Multiple Serious Injuries in Barrio Logan Crash
Investigators believe that excessive fatigue and excessive speed contributed to a November 2024 wreck in San Diego that put two people in the hospital.
According to the San Diego Police Department, the crash happened around 9:30 a.m. when a 2023 Jaguar XF being driven by a 63-year-old man drifted to the right and struck a traffic pole at a high rate of speed. Police said the vehicle was traveling northbound in the 3500 block of Harbor Drive at the time. Investigators added that the driver had drifted off to the right due to a lack of sleep.
The woman sitting in the front passenger seat had her right arm severed from her body, according to authorities.
Meanwhile, the passenger sitting in the rear seat behind the woman sustained two fractured vertebrae and a possible fractured pelvis, police said. Both of them were taken to local hospitals with life-threatening injuries.
Car Crash Causes
Excessive speed and excessive fatigue are examples of aggressive driving and impaired driving. These two categories of negligence cause over 95 percent of the car crashes in California.
Extra velocity is especially dangerous when tortfeasors (negligent drivers) negotiate curves. Steering wheel sensitivity increases as velocity increases. Changing lanes requires much less effort than backing out of a driveway.
As a result, many speeding tortfeasors oversteer around curves. Then, they overcorrect in a desperate attempt to regain control. Instead, they usually leave the road altogether.
Speed also multiplies the force of an impact, according to Newton’s Second Law of Gravity. A low-speed fender-bender is a high-speed serious injury crash. Additionally, speed transforms small objects in a vehicle, like cell phones, into high-speed missiles.
Other kinds of aggressive driving include turning unsafely, ignoring a traffic control device, and changing lanes unsafely.
Fatigue impairs motor skills and judgment ability. So, in many ways, fatigue resembles alcohol intoxication. In fact, driving after eighteen consecutive awake hours is like driving with a .05 BAC level. That’s above the legal limit for many California drivers.
These conditions are similar in other ways as well. Only time cures alcohol intoxication, and only sleep cures fatigue. Shortcuts, like drinking coffee, are ineffective.
A Carlsbad car accident lawyer can often obtain additional compensation in driver impairment cases. Arguably, these tortfeasors knew they shouldn’t drive, yet they chose to get behind the wheel anyway.
Passenger Injuries
Substantial compensation is available in these cases, but largely for emotional reasons, many injured passengers don’t demand the money they need and deserve. Typically, injured passengers dismiss the incident as an “accident.” So, they don’t want to “blame” the tortfeasor for the crash.
People accidentally leave the gate open. They don’t accidentally speed around a corner or drive under the influence of alcohol. Additionally, even accidents have consequences. If Mike leaves the gate open and a dog runs off, Mike must accept those consequences. Likewise, if Mike drives aggressively or while impaired and causes a crash, he must accept the consequences.
Incidentally, in most cases, Mike isn’t personally responsible for damages, attorneys’ fees, or any other litigation costs. Usually, an insurance company writes these checks. The insurance company may increase Mike’s premiums, but the company would have done that based on the crash itself.
Additionally, an Oceanside personal injury lawyer does not blame anyone for anything. Instead, civil actions force tortfeasors to accept responsibility for their mistakes, as outlined above.
Contact a Tough-Minded San Diego County Lawyer
Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a confidential consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Oceanside, contact the Pursley Law Firm. We routinely handle matters throughout the Golden State.
Source:
fox5sandiego.com/traffic/woman-loses-arm-in-barrio-logan-car-crash/
