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Kansas City Car Accident Claims Two Lives on Thanksgiving
If the driver isn’t criminally-charged, can I still sue for a loved one’s wrongful death?
Not long after midnight on Thanksgiving Day, a Kansas City car accident shattered lives. Two different couples in two different cars traveling on the same highway reportedly encountered the same wrong-way driver. Only one of the two couples lived to tell about the experience.
Reportedly, after missing the first couple’s car by about 3 feet, the wrong-way driver continued heading north on the southbound Interstate 29 while the first couple tried to report the driver to authorities. Allegedly, eight minutes elapsed between the time of their 911 call and the moment the same driver reportedly struck and killed another couple just 10 miles down the road.
The second couple died at the scene and, according to the woman’s family, she was three or four months pregnant and they also had other children. According to authorities, the wrong-way driver was believed to be intoxicated, was hospitalized with “moderate injuries”, is expected to survive, and may face criminal charges. But whether the driver faces criminal charges—or the outcome of those charges—does not impact the victim’s survivors’ rights to commence a civil suit for monetary damages.
When someone has been killed as a result of the negligent, reckless, or intentional actions or inactions of another person or entity, the victim’s closest surviving family members may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
Wrongful death claims are complicated and dependent upon many factors. Who has the standing to sue and for what kinds of damages are factors that are determined on a case-by-case basis, but often include the victim’s surviving spouse, parent, and/or children. Generally, once liability has been established, the financial compensation recovered may include:
- the victim’s final medical and funeral expenses,
- the victim’s pain and suffering between the injury and death,
- loss of future income and benefits,
- loss of companionship, and more.
If you or a loved one has been injured or a loved one has been killed as a result of the actions of somebody else, the skilled personal injury attorneys at Noland Law Firm can help you get the financial compensation to which you are entitled. While we can’t undo the accident, or bring your loved one back, we can take legal action to help reduce the added financial burden of your tragic loss so you can focus on healing.
From our office