A fatal car accident on the Interstate Highway 580 near Castro Valley killed a19-year-old driver and seriously injured a passenger last weekend.
The driver was identified as Timothy Daniels of Hayward while the identity of the passenger was still being withheld by authorities.
According to CHP, the single-car crash happened at around 6:00pm when the Mercury Sable they were riding crashed near 164th Avenue.
Daniels was pronounced dead on the scene while his passenger was brought to Eden medical Center by ambulance.
The CHP has not determined the cause of the car accident yet so the level of Daniel’s liability is not yet known.
The passenger, though, should file a personal injury claim against Daniels.
Although liability in criminal cases end after the defendant’s death, that is not the case in civil law.
Even after Daniels’ death, the personal injury case can still go on because it will not really be the passenger against Daniels, but the passenger against Daniels’ insurance company.
It is the car insurance provider who will be paying for the damages caused by Daniels so it will also be them who will defend against your claim.
Once the passenger proved that his injuries were caused by the Daniels’ negligence, then he will be able to collect compensation that is commensurate to what he lost due to his injuries.
However, the total compensation can also be reduced if the passenger has committed some negligence of his own that aggravated the damages caused by the accident.
One of the possible negligent acts that the passenger may have committed is not wearing seatbelt.
If that is the case, a percentage will be subtracted from the total compensation that is awarded.
That percentage subtracted is what you call comparative negligence and is being followed in the state of California.
The driver was identified as Timothy Daniels of Hayward while the identity of the passenger was still being withheld by authorities.
According to CHP, the single-car crash happened at around 6:00pm when the Mercury Sable they were riding crashed near 164th Avenue.
Daniels was pronounced dead on the scene while his passenger was brought to Eden medical Center by ambulance.
The CHP has not determined the cause of the car accident yet so the level of Daniel’s liability is not yet known.
The passenger, though, should file a personal injury claim against Daniels.
Although liability in criminal cases end after the defendant’s death, that is not the case in civil law.
Even after Daniels’ death, the personal injury case can still go on because it will not really be the passenger against Daniels, but the passenger against Daniels’ insurance company.
It is the car insurance provider who will be paying for the damages caused by Daniels so it will also be them who will defend against your claim.
Once the passenger proved that his injuries were caused by the Daniels’ negligence, then he will be able to collect compensation that is commensurate to what he lost due to his injuries.
However, the total compensation can also be reduced if the passenger has committed some negligence of his own that aggravated the damages caused by the accident.
One of the possible negligent acts that the passenger may have committed is not wearing seatbelt.
If that is the case, a percentage will be subtracted from the total compensation that is awarded.
That percentage subtracted is what you call comparative negligence and is being followed in the state of California.
