Charlotte Injury Lawyers Blog
Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: “What exactly is a wrongful death claim?”
While testing out their new self-driving cars, Uber became the center of some controversy. The self-driving car struck a pedestrian and killed her. There was a ‘safety driver’ in the vehicle, but the driver did not prevent this or intervene to stop the crash, according to The Verge. One of the biggest questions surrounding this scandal is why the driver did not intervene when she should have seen a person crossing the road.
Based on evidence collected on the safety driver, the Tempe Police Department determined that the driver was streaming television on the Hulu application on her phone. Reports show that she had been watching television for about 42 minutes, which is just slightly less than the length of the drive before the crash. This means the driver would have started watching television within minutes of the start of the ride.
There is a video of the moments leading up to the crash in which the driver can be seen looking down, not at the road. The driver claimed she was keeping an eye on the system interface and that her phone was not being used at the time of the crash. The Tempe Police Department’s investigation suggests otherwise. Uber did not monitor their safety drivers constantly and in real time, but conducted periodic spot checks to see if the drivers were following rules. Safety drivers are present to ensure that the vehicles are operating property and to intervene in times of trouble. Uber is making changes to their program.
Incidents like this are likely to result in civil lawsuits. The family of the victim could potentially sue Uber, or potentially even the driver, in a wrongful death suit. In North Carolina, a wrongful death suit can be filed when a person’s death is caused by the negligence or wrongful act of another. A wrongful death suit is just one type of personal injury suit that can result after a car accident.
The biggest component of a wrongful death suit is proving negligence. There are four elements to negligence:
- Duty: The defendant must have owed the victim a duty of care.
- Breach: The defendant must have breached that duty of care owed to the victim.
- Causation: The defendant’s negligence or wrongful act must be the cause of the victims injury (or death).
- Damages: The injury or death must have resulted in damages to the victim.
If you or a loved one has been in an accident, you might be entitled to compensation for your injuries. Through a personal injury lawsuit, the dedicated and experienced personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC can help you achieve the compensation for injuries. We know that an injury, or death, can have devastating effects on life and loved ones. You do not have to go through it alone. Whether it is a crash from a self-driving Uber vehicle, or a simple fender bender, we are here to help you. Do not hesitate, we are here to answer all of your questions. Now taking cases throughout the Charlotte region with offices in Uptown Charlotte, Mooresville and the new location under renovation in Monroe. Contact us, for a free consultation, call us at 704-370-2828 or click here for additional resources.
The skilled personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to maximizing the financial recovery and obtaining justice for every personal injury client injured by another party’s negligence. The issues our personal injury clients may be facing include, but are not limited to, slip and fall injuries, wrongful death, product liability, catastrophic injuries, dog bite claims, car and truck accident injuries, motorcycle injuries, traumatic brain injury (TBI), nursing home negligence, spinal cord injury, boating accidents, and defective medical device injury. Our personal injury attorneys understand the devastating impact such an injury can have on a person’s life, and that the effects so often go beyond physical pain and suffering. The personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to helping clients determine the strength of their claims, and to aggressively pursuing the means necessary to achieve the best possible end result for each client’s particular situation.
Source:
https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/HWY18MH010-prelim.pdf
https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/22/17492320/safety-driver-self-driving-uber-crash-hulu-police-report
https://www.ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_28A/GS_28A-18-2.html
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