Lawsuit Filed After Pedestrian Accident Leaves 2 Dead, One Seriously Injured
A lawsuit has been filed against a driver, a business, and the city of Moline after a vehicle entered a pedestrian walkway and caused a pedestrian accident. The incident occurred on an interstate bridge walkway near I-74. An 18-year-old man and a 23-year-old man were killed in the accident. A 23-year-old man was seriously injured. Initially, the suit only named the driver of the vehicle, but it was expanded to include the city of Moline and a nearby business.
The case against the city of Moline
According to the lawsuit, the city of Moline is responsible for ensuring the safety of the bridge walkway. The city is accused of failing to make the bridge inaccessible to vehicles and failing to install adequate barriers to the bridge to keep motor vehicle traffic off of the bridge.
The case against the business
The plaintiffs have named an area business to the lawsuit. They are accused of serving the defendant alcohol before the crash occurred. While these sorts of lawsuits are common in other states, they can be very hard to try in Florida. Generally speaking, you can only file a lawsuit against a bar when the bar knows that the patron is a minor. In cases where the bartender knows that the patron is an alcoholic, a lawsuit can also be filed against the bar.
Such lawsuits are instead filed against the driver for causing a drunk driving accident.
The case against the driver
The strongest case is, of course, against the driver of the vehicle. She maneuvered her vehicle onto the pedestrian bridge and struck three people, two of whom were killed in the accident. In Florida, she would be on the hook for two counts of DUI manslaughter and another count of causing serious bodily injury while operating her vehicle intoxicated. The driver basically has no defense to the personal injury lawsuit filed by the families and injured plaintiffs. However, the plaintiff’s recovery may be capped by the insurance policy limit and there are three plaintiffs in this case. The local business that served alcohol to the plaintiff likely has deeper pockets. But much will depend on what they knew at the point at which they served alcohol to the defendant.
A similar lawsuit in Florida has been filed against area bars that served alcohol to minors near Florida State University. These lawsuits contend that the bars knowingly served alcohol to minors who were then killed in traffic accidents. The jury is still out, so to speak, on those lawsuits and whether or not they are successful may depend on what the bartenders knew at the time they served alcohol to minors. If the minors had fake IDs, then the bar may not be liable at all.
Talk to a Tampa, FL Pedestrian Accident Attorney Today
When a pedestrian is killed in a car accident, it is often the fault of the driver. But other actors may contribute liability as well. If you’ve been injured in a car accident, call the Tampa pedestrian attorneys at Florin Gray to discuss your injuries in more detail and hold the negligent parties accountable.
Source:
qctimes.com/news/local/crime-courts/moline-sued-over-fatal-i-74-pedestrian-walkway-collision/article_9429d03f-5115-588d-b1b3-a7668387c11a.html
