Charlotte Injury Lawyers Blog

According to a recent report in the Charlotte Observer, the federal government has responded to a lawsuit filed by the victims of a STD experiment by not responding. Federal researchers performed experimental research in the 1940s on Guatemalans to test the effects of penicillin. The experiment allowed prostitutes, prisoners, and patients in mental institutions to be exposed to sexually transmitted diseases and then be treated with the antibiotic penicillin to determine its effects. However, the subjects of the experiment did not consent to being exposed to these dangerous diseases.

The survivors have filed a federal lawsuit, but the Justice Department said that the researchers were federal employees and thus invoked the doctrine of sovereign immunity, meaning that the government cannot be named as a defendant unless it consents to being sued. The government has the benefit of being protected by the Federal Tort Claims Act. That law prevents the United States from being sued for acts that took place in a foreign nation. The President, Secretary of State, and the Health and Human Services Secretary have all issued an apology on behalf of the actions of the government during that time and have all acknowledged that the experiments are "a deeply troubling chapter in our nation's history."

Even though the government acknowledges how terrible the researcher's actions were, the government believes that a lawsuit is not the proper avenue for the victims to receive a remedy. The attorney for the plaintiffs is of course in opposition to the federal government's position. "We will continue to vigorously fight for the rights of the Guatemalans wronged in this matter to obtain a remedy for the harms done by U.S. officials," plaintiffs' attorney Terrence Collingsworth said in response to the filing. "But we remain open to the United States deciding to do the right thing, consistent with long-established human rights law and basic morality."

Continue reading "Federal Government Invokes Sovereign Immunity in STD Lawsuit" »

The Charlotte Observer recently reported that the U.S. Supreme Court has handed down a new decision regarding an inmate's ability to file personal injury claims. On Tuesday, January 10, 2012, the Court ruled in an 8-1 decision that inmates held in federal custody in privately owned prisons can only file personal injury claims in state court. They cannot file claims in federal court. Writing for the majority, Justice Beyer said that the state law claims are enough to protect the inmate's constitutional rights.

The suit was sparked by federal inmate Richard Pollard who filed a federal suit in California claiming that his treatment in a California jail violated the 8th Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Pollard was injured while performing his job at the prison. He fractured his elbow and broke other small bones. He claimed that the prison guards exacerbated the injury by forcing him into a position that aggravated his injury further. He filed a complaint, but it was dismissed by a federal judge. After appealing the dismissal up to the Supreme Court, the Court held that he could have filed a negligence action in the state of California, but he did not.

The Court acknowledged that federal lawsuits may provide more of a remedy in these situations, but ultimately decided that because the inmate was housed in a privately-owned prison, state law was his only recourse. If Pollard had been an inmate at a federal or state-operated facility, he would have been able to sue in federal court. This new ruling severely limits inmates who may have legitimate federal claims against the prison from being able to pursue them in the proper venue.

Continue reading "US Supreme Court Limits Inmates Ability to Sue for Personal Injuries" »

North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue's Eugenics Compensation Task Force has finally come up with a settlement figure, according to recent report by the New York Times. The panel has found that each living victim of North Carolina's forced sterilization program should be given $50,000.00. North Carolina is not the first state to have a eugenics program, but it is the first state to place a monetary value on the compensation owed to the victims.

The term "eugenics" indicates an attempt to create a particular type of gene pool by selective breeding. According to a popular medical website, eugenics first began in the United States in Indiana where the government required state officials to sterilize, incarcerate, and at times, euthanize people who were thought to be genetically inferior. It turned into a massive campaign to rid the country of ethnic minorities, as the majority of the population was convinced that being a minority and being genetically inferior was one in the same.

North Carolina's sterilization program was part of that campaign. Between 1933 and 1977, the North Carolina Eugenics Board sterilized nearly 8,000 people, mostly minorities and those with mental illnesses. In December 2011, the New York Times reported about a man named Charles Holt, who was forcibly sterilized as a teenager after he was caught fighting at school and openly masturbating. After spending years in a facility for individuals with mental disabilities, Holt was required to have a vasectomy before he could be released.

The North Carolina program allowed social workers to determine which people should be sterilized, and the social workers usually relied on IQ scores, which, to those running the program, served as an indication of mental capacity. Those with low mental capacity were deemed to not be fit enough to reproduce and were thus sterilized.

Some of the victims of the sterilization program are happy about the potential payout while others are convinced that it is not enough for what the government took from them. One victim, Ms. Rita Thompson Swords, said, "I think that number sounds fantastic." Another victim, Ms. Elaine Riddick said, "They took away something from me that was so valuable that I can never get back."

While there appears to be support from both parties in the North Carolina legislature for the payout, lawmakers may not be so easily convinced, especially since the payout could come total some $100 million. The panel believes that only between 1,500 and 2000 victims are still living. If Governor Perdue can convince legislators to approve this compensation plan, those victims will each receive $50,000.00.

Continue reading "North Carolina Sterilization Victims Get Compensation" »

The Washington Post reports that the security company formerly known as Blackwater, now known as Academi, has settled with the survivors and estates of victims of the 2007 shooting incident in Baghdad, Iraq. This was the last in a series of lawsuits brought by Iraqis for the deaths and injuries of other Iraqi citizens. The incident sparked a nationwide debate about the war in Iraq and the implications of armed American personnel in that country.

According to the suit, Blackwater guards were protecting several U.S. diplomats while they were in Iraq. The guards suddenly opened fire in a crowded square. The incident resulted in the death of 17 Iraqis, some of whom were women and children. Iraqi distaste for America and American involvement in their country only increased following the shooting. A North Carolina attorney, Jim Roberts, represented the families of three individuals killed in the shooting, one of them, a nine-year-old child.

The suit charged Blackwater and its contractors with wrongful death and negligence in the death of three individuals. Initially, Blackwater's lawyers vigorously denied that their client was liable for the death of these people. They argued that because the Blackwater guards were protecting United States diplomats, they were agents of the federal government. Therefore, if anyone was liable it would be the federal government. They also argued that Blackwater could not be sued in the United States by foreign citizens for something that happened abroad.

Academi also settled a suit filed back in 2005 by the families of several Blackwater employees who were killed in an ambush back in 2004. That suit also alleged that Blackwater was liable for the wrongful death of the contractors.

It's unclear what sparked the change in strategy at the company, why they decided to settle after so long a fight, but it is likely that the new company wants to move on without the stigma of these lawsuits hanging over its head.

Continue reading "North Carolina Lawyers Settle Blackwater Suit" »

According to a recent report by WBTV, a controversy has erupted over who is responsible for cleaning up hazardous waste left after an accident involving injuries.

After the injured had been treated at the scene and sent off to receive additional medical care, what was left behind at the scene was a slew of bloody gauze and soiled latex gloves used by EMS to stabilize and treat the injured passengers. The law currently does not provide any guidance about who is supposed to clean up the scene of an accident. Mark Fagala, a biohazard specialist, said, "EMS takes 'em in, Highway Patrol clears, and it's just left for the property owner to clean up."

The homeowner with bloody gauze strewn around his yard was not satisfied with being responsible for having to clean up a mess for which he was not responsible. He called the City of Charlotte and complained. Someone was immediately sent out to properly dispose of the hazardous waste. There are guidelines for proper disposal of biological waste and the fact that there are not clear provisions regarding the clean-up after an accident means that someone has dropped the ball.

Only two states in the country have specific rules for disposal of biological waste, Florida and California. North Carolina has no such laws and Fagala thinks that it is time for that to change. The risk of infection and injury is high in this situation. The owners of the property where an accident has occurred has no way of knowing if any of the injured people carried life threatening diseases and whether they are putting their own health at risk if they attempt to dispose of the material.

The best and most efficient thing to do is to lobby lawmakers to draft a bill addressing this issue. There are several possibilities. EMS could be required to come back and clean the scene. EMS could be required to notify an accident and crime scene clean-up agency prior to leaving the scene. The police department could also be required to do the same. Whatever the avenue taken by lawmakers, it will be better than leaving an innocent property owner with the responsibility of clearing their property of hazardous material.

Continue reading "Charlotte EMS Leaves Biohazard After Car Accident" »

According to an article by the Charlotte Observer, on May 23, 2010, Rachelle Chapman walked to her bachelorette pool party and left paralyzed from the chest down. It was a normal day for her, but it ended with a life-changing event. Chapman and her friends were horsing around when one of her friends pushed her into the pool. She landed in an awkward position in the shallow end and injured her vertebra. Chapman immediately felt nothing from her chest down and had no feeling on the outside of her arms. Chapman and her fiancé were supposed to be married just weeks after the accident, but for obvious reasons, the wedding was postponed for more than a year.

Chapman has never revealed the name of the friend who pushed her into the pool. The woman was also a bridesmaid at Chapman's wedding and she does not hold her friend responsible for her injuries. It was an unfortunate accident that led to tragic consequences.

As part of her recovery, Chapman trained at Project Walk, a facility that treats spinal cord injuries in California. During her stay there, she was able to gain a tremendous amount of strength. When she first got to Project Walk, she was weak and suffering from bone loss. At the end of her treatment she had increased her strength and was able to sit upright without passing out from low blood pressure.

Chapman was only at Project Walk for three weeks, but she hopes to go back again this year. She is now working out at home to continue her progress. Her fiancée and father-in-law built her a table to work out with while she is at home. She uses a home gym and does weight-bearing exercises to continue to build her strength. She has confidence that she will eventually be able to walk again and her nurses at Project Walk feel just as confident. Kimberly Davis, one Chapman's instructors at Project Walk, says that it is possible that Chapman will be able to walk again. Davis concedes that this kind of spinal injury is unpredictable, but that unpredictability works in Chapman's favor.

Continue reading "Paralyzed North Carolina Woman Hopes to Walk" »

The scene was akin to Black Friday chaos when Michael Jordan re-released his Air Jordan XI Concord sneakers. Shoppers lined up in droves to purchase the shoes and the police were called to several locations to keep the crowd in check. The Charlotte Observer reported that police were called to three malls in North Carolina to quell the riotous masses.

People began arriving at the stores early in the morning on Friday, December 23. The stores were allowed to sell the shoes starting at 5:00 AM, but several customers were lining up hours ahead of time. "There were people crying, screaming. People were running around, pushing. ... Unbelievable. A lot of cursing," said Numar Betris who was fortunate enough to purchase a pair at SouthPark Mall.

At Carolina Place Mall, shoppers reported that the crowd began getting extremely aggressive. There were three stores in the mall that were selling the shoes and the eager shoppers went charging through the store like bulls when the doors were finally opened. At least one person lost her shoe in the mêlée. The malls weren't the only places slammed with crowds. Police were called to several shoe stores around North Carolina where shoppers reported being pushed and shoved attempting to buy the new Jordans.

If anyone suffered injuries from the chaos in the lines, those injuries could be the foundation for a personal injury lawsuit. One potential problem is that the plaintiff filing the suit may have a difficult time proving causation. The theory of liability would be negligence, but the plaintiff would have a hard time pinpointing which one of the hundreds of shoppers caused the plaintiff's injuries.

Continue reading "Sneakers Cause Chaos at North Carolina Mall" »

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police and emergency crews were called to the scene of a troubling bus accident on North Tryon Street in Charlotte on Thursday morning. A CATS bus and a pickup truck collided at an intersection. The end result was that 12 people suffered injuries. At the time of the crash, the bus was carrying twenty passengers. Twelve of those passengers were injured. One passenger had life-threatening injuries, while the others only suffered minor issues. Seven passengers were taken to Carolinas Medical Center and the other five were taken to Presbyterian Hospital. The driver of the truck escaped injury entirely.

The CATS bus was coming up a hill when the pickup truck pulled out in front of the bus. The driver of the truck was trying to make a left turn onto Tryon Street, but collided with the bus. Police have made the determination that the driver of the pickup truck is at fault because he pulled out in front of the bus. WSOC TV spoke with the pickup driver's supervisor at Kip Construction where he worked. His supervisor admitted that the turn onto North Tryon can be difficult to navigate and drivers should be cautious when making that turn. "I've been hit coming out of there," said Bryan Rosenhauer with Kip Corporation, another of the driver's colleagues. "I've been hit turning in there. It's just a bad spot coming over the crest of a hill. People move through here pretty good."

This type of accident should prompt drivers to be more careful when driving. Had the pickup truck driver waited for a few more seconds before making that turn, he could have avoided the damage to his car, the damage to the CATS bus, and the 12 injuries. He is now potentially responsible for all the damage and the injuries that resulted from his failure to yield the right of way to the CATS bus.

The police's determination that the driver of the pickup truck was at fault will go a long way in proving in court by a preponderance of the evidence that the driver is civilly liable for the damage. However, if the driver can demonstrate that the CATS bus driver was driving too fast or if there was something that the bus driver could have done to avoid the accident, then CATS may potentially be barred from recovery due to North Carolina's pure contributory negligence rule. Pure contributory negligence bars the plaintiff from recovering anything if the plaintiff was in any way at fault.

There are, however, some exceptions to this harsh rule, one of them being something called "The Last Clear Chance" rule. This doctrine provides that if the defendant had the last clear chance to avoid the accident but did not, then the plaintiff may make a full recovery regardless of the amount of the plaintiff's fault.

Continue reading "CATS Bus and Truck Collide, Injuring Twelve" »

According to a recent report by the Charlotte Observer, a factor often forgotten in discussions of the increasing number of trucking deaths is sleep apnea.

One top sleep expert said that drowsy driving kills more people each year on the road than distracted driving. Dr. Charles Czeisler of Harvard University Medical School says that while sleep apnea gets little attention in the media it is actually responsible for one in five crashes.

Sleep apnea occurs when a person ceases breathing during sleep. These interruptions disrupt deep sleep and lead to prolonged periods of sleepiness during the day. While treatment is easy with a breathing machine, the problem is that nearly 85% of cases go undiagnosed. Some commercial drivers are afraid of losing their jobs if they identify themselves as suffering from the disorder while others want to avoid paying for expensive diagnostic tests.

The results of this failure to treat weary drivers can be devastating. The number of people who died in commercial truck crashes saw another year of increases, now at nearly 4,000 last year, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator.

Just this summer in Anderson, South Carolina a semi jackknifed and crossed the median on I-85, killing the driver and two others, 38-year-old truck driver Clay LeShawn Johnson of Charlotte and attorney Jeremy Scott Wilson, 33. In that crash the coroner found that the truck driver, Eddie Wyatt, 69, suffered from sleep apnea and had only recently returned to work.

Again on October 13, 2011, along I-85 in Gastonia, one tractor-trailer slammed into the back of another, killing one driver. Gastonia Police released the accident report just this week, saying the surviving driver was travelling only 32 mph in the left lane when he was struck at 1:47 am, killing the oncoming driver. The company that operated the slow-moving truck, Saga Freight Logistics of Brownsville, Texas, received 64 fatigue-related violations in the last two years alone.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has tried to reduce driver fatigue by limiting hours of service to 11 hours each day. They have proposed that this decrease even further to 10 per day to allow the opportunity for more rest. The problem is that those with sleep apnea, due to the nature of the disorder, can spend a full eight hours in bed and get back behind the wheel as sleepy as if they got only a few hours of sleep.

Continue reading "Tired Truck Drivers Lead to Disaster in North Carolina" »

WFMY News reports that a Greensboro woman has been charged with performing medical procedures without a proper medical license. Police say that Lauretta Cheek became the subject of an investigation when one of her "patients" filed a complaint against her. The "patient" claimed that a friend took her to see Cheek so that she could receive enhancement injections in her buttocks. After the procedure, she began to have severe complications and visited the emergency room in Charlotte, North Carolina on two separate occasions.

The patient filed a complaint with the health department and that is when the police launched their investigation into Cheek's practices. The patient told investigators that she found out about Cheek's cheap butt injections through the grapevine at her job as an exotic dancer. Apparently these enhancements were important for her career, but not important enough that she would go through the proper procedures to procure them. Police say that the procedure took place inside a hotel room and cost the patient a total of $500.00.

Cheek faces criminal penalties for her actions. She has been charged with a misdemeanor count of Practicing Medicine without a license. This, however, is not Cheek's first rodeo. Back in 2008, she was charged with one count of Practicing Medicine without a license and one count of Obtaining a Controlled Substance by Fraud/Forgery. At the time of the new misdemeanor charge filed against her, she was still on probation for the 2008 charges. It is likely that these new charges amount to a violation of her probation, so it possible that Cheek may be serving out the remainder of her sentence inside a cell.

In addition to these criminal charges, Cheek faces potential civil liability from this patient and any other person who received her injections and suffered injury. However, there's a problem. North Carolina is one of the few states that follow the doctrine of pure contributory negligence. Pure contributory negligence prevents the plaintiff from recovering from the defendant in a negligence action if the plaintiff is even 1% at fault for his or her injuries.

North Carolina is also unique in that its contributory negligence law is statutory. Thus, the patient is going to have a difficult time establishing that she was not negligent in attempting to receive a bargain butt injection in the back room of a cheap hotel. It is likely that a jury would find that she was equally at fault for her injuries. Further, given North Carolina's pure contributory negligence position, even if the jury found that her failure to exercise reasonable care for her own safety amounted to only 1% fault, she would still be barred from recovery.

Continue reading "North Carolina Exotic Dancer Injured By Fake Butt Injection" »

A Charlotte, North Carolina man has been charged with murder and with driving while intoxicated after a horrific accident on Sugar Creek Road. According to the Charlotte Observer, Eric Cox, the driver of an SUV ran a red light and struck another vehicle, a white Nissan Altima. The driver of the other vehicle, H'Luon Sin, was pronounced dead at the scene, suffering fatal injuries from the accident. Also in the car with her was her 4-year old son. He was rushed to a local hospital and is currently listed in critical condition. Cox, however, was not injured in the crash at all.

Sin was finishing her shift at a local greenhouse and had just finished picking up her son when she unknowingly crossed paths with Cox. She crossed the street at the intersection right when Cox's SUV came barreling toward her. He then slammed into the side of Altima.

The judge in Cox's case set bail at $350,000 after pleas from Cox's family brought a reduction. Prosecutors were initially requesting a much higher amount, approximately $2 million. Cox had a previous DWI conviction in 2009 and was ordered by a judge to have no more than a 0.04 blood alcohol level. He also had a history of DWIs and other charges.

This case highlights the dangers of drunk driving and how an accident can have criminal consequences. Cox was a veteran and will now possibly spend a significant portion of his life in prison because he chose to get behind the wheel of his SUV while he was seriously impaired.

Even if you are a safe driver and smart enough to not drink and drive, you may not be safe from the bad decisions of others. According to www.dui.lifetips.com, more than 40% of accidents involving fatalities are alcohol-related. Someone is injured in a drunken driving accident every two minutes. All drivers should be on diligent on the road, looking for the classic sign of impaired driving: swerving and swaying between lanes.

Continue reading "North Carolina Accident leads to Tragic Consequences" »

According to ESPN, NASCAR Team Owner Rick Hendrick broke his ribs and his shoulder following a crash aboard his private plane. The injury occurred despite his doing everything he could think to prevent the injury, including wearing his seatbelt. Hendrick and his wife were aboard their Gulfstream 150 when it landed at Key West Airport. The plane experienced some braking problems and ran off of the runway. "My belt was on, and something came loose in the seat itself," Hendrick said. "I hit the bulkhead and my wife. My chest and head went into the seat in front of me, and that's where I (broke) my ribs and I had a concussion." After the accident, Hendrick and his wife were hospitalized, but neither pilot was injured.

Hendrick is the owner of Hendrick Motorsports organization which provides equipment and technical support for Stewart-Haas Racing. Hendrick and star racer Jimmie Johnson co-owned the plane, which was used primarily for Johnson's family's travels to and from races. This is not the first time that a plane owned by Hendrick was involved in a crash. In 2004, another one of Hendrick's planes crashed, killing 10, including Hendrick's son, brother, and nieces.

It is unlikely that anyone is at fault for Hendrick's injuries. Regular maintenance would be the only real way to catch such problems before they happen. Following instructions from the flight crew and wearing safety restraints are also critical but here nothing would've helped given that the seat itself was the cause of the problems. While there does not appear to have been any negligence on the part of the plane's owners or flight crew, had anyone else on the plane been injured the owners would've potentially been in hot water over the thoroughness of their maintenance. To minimize such potential liability plane owners should hire a well respeted company to regularly inspect their aircraft. As powerful members of the NASCAR community, containing risk is very important and compliance with federal aviation safety regulations is paramount.

Continue reading "Charlotte NASCAR Team Owner Loses Seat and Suffers Injuries on Flight" »

According to WBTV, an off-duty FBI agent was injured in a car accident when a speeding driver careened off the road and barreled into his SUV parked on the side of Interstate 485. In all, three individuals had to receive treatment for their injuries as a result of the reckless North Carolina driver. The driver responsible for the accident was driving a pickup truck and traveling at speeds in excess of 80 M.P.H. in a 65 M.P.H. zone.

Investigators say the driver was attempting to avoid another vehicle when she crashed into the agent's SUV as it was parked on the shoulder with its blue lights flashing. The driver suffered life threatening injuries and had to be airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center-Main. The driver was accompanied by a passenger who was also injured, though not seriously. Investigators are still trying to discover the cause of the accident. They are attempting to determine whether texting or alcohol was involved.

It seems that the driver of the pickup truck was likely distracted. This is yet more proof of the dangers associated with distracted driving. Distracted driving has become a huge road hazard, enough that the federal government has gotten involved. It has devoted an entire website to telling the world about the dangers of distracted driving. According to http://www.distraction.gov, in 2009, 20% of the crashes that reported injuries involved distracted driving. Of accidents that involved fatalities that number was 16%.

Although the police are not certain what caused the accident in this case, if the driver of the pickup truck was distracted because of something she was doing in the car at the time of the crash, she will likely be liable for the injuries to the agent and her passenger. The FBI agent and the passenger will have a cause of action against her negligence. She failed to exercise due care in the operation of her vehicle. As a driver, she had a duty to ensure that the operation of her vehicle did not interfere with other drivers. Driving while distracted is a textbook example of negligence on the road.

Continue reading "FBI Agent Injured in Charlotte Accident with Distracted Driver" »

According to a recent report by the Jacksonville Daily News, a North Carolina man died after suffering injuries sustained in a cotton gin accident. Reports indicate that Dennis Foy was rushed to the hospital after suffering severe injuries to his face and hands after driving a forklift in the Jones Cotton Gin warehouse. Officials are not sure what happened or how Foy died. Foy was found on the ground with a bunch of very large cotton bales strewn around him. The North Carolina Department of Labor is investigating the incident and will not release any findings until it has first issued citations, which will only occur if there has been a violation of a labor regulation.

Officials are especially tight-lipped about the status of things due to the ongoing investigation. If any health and safety violations are found, the company and its insurance company could be held liable for Foy's death. Foy's next of kin may then be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit against his former employer. North Carolina's wrongful death statute allows the next of kin to sue in place of the victim. To be successful in a wrongful death suit, the plaintiff has to establish the prima facie case for negligence and also demonstrate that he or she is the legal beneficiary entitled to share in the victim's recovery. After liability is established, damages are specified by statute. Under North Carolina's Wrongful Death Act, the plaintiff is entitled to the following damages:

1. Expenses for care, treatment and hospitalization incident to the injury resulting in death;

2. Compensation for pain and suffering of the decedent;

3. The reasonable funeral expenses of the decedent;

4. The present monetary value of the decedent to the persons entitled to receive the damages recovered, including but not limited to compensation for the loss of the reasonably expected: a.) Net income of the decedent; b.) Services, protection, care and assistance of the decedent, whether voluntary or obligatory, to the persons entitled to the damages recovered; c.) Society, companionship, comfort, guidance, kindly offices and advice of the decedent to the persons entitled to the damages recovered;

5. Such punitive damages as the decedent could have recovered pursuant to Chapter 1D of the General Statutes had he survived, and punitive damages for wrongfully causing the death of the decedent through malice or willful or wanton conduct, as defined in G.S. 1D;

6. Nominal damages when the jury so finds.

Continue reading "North Carolina Man Dies in Freak Cotton Gin Accident" »

WNCT reports that a notoriously dangerous curve along Turkey Quarter Creek Road in Cove City, North Carolina has caused several accidents and recently claimed another life. A young girl, Jordan, and her father, Doug, were driving along that road when the tire on their car blew out. Doug lost control of the car and careened off the side of the road. The car landed in a concrete ravine and was obscured such that no one discovered the wreckage for two days. Doug was killed instantly, but Jordan, an incredibly resilient 9-year-old, managed to survive for two days trapped in the car with her dead father. A supply of PopTarts and Gatorade was all she had.

Jordan's mother, Claudette Leohmann, believes that the accident could have been prevented. This is not the first accident on the dangerous stretch of road. According to Leohmann, there have been at least 20 on the same section of roadway over the past several years. This many accidents should have been sufficient for the North Carolina Department of Transportation to take notice. The DOT now says they are aware of the issue and have begun an investigation into the curve. Leohmann says that it's too little too late. The lover her life is already gone and her daughter has been scarred by having to endure such a tragedy.

The question now becomes whether anyone can be held responsible for the dangerous curve at Turkey Quarter Creek. If any such claim arises it will be one of negligence on the part of the North Carolina Department of Transportation for failing to make the road safe for drivers. The problem will be in establishing the duty element of any negligence claim.

For a person or entity to be liable for negligence, there must have been a duty owed and a subsequent breach of that duty. There must also be actual and proximate causation and damages. It is unlikely that any North Carolina court would hold that the DOT owed a duty to the first accident victims. However, once it came to the Department of Transportation's attention that the road posed a special danger to even the safest and most cautious drivers, the failure to do something to remedy the situation may rise to the level of a negligent breach of duty.

Continue reading "Little Girl Survives Harrowing Accident on North Carolina Roadway" »