California Personal Injury Lawyers Blog
The 17 year old driver of a Cadillac Escalade was allegedly driving erratically when he struck a family of bicycle riders, killing a father and his daughter in a tragic California bicycle accident wrongful death. The driver of the Cadillac sustained minor injuries in the Northern California bike accident.
According to the Los Angeles Times, witnesses reported that the driver of the Cadillac was speeding, passing cars and changing lanes erratically. The family was riding on the sidewalk when they were struck by the SUV. The deceased were Solaiman Nuri, a 41 year old man, and his daughter Hadessa Nuri, only nine years old. Another daughter sustained minor injuries in the bike accident in California.
The Concord, California police sergeant Matthew Morrissey said the driver of the Escalade was arrested and faces charges of vehicular manslaughter and may be charged as an adult. Further, authorities are investigating whether the teenager was using his cell phone at the time of the California bicycle crash.
This tragic auto versus bicycle collision should have been avoided. It appears from the facts that the driver of the sports utility vehicle was reckless and careless in the operation of his vehicle. The surviving family members of the victims of this California wrongful death bicycle accident should contact a California bicycle accident lawyer to help them recover the full amount of California wrongful death damages available to them.
In a situation like this, it is unlikely that the driver of the Cadillac will have enough liability insurance to cover the extensive wrongful death damages he has allegedly caused. The family may also be able to recover money from a crime victim’s fund. Further, if the family had any underinsured or uninsured motorist coverage, it may step in if the driver of the Cadillac did not have insurance or did not have enough insurance. In order for underinsured motorist coverage to take effect, the underinsured motorist policy must be for more coverage than the responsible party’s liability coverage.
For example, if the responsible party has coverage of $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident, and the family has uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage in the amount of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident, the family could recover $50,000 from the other party’s coverage for each of the two wrongful death victims, then another $50,000 each from their underinsured motorist, as the maximum any one person could receive in this scenario under applicable insurance law is $100,000 per person. Since the total coverage is $300,000, there would be $100,000 in additional money available to the other injured bike rider. These situations can be very complicated and we advise that anyone with an uninsured motorist or underinsured motorist coverage issue should contact our office to speak with a California personal injury lawyer.