Drunk Driving Accident Kills Eureka Man
I’m Ed Smith, a Eureka auto accident attorney. On the evening of Sunday, January 1, 2016, a 52-year-old male from Eureka died and his passenger was severely injured in a single-vehicle collision in Humboldt County. The identity of the driver has not yet been released by the California Highway Patrol (CHP).
What Happened?
A collision occurred at around 5:30 p.m. on Mountain View Road near Kneeland. The Eureka man had been driving a GMC Sierra and veered off of the road, causing the vehicle to roll off of an embankment. The force from the car’s rolling, according to medical responders, apparently caused the driver to be partially ejected from the vehicle. Responders indicated that it was probably while the car was still rolling and the man was partially ejected that he sustained his fatal injuries. The other occupant of the car, also a Eureka resident, was not ejected from the vehicle during the collision but was seriously injured in the crash. After receiving those injuries, the passenger was able to exit the car and walked several miles in order to find medical attention.
CHP Statement – Drunk Driving Accident Kills Eureka Man
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) has stated that they have reason to believe that alcohol was a contributing factor to the incident. CHP also noted that the roads were wet when the vehicle veered off of the road and has issued a warning that heavy rains are expected in California for at least the next week and that they’d like to remind drivers to operate their vehicles carefully, avoid distracted driving, make preparations for safe driving in rainy weather, make sure your seat belts are fastened, and never operate any motor vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
There were no other vehicles in the area at the time and the latest reports indicate that the passenger is still hospitalized for treatment of traumatic injuries.
Recovery Time and Wages
Long hospital stays are often necessary after one suffers injuries in a car accident. Recovery can often be a complicated, weeks or even months-long process. Very few of us have the luxury of taking the amount of time it takes to recover fully off from work. The good news is that if you have been injured due to another’s negligence in a car accident and have to take time off work to recover, you are legally owed compensation for the amount of money that you would have made if you were working.
Proof of Injury and Pay Lost
Although you might be entitled to recompense for wages lost due to personal injury, it’s vital to remember that verification of injury, causing you to be unable to work, must be obtained from your medical provider and given to your employer. In cases where claimants take time off from work without providing proof of their injuries to their employers, insurance companies often contest whether or not the injuries were truly significant enough to cause you to be unable to work.
Lost Wages
Additionally, if you try to receive recompense for lost wages in an auto accident claim, you will need to prove that the amount of money you are asking for is, in fact, the amount of money that you would have been paid if you had been working normally. Pay stubs, or a letter from your employer with the company’s letterhead, is usually enough to prove this.
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Eureka Auto Accident & Wrongful Death Lawyers
I’m Ed Smith, a Eureka auto accident attorney. If you, a member of your family, or somebody important to you has been hurt in a car accident due to the dangerous driving of a drunk or otherwise negligent motorist, please give me a call at (707) 564-1900 or toll-free (800) 404-5400 to receive friendly advice. A consultation by phone is totally free of charge.
I’ve been hard at work in assisting families and individuals from the Eureka area in obtaining the money they are legally owed in cases involving personal injury and wrongful death since 1982.
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See our Past Verdicts and Settlements here.
I’m a proud member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Members of the forum are recognized as top US trial lawyers with multiple million dollar case verdicts.
I founded North California’s top website for finding legal information on personal injury and auto accidents, AutoAccident.com.
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