One would expect that a person who causes an accident in which someone is badly injured would take responsibility for their actions and do everything possible to help the victim recover for his or her injuries. Any attorney who handles motor vehicle accidents involving catastrophic injuries, however, will sooner or later run into a situation in which the driver outright lies about what happened in an effort to avoid liability.
When attorneys encounter a situation in which they believe this to be the case they need to fully investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident. Sometimes this requires retaining the help of experts, such as an accident reconstruction expert or a toxicologist. Other times all that is needed is an eye for detail, a bit of common sense, and a lot of hard work.
For example, consider the following case.
In this case, the driver who caused this pedestrian was driving a company truck and was in the scope of his employment at the time of the accident. The driver lost control of the tractor-trailer which went up onto the sidewalk where it slammed into a pedestrian. The driver claimed, however that the reason he lost control of his vehicle was because he had a coughing fit which led to his loss of consciousness. The driver was driving the truck on behalf of his employer. This meant the employer was liable if the driver was liable.
The driver and his employer therefore took the position that this was a medical emergency and that he was thus not at fault and that they were not liable. During discovery the law firm that handled the case uncovered that the driver had a history of three prior medical emergencies.
The employer responded by disclosing a doctor's certificate written just sixteen days earlier than the accident clearing their employee as capable of operating a tractor trailer. By disclosing the certificate the employer continued in their attempt to continue to make their argument that what
happened was a medical emergency and to deny any liability for the accident. The driver never said anything about having lost consciousness to the police at the time of the accident and appeared lucid. The law firm looked further into the issue and found that the doctor had written the certificate based on untruthful information given by the driver thereby invalidating the certificate.
The female victim, only 58 years old, suffered multiple serious injuries. A ligament on the thumb of her dominant hand was ruptured. Her clavicle was fractured. Three of her ribs were fracture. She also suffered a skull fracture. Given that the defendants denied any responsibility for the accident, and therefore any liability, the law firm that represented the victim took the case to trial. During the trial the law firm was able to persuade the jury that the driver had made up the story of the coughing fit and the loss of consciousness only after the victim pursued a claim so as to avoid responsibility for the accident. As a result, the jury found for the victim and awarded her $1.2 million.
Most defendants are honest and describe the accident as it happened. Many even admit that the accident was their fault. Even those who are honest in their description of the accident, however, sometimes remember it incorrectly. And then there are the few that flat out lie. As this case demonstrates there is no substitute for a thoroughly working up a case.
If the law firm representing the victim had accepted the account of the accident given by the driver and the information provided by the driver's employer they would never have uncovered the evidence that resulted in a $1.2 million jury award. It requires a certain amount of experience, common sense, resources, and skill to realize that something is not right with a defendant's story and to know how and where to look for the evidence that will rebut it.
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