Hit and Run Drivers Face Civil as well as Criminal Charges

Car accidents are sometimes understandable mistakes or are simply unavoidable.  Sometimes they are caused by negligence like substance abuse or driving which has been distracted by electronics.  But as soon as drivers flee the scene in order to avoid responsibility, no matter the cause of the accident, it becomes a crime.  In these cases, families often file personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits against hit-and-run drivers in addition to criminal charges they are facing which may be up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Drivers often flee the scene of a pedestrian collision due to fear of prosecution, fear of being found to have been driving under the influence of alcohol or illegal substances, or fear of having been found to have been driving without liability insurance, as is one in every seven drivers on the road today.

We need to send a message to hit-and-run drivers in West Virginia which is:  You will be caught, and you will be prosecuted, so don’t make matters worse for yourself or anyone else involved.

Beverly, WV:  Hit and Run on Highway Route 219

A good example of this involves the West Virginia State Police in Elkins who are investigating a hit and run that happened on Rt. 219 outside of Beverly around 4:30 p.m. on Friday, November 29th, 2013.  State Police have located and arrested the driver and charged him with DUI causing personal injury, leaving the scene of an accident, possession of a controlled substance, and possessing marijuana.

State Police said the perpetrator of this hit and run was driving north on Rt. 219 outside of Beverly and struck a young man who was walking on the shoulder with another person. Troopers said the driver was answering his cell phone while driving around a turn when he traveled off of the roadway and struck the pedestrian who is now in critical condition. The second pedestrian was not injured.  At the time of this post, the pedestrian remains in critical condition at Ruby Hospital, and the hit and run driver is being held in Tygart Valley Regional Jail.

What Can A Victim Do In Such Cases?

This collision exemplifies all that can go wrong when irresponsible persons are behind the wheel of a vehicle —  driving under the influence, losing control of the vehicle and leaving the victim on the side of the road.   Thankfully, there was a witness who was able to communicate the identity of the perpetrator to the police.    But what about the victim’s rights of recovery against the perpetrator?   What can be done to make him responsible for the damages he has caused?   Unfortunately, in many cases, there is little that can be done.   If the perpetrator has insurance, it is often in the minimum limits required by law: $20,000.   One day in the hospital would absorb that amount.   More often, though, the perpetrator doesn’t have automobile insurance and has no assets.   A judgment against such an individual would likely be difficult if not impossible to collect.  Besides, he is likely to be spending some time behind bars for his illegal behavior.   These types of situations illustrate the need for responsible drivers to have sufficient underinsured motorist vehicle coverage and medical payments coverage on their own policies.

Elkins WV Pedestrian Accident Lawyers

Every year in communities throughout West Virginia, hundreds of innocent adults and children are injured or killed while walking on a sidewalk or pedestrian crossing or riding their bikes legally on our streets. When a car or truck hits a pedestrian, there is usually no question about who is going to suffer.

Going up against an insurance company to fight for full and fair money damages for your injuries or financial losses is no easy task. Insurance companies often devote substantial financial resources trying to beat you down and frustrate you until you accept their low settlement offer.

The  Robinette Legal Group puts you on an even playing field.  Jeff Robinette is a former insurance defense lawyer who understands the strategies and tactics insurance companies use to limit their liability and avoid paying you what your claim is worth.

Our firm has experience representing clients in all types of pedestrian accident injury and wrongful death claims, including:

  • Intersection and crosswalk injuries
  • Parking lot injuries
  • Hit and run and uninsured motorist accidents

Contact our offices in Morgantown to schedule a free consultation about your pedestrian accident injury claim. We represent clients injured in communities throughout West Virginia.

Related article on Erin’s Law in WV stiffening penalties for hit and run drivers.

If you have questions, call 304-594-1800 today.

Source:  WBOY: “1 Arrested, 1 Hospitalized at Ruby Memorial Hospital Following Rt. 219 Hit and Run.”  December 3, 2013.

Risk Factors for Senior Drivers in West Virginia

When is it Time to Hand over the Keys?

Since 1863, the West Virginia State Motto has been Montani Semper Liberi, or “Mountaineers are Always Free.”  We love and value our freedom, no matter what our age.  One of the greatest freedoms we possess in this country is the freedom to travel without restrictions, usually by car.  Ask older folks in the nursing homes what they miss the most, and many will tell you that they miss the ability to drive when and where they like.

According to the U.S Census Bureau’s population estimates by age and gender, West Virginia remains among the oldest states in the nation. The median age of West Virginians is 40.5 years (third highest) and the share of those who are 65 years or older is 16.2 percent (second highest), and these percentages are predicted to rise every year. As the number of older drivers increases, senior-driver safety is becoming more relevant for many families. With years of experience behind the wheel, older drivers likely are among the safest on the road. However, skills and abilities required for safe driving do deteriorate with age. The “silver tsunami” or great increase in the percentage of seniors driving in West Virginia raises the question of how families and doctors must be working together to determine if and when age-related health problems — from arthritis to frailty to Alzheimer’s disease — are severe enough to impair driving.

A recent hit-and-run tragedy in West Virginia illustrates the need for families to keep a watchful eye on Alzheimer’s patients in their care.

The investigation of a fatal hit and run accident in Kanawha County this week took an unexpected turn when sheriff’s deputies learned that the woman behind the wheel of the vehicle which struck Terry Stanley, 50, of Hernshaw, was an 80-year-old who suffers from Alzheimer’s.

The sheriff commented:  “We know from past dealings with individuals with Alzheimer’s and dementia they are at times able to sneak off and get into a vehicle without the knowledge of family members.”

Investigators said the woman had a valid driver’s license.

Fatality rates for drivers begin to climb after age 65, according to a recent study by Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, based on data from 1999-2004. From ages 75 to 84, the rate of about three deaths per 100 million miles driven is equal to the death rate of teenage drivers. For drivers 85 and older, the fatality rate skyrockets to nearly four times higher than that for teens.

Risk Factors Linked to Aging Process

Specific physical and cognitive abilities may decline with advancing age such as changes in vision, hearing and reaction time. However, there are large individual differences in the onset and degree of functional impairments, so age alone does not provide sufficient information to judge driving ability. Still, functional impairments can interfere with driving and may become particularly evident in stressful or challenging driving situations such as merging or changing lanes.

Several studies have shown that higher levels of physical, cognitive or visual impairment among older drivers are associated with increased risk of crash involvement. Statistically, fatal crash rates begin to increase at age 75. Per mile traveled, crash rates and fatal crash rates start increasing at about age 70.

A study of older drivers’ elevated fatal crash rates per mile traveled between 1993 and 1997 revealed that the main factor was not seniors’ over-involvement in crashes but their fragility, defined as the risk of death in a crash. Fragility increased starting around ages 60-64 and continued to rise with age.

Compared with younger drivers, senior drivers are more likely to be involved in certain types of collisions — angle crashes, overtaking or merging crashes, and especially intersection crashes. Studies of senior-involved crashes have found that failure to yield the right-of-way is the most common error among seniors.

Many older drivers also take medications with side effects which can impair driving ability of both young and old. As a person ages, their muscle mass and liver and kidney functions decline, so that person’s ability to metabolize (break down, use, and eliminate) medicines declines as well, leaving a higher concentration of medications in the body which may affect response time and driving ability.

Simple Restrictions can Prolong Driving Independence

Rather than prematurely taking away the privilege of driving from a person who may still have the ability to safely drive for several more years, individually assigned restrictions may be the answer to prolonging an aging person’s independence for as long as possible. Restrictions similar to those assigned to teenage drivers may include no driving on high-speed roads, driving outside a certain area, or driving at night. These restrictions would increase safety for those with visual impairments, prescription medication dependence, and impaired physical mobility.

Study Finds that Warning Patients of Risk Greatly Reduces Collisions

A large study from Canada in 2011 found another key component in reducing serious crash injuries among older drivers: simply having the doctors warn patients, and tell driving authorities that the older patient may be medically unfit to be on the road. Where this has occurred, there’s a drop in serious crash injuries among those drivers. The study, in the New England Journal of Medicine, couldn’t tell if the improvement was because those patients drove less, or drove more carefully once the doctors pointed out the risk.

While the study included adult drivers of all ages — for conditions ranging from epilepsy to sleep disorders, alcoholism to dementia — most were over age 60. This study highlighted one reason physicians don’t like to get involved: About 1 in 5 of the patients who were warned changed doctors. There also was an uptick in reports of depression.

Doctors aren’t necessarily trained to evaluate driving ability, and the study couldn’t tell if some drivers were targeted needlessly, noted Dr. Matthew Rizzo, of the University of Iowa. Yet he considered the research valuable. ‘‘The message from this paper is that doctors have some wisdom in knowing when to restrict drivers,’’ Rizzo said. His own research shows some cognitive tests might help them better identify who’s at risk, such as by measuring ‘‘useful field of view,’’ essentially how much your brain gleans at a glance — important for safety in intersections.

Other families turn to driver rehabilitation specialists, occupational therapists who can spend up to four hours evaluating an older driver’s vision, memory, cognition and other abilities before giving him a behind-the-wheel driving test. Some doctors and state licensing authorities order those evaluations, but programs can be hard to find, often have waiting lists and cost several hundred dollars that insurance may not cover.

Having a professional involved can keep family relationships intact, said Pam Bartle, a driver rehab specialist at Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in Wheaton, Ill.

Still, “you could have the sweetest, nicest little old lady and she’ll turn on you on a dime if you tell her she can’t drive,” Bartle said. “It’s a desperate thing for people. They can’t imagine how they’ll manage without driving.”

Driving Safety Tips provided by the Robinette Legal Group, PLLC:  http://www.robinettelaw.com — Morgantown, WV Car Accident Injury Lawyers

Source: The Dominion Post, “Families Key, but Docs have a Big Role in Driving Decisions,” AP: Lauran Neergaard, Associated Press writer Carla K. Johnson in Chicago contributed to this report,Washington, September 27, 2012.