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.  

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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.  

 

 

 

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.  

Social Media Can Negatively Impact Pennsylvania Car Accident Cases

If you’ve been injured in a car accident in Pennsylvania and intend to file an insurance claim or lawsuit based upon your injuries, then your past and future Social Media activity can negatively impact your case.

It’s become common practice for car insurance  company adjusters and defense attorneys to ask about and attempt to view Social Media postings to investigate car insurance and car accident claims.

If they find negative information about your character or information or photos that contradict your claims of pain or limitations, then it can be devastating to your car accident case.

Because we live in a new world of sometimes constant postings about our lives and activities, it’s important for victims of car accidents to understand that if they plan to make compensation claims, then their Social Media posts can become relevant evidence in the case.

Injury claims often involve claims of pain and inability to engage in activities.  Making such claims opens the injured party up to investigation into those claims including evidence of what life was like before and after the accident.

Investigation can take the form of interviews of family members, friends and co-workers, surveillance by private investigators and investigation into the injured person’s Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.)

Three Social Media Rules

As a Pennsylvania Car Accident Lawyer, I can offer three tips regarding the issue of the interplay betweeen Social Media and Car Accident claims.

Privacy Settings

First, make sure your Privacy Settings only allow your friends to see your posts and never accept friend requests from strangers.  This will minimize the ability of insurance company adjusters and defense attorneys to invade your privacy.

Post Responsibly

Second, assume that everything you post after your accident will end up being used in your Personal Injury  case.  So, posts that make you look bad like posts of you partying or engaging in improper or even illegal activity may come back to bite you.  Also, if posts end up contradicting your sworn testimony about your injuries or limitations, it can be devastating to your case.

Don’t “Clean Up” your Site for Litigation

Third, understand that you are not permitted to “clean up” your Social Media site for the purpose of improving your insurance claim or lawsuit allegations.  Deleting past posts or photos can be considered destroying evidence and can seriously harm your legal claims.

The bottom line is that you should be a responsible Social Media user and should be completely honest in your Car Accident Personal Injury claim about your pain and limitations.  If you stick by those rules, as well as make sure that your Privacy Settings allow access only by your friends, you can minimize the chances of Social Media harming your Pennsylvania Car Accident case.

Tim Rayne is a Pennsylania Car Accident Lawyer with the law firm MacElree Harvey, Ltd.  For over 20 years, Tim has been helping injured victims of accidents receive fair treatment from insurance companies.  Tim helps clients with car accidents, slip and fall accidents, medical malpractice claims and other personal injuries.  Tim has law offices in Kennett Square and West Chester Pennsylvania.  Contact Tim at 6108400124 or trayne@macelree.com.

As President of the Longwood Rotary, MacElree Harvey partner Tim Rayne is proud to report that the Club’s Annual Gala netted over $50,000.  Those funds will enable the Longwood Rotary Foundation to support dozens of local, national and international charitiable organizations as well as assist individuals needing a helping hand.

This year’s Gala took place on March 17 with an Old Hollywood theme, so guests dressed up in period attire and had fun mingling with Celebrity Impersonators Lucile Ball, Marilyn Monroe,  The Godfather and Michael Jackson.

As is customary, the Rotary Gala was hosted in the Conservatory at Longwood Gardens.  There simply is no better place in the area for a party.

Fundraising money came from multiple sources:  ticket sales, program ads, sponsorships and a Silent Auction featuring over 200 items.  One of the largest donors wa  Horizon, a local Heating and Air Conditioning company, that donated a heat pump system valued at over $10,000.

The whole Longwood Rotary Club chipped in to make the event a huge success, but special thanks is owed to the Gala Chair Jen Dresser, Project Chair Dawn Talley and Silent Auction Chair Lynn Nathan.

The $50,000 raised at the Gala will be distributed by the Longwood Rotary Foundation which supports diverse projects and causes from international Rotary Water Projects and Stop Polio Now as well as providing help to local charitable organizations like the Kennett Senior Center, the YMCA and La Comunidad Hispana just to name a few.  The Rotary Foundation and the Longwood Rotary also provide help to local individuals who need assistance.  Last Winter the Club helped a family in Coatesville replace their heating system.

Please consider attending the Longwood Rotary Gala next year or come check out one of our Rotary Club meetings on Thursday at the Terrace Restaurant at Longwood Gardens at 6:45 a.m.  For more information, contact Club President Tim Rayne at 6108400124 or trayne@macelree.com.

Tim Rayne is a Personal Injury attorney with the Chester County Law Firm MacElree Harvey, Ltd.  Tim helps people injured in accidents receive fair compensation from insurance companies.  Tim has offices in Kennett Square and West Chester.