defense lawyers responded by attempting to have the lawsuit dismissed by asserting that the Release had already legally extinguished their claims.
Orwig won initially because the trial judge decided that the Release was clear in its terms that ended all claims for compensation in exchange for the money paid and the Armando’s signed it voluntarily.
The appellate court reversed the trial judge’s decision.
Under Pennsylvania law, a Release will usually be enforced according to its terms. However, if there is a question about physical or mental incapacity or an inability to read and understand the Release or proof Fraud, the Release will not be enforced.
In this case, the Armando’s alleged that he could not read and did not understand the Release and that Fraud was committed by the Progressive Insurance adjuster. Fraud occurs when someone makes a false statement designed to trick someone else into doing something they would not do if they knew the truth.
The Armando’s alleged that the adjuster knew that they had very little ability to speak or understand English and that he used that to trick them into signing the Release for minimal compensation.
The appellate court found that there was evidence that the Armando’s “who do not speak English, were railroaded into signing this release, which they believed to be merely an acknowledgment of Armando’s lost wages to date.”
Ultimately, the case was sent the case back to court for a trial so that a jury could determine whether or not the Release was enforceable.
Practical Implications
This decision has practical implications.
In my practice, I had a very similar case in which I was able to help a car accident victim defeat an insurance company defense that she had released her claim because she spoke no English and did not understand that she was giving up her claims for much less than their fair value.
Even beyond the facts involved in this case, it’s important for accident victims to know that many insurance companies employ these predatory tactics. It is extremely common for insurance adjusters to offer a very low settlement payment shortly after the accident in exchange for the injured party signing a Release.
It’s crucial that car accident victims to understand that absent a very good defense, the Release will be enforced and extinguish all legal claims in exchange for the money paid without consideration of whether it is fair or not.
Accordingly, accident victims need to wait until their injuries and the future implications are fully known before they consider settling their case and signing a Release. Fortunately, in Pennsylvania the deadline for filing Personal Injury Lawsuits is 2 years from the injury, so there is plenty of time and no need to rush into a settlement.
Tim Rayne is a Car Accident Lawyer with the Pennsylvania Law Firm MacElree Harvey, Ltd. Tim helps injured victims of accidents receive fair compensation from insurance companies. Tim has offices in Kennett Square and West Chester. For a Free Evaluation of your Car Accident case, contact Tim at 6108400124 or trayne@macelree.com. For more information on Car Accident and Personal Injury cases, check out Tim’s website timraynelaw.com.
Tiger Woods Could Have Cost Himself $100 Million
Although it was a terrible night for Tiger Woods, he was actually very lucky.
The mug shot is humiliating. The dash cam video is worse. Tiger hit a new low with his Driving Under the Influence arrest.
But, it could have been worse. Tiger could have caused a car accident and killed or seriously injured someone. If that had happened, then Tiger would have been looking at serious jail time and a civil lawsuit that could have cost him $100 Million or more in Compensatory and Punitive Damages.
Fortunately for Tiger, there was no alcohol involved. He was tested with a breathalyzer and blew a Zero reading. Unfortunately, the dash cam video demonstrates (and Tiger admits) that he was impaired from the effects of prescription drugs.
Given that Tiger has suffered from back pain for years and has undergone numerous surgeries with the last one taking place several weeks ago, it’s hard to believe that taking pain medication is something new for Tiger and that this was truly “an unexpected reaction to medication.”
Had Tiger been involved in a crash in which someone was seriously injured or died, he would have been in serious criminal trouble and facing a huge Civil Lawsuit by the victim.
Under the law, if someone is under the influence when they cause a car crash, it’s likely that they will be found to have been reckless and, absent a good excuse, they will be liable for Punitive Damages.
Punitive Damages serve the purpose of punishing the person who caused the crash for his reckless and outrageous behavior and deterring him from doing it again. The amount of Punitive Damages that should be awarded depends on the conduct but also on the wealth of the Defendant because it takes a large Punitive Damage award in order to punish a wealthy Defendant.
Given that Tiger Woods has a net worth of hundreds of millions of dollars, it’s probable that a Punitive Damage award against him could have been astronomical.
As a Tiger fan, I hope that this was just a big mistake in medication dosage or that Tiger will check himself into rehab and turn his life around. As a Car Accident Lawyer who helps victims of accidents, I would tell Tiger that he dodged a bullet and had better get his act together.
Tim Rayne is a Pennsylvania Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyer with the law firm MacElree Harvey. For over 20 years, Tim has been helping accident victims receive fair compensation from insurance companies. Tim has offices in Kennett Square and West Chester Pennsylvania. For a Free Evaluation of your Personal Injury or Car Accident Case contact Tim at 6108400124 or trayne@macelree.com.
Tim Rayne Named to 2017 Top 100 by Super Lawyers
MacElree Harvey is proud to announce that Personal Injury Lawyer Tim Rayne was named to the 2017 Top 100 in Pennsylvania and Top 100 in Philadelphia Lists by Super Lawyers in the Plaintiff Personal Injury practice area.
Super Lawyers uses a patented selection process to ensure that it is a credible and impartial attorney rating system.
The four-step selection process has been deemed a comprehensive, good-faith and detailed attempt to produce a list of lawyers who have attained high peer recognition, meet ethical standards and demonstrate achievement in their field.
Tim has been named to the Top 100 Lists in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Top 100 in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia
Tim helps injured accident victims receive fair treatment from insurance companies. Tim handles a diverse collection of injury cases from car, motorcycle and truck accident cases to slip and fall and medical malpractice cases. Tim meets with clients in both the West Chester and Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Contact Tim at trayne@macelree.com or 6108400124.