Articles Posted in Wrongful Death

The population across the nation is aging quickly and with this aging comes many concerns. What will the country look like with more elderly Americans than at any time previously in history? Will there be enough resources to support those individuals as they age? For many who call the Phoenix area home, these questions are not only hypothetical as they contemplate the future of their loved ones and family members. Right now, many are wondering whether to place those they care about in a nursing home or other long-term care facility.

This can be one of the most difficult decisions that someone can make in their lifetime as the choices they make directly affect the care that another will obtain. To complicate matters even further, many individuals are not aware of what a nursing home is required to provide and to do and they remain even more confused about what rights their loved ones will have if they are placed in a home.
Continue reading

Every driver in the State of Arizona is legally required to follow all traffic laws at all times. Failing to do so may be negligent or reckless conduct and may lead to charges against those who are responsible. But liability does not end at the issuance of a citation or traffic ticket, as many drivers believe, but rather can extend to a civil claim for damages if anyone is hurt due to an at-fault driver’s actions.

In the worst accidents, a victim may lose his or her life due to the actions of another. The right to seek a recovery in these cases often belong to a victim’s surviving family members or loved ones who may be able to recover payment for their losses, though no amount of money can ever be considered adequate in these cases. Speaking to a personal injury lawyer may help you understand whether you have a valid claim for your injuries or a wrongful death action for the loss of a loved one if a Phoenix-area crash has affected your life.

A Tuesday afternoon collision between an SUV and a motorcycle turned fatal, and police have confirmed that an off-duty Chandler police officer was the victim of that crash. The impact occurred near the area of Recker Road and Baseline Road in Gilbert and launched an investigation into the incident. Officials have now reported that the driver of the SUV, a civilian, ran a red light and collided with a motorcycle driven by a 34-year-old male Chandler police officer on his way to work. The injuries sustained by the officer were too severe and he died as a result of the crash, leaving behind a wife and four children.

Though officials have reported that the other driver involved ran a red light, they have not stated whether that driver has been or will be ticketed for causing the crash. It is also unclear whether the SUV driver was hurt in the accident or whether anyone else was inside the SUV at the time of the impact.
Continue reading

Skateboarding is common and popular among children and teenagers in Phoenix and the rest of the Valley, so much so that there are numerous parks dedicated to boarding and other similar activities. When the weather is nice and school is out, it is easy to see kids and others using skateboards, scooters, and inline skates for fun and for transportation.

Parents should not have to worry about their children’s safety when they are hanging out in a safe manner and within all applicable laws covering their conduct, yet every year, many children and minors are injured in accidents with cars when the drivers of these vehicles fail to pay attention. Being distracted, speeding, or running a stop sign are some of the many reasons that car accidents with children occur in Phoenix and may result in injuries.

The children hurt in these collisions may face a lifetime of consequences that can include injuries that may never fully heal. In the worst instances, a teenager or a child may lose his or her life due to the actions of another. While these collisions cannot be erased once they occur, it is possible for the victims and the families of the victims may be able to recover financially through a civil claim for their damages. These settlement can cover expenses like medical bills but no amount of money will ever be adequate when a teen loses his or her life. Speaking with a personal injury lawyer who handles wrongful death claims on behalf of the families of accident victims may help you understand whether you are entitled to relief for your losses if your family has suffered from the actions of another.

An accident between a skateboarder and an SUV turned fatal on Sunday and police are now looking for any information on the driver that may have been involved. According to witnesses, a white SUV in the area was driving erratically when it came upon an 18-year-old who was riding on a skateboard in San Tan Valley near Gantzel and Chandler Heights Road. The SUV allegedly struck the skateboarder, sending the victim into the air where he landed approximately 15 feet away from the point of impact. Emergency crews responded and transported the teen to an area hospital but the injuries were too severe and the teen died a short time later.

The driver of the SUV reportedly fled the scene after the crash without alerting authorities and without checking on the teen’s condition. At this time, police are asking anyone with information on the driver of the white SUV to come forward so that officials can speak with the driver.
Continue reading

When all drivers are operating in a safe manner and with caution and care towards others on the road, driving a car or riding a motorcycle can be relatively safe. Most people make it from one point to another without being involved in an accident or crash and without thinking much about the dangers that are inherent to driving. But in many cases, drivers are distracted, impaired, or otherwise negligent while behind the wheel, leading to a decreased focus on traffic and increasing the changes of an accident happening.

Often, a negligent driver strikes another vehicle in a crash, meaning that an innocent driver and his or her passengers are involved in a crash simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Car accidents in Phoenix may be minor or severe. In the best scenarios, no one is injured and only minor property damage occurs. However, in serious accidents, those involved may be killed as a result of the crash, potentially leading to a wrongful death claim.

When a loved one or family member is killed due to the negligence of another, the surviving family members or loved ones may be entitled to seek relief for their damages even though no amount of money can ever provide proper compensation for the losses suffered. Speaking with a personal injury lawyer who handles these wrongful death claims can help you understand if you have a valid claim and whether you may be entitled to relief.

Police in Tempe have confirmed a tragic accident took place on Wednesday evening during a busy commuting period along eastbound US 60. Though it is early in their investigation, police believe that a motorcyclist collided with a passenger car while in the vicinity of McClintock Drive. Officials believe that the force of the crash threw the biker off the motorcycle and onto the road’s surface where a second passenger vehicle struck and then run over the biker, causing fatal injuries.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing at this time as police attempt to determine which factors set the fatal accident into effect and whether negligence on the part of anyone involved in the crash contributed. Part of eastbound US 60 remained closed after the accident last night for investigators to review the scene and for crews to clear the affected lanes.
Continue reading

Police have not yet determined what caused an 87-year-old woman in Gilbert to strike a parked car and then crash through a building on Friday morning but they have confirmed that a 22-year-old woman was killed as a result.

The incident occurred near a Gilbert strip mall in the area of East Baseline Road and South Power Road at approximately 10:00 a.m. Police have reported that the elderly driver was running errands at a bank near the intersection that morning and that she returned to her car after completing her banking. As she began to drive, she reportedly struck a parked car in the area, causing her to lose control of her own vehicle and sending it crashing through a glass storefront in the neighboring strip mall. The woman’s car did stop upon impact with the store but rather careened forward, traveling about 25 feet inside of the building and injuring at least 12 people. One of those victims, a 22-year-old woman, died as a result of her injuries. At least two other people inside the building were taken to area hospitals for treatment of unspecified injuries.

Neither the driver nor her passenger were injured in the crash and police stated that at this time, they do not believe that impairment was a factor. That leaves investigators unsure of what caused the woman to strike a parked car in the first place, setting this deadly string of events in motion. While the investigation is ongoing, at this time it is clear that a 22-year-old woman lost her life through no fault of her own and nearly a dozen other people were injured at the same time.

Arizona law requires each driver of a motor vehicle to exercise due care and caution while behind the wheel so that accidents do not occur, thereby preventing the number of those injured and killed in car accidents, but unfortunately some drivers still ignore basic safety precautions. In the event that a driver’s negligence causes a collision, that driver may face criminal and traffic charges as well as a possible civil claim for financial damages.
Continue reading

A 58-year-old woman was killed in Tucson on Sunday while shopping in a local 7-Eleven store. The woman was killed when a car that had been involved in an accident ran into the 7-Eleven and pushed a trash can into her.

The incident occurred near the intersection of East Speedway Boulevard and North Columbus Boulevard around 10:00 a.m. Police have stated that a 52-year-old driver of a Kia Sedona was traveling eastbound in rightmost lane of East Speedway when the traffic light for eastbound traffic was red. The driver allegedly failed to stop for the red light and entered the intersection with North Columbus, causing a collision with another vehicle. The driver of the Kia lost control of the vehicle and veered off the roadway to the right where the convenience store is located.

The driver of the Kia struck a cement trashcan outside of the 7-Eleven and then continued forward through the glass store front, actually entering the building with the vehicle. Police officers have stated that the cement trashcan was also pushed forward and that it struck a 58-year-old female who was inside the store at the time, seriously injuring her and leading to her death.

The driver of the Kia has been charged with one count of causing serious injury or death by a moving violation. That is a misdemeanor charge in Arizona with possible jail time if the driver is found guilty. It is not clear whether police are considering additional charges in this matter or what caused the driver to run the red light initially.

Separate from the traffic charge and the possibility of any additional traffic or criminal charges may be a civil suit brought against the driver by the family of the woman who was killed. In Arizona, the families of those who are killed by the negligence of another can bring a civil claim for their loss. This can include the loss of companionship and society they will experience, any financial losses incurred through the death, as well as compensation for the victim’s pain and suffering between the time of the accident and the time the victim died.
Continue reading

Friday afternoon saw a deadly plane crash in Northern Phoenix. Two small planes, a Cessna and a Piper Archer III, collided in mid-air near Phoenix Deer Valley Airport, causing the Cessna to catch fire on impact and killing four people.

The collision occurred around 10:00 a.m. between the planes, which were both single engines, and it is not yet clear what caused the crash. Local authorities have reported that both planes were owned by companies that operate local flight schools with training to become private or commercial pilots.

One of the schools released an official statement on its website stating that both individuals killed in its plane were flight instructors but that the school would not be releasing any personal information about either out of respect for the families involved. The same school stated that it is fully cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board (“NTSB”) while the NTSB conducts an investigation into the accident.

Flying continues to be one of the safest ways to travel, both within the United States and abroad. Arizona has dozens of airports from large, international airports that service commercial jets to small, private airports that are used mainly for pilot training, crop dusting, and other local tasks. However as planes continue to fly, there will continue to be plane accidents that injure or kill innocent passengers.

In this case, two planes collided and the cause remains unclear. Planes should never collide mid-air without some sort of negligence on the part of a pilot, air traffic controller, or even a defective plane. If negligence causes a plane crash that results in injuries or death, the negligence individual can be liable for criminal damages as well as civil damages, including any injuries that result.

A common reason that planes crash is due to pilot error. Whether the pilot fails to pay attention, falls asleep, or is intoxicated, an error that occurs thousands of feet above the ground is incredibly dangerous and likely to be deadly for any passengers on board. The same can be said of error on the part of an air traffic controller. It is the job of an air traffic controller to know the patterns of flight traffic and to ensure that no two planes occupy the same air space at the same time. If a controller loses track or forgets about a plane, it becomes easy for aircrafts to be too close to one another, potentially causing a collision.
Continue reading