When traveling in a vehicle, a person in Colorado often is focused on getting to his or her destination and handling his or her day-to-day responsibilities. Coming face-to-face with death is typically not one of his or her expectations. Thus, when the person dies in the fatal accident, family members who are left behind naturally are bewildered and grieve over the sudden loss. Financial damages certainly don’t make up for the tragic loss of the person’s life, but they may help the surviving loved ones to get reimbursed for the expenses and other damages that inevitably accompany these tragedies.
In a recent automobile accident in Colorado, a vehicle left Highway 50. At that point, it collided with a traffic sign. A 19-year-old woman was ejected from the car.
The woman, who was apparently not wearing a seatbelt, died at the scene of the crash. Meanwhile, the car’s driver suffered no injuries, while a second passenger in the vehicle suffered minor injuries. Police continued to investigate the crash, although drugs are believed to have been a causal factor in the wreck.
If the driver of the vehicle is found to have been driving while under the influence of drugs, he or she will likely have to face criminal charges. Drugs impair a person’s judgment and ability to concentrate; thus, driving after taking drugs can be lethal. The family members of the passenger who died in this fatal accident have the right to file a wrongful death suit against the driver and seek monetary damages, based on a showing of negligence by another party to the collision. Any conviction secured in a Colorado criminal court for driving under the influence of drugs or other charges may be helpful for establishing the driver’s financial responsibility for the accident in civil court.
Source: The Kansas City Star, Kansas City teen dead in Colorado car crash, No author, Dec. 26, 2013
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