$275,000 Settlement for Head-on Collision / Wrongful Death

The firm represented the estate of a college student killed in a motor vehicle accident on New Year’ Day 2003. The young man was as a passenger in the backseat of a car when the driver crashed head-on into oncoming traffic. The police report indicated that the student was not properly belted because he was found lying across the back seat. The Medical Examiner relied upon the Police report, and cited the failure to properly wear a seatbelt as a cause of death. The defense therefore argued that the death was due to a failure to wear a seatbelt and not the driver’s negligence in crashing. The firm worked with an expert forensic pathologist, and was able to determine, using strong forensic evidence, that the man was actually fully and properly seat-belted when the impact occurred. That determination forced the defendant to concede that the young man was properly belted. The case settled on the first day of trial for $275,000.