When a motorcyclist is involved in an accident with larger vehicles, the result is often serious injury or death for the motorcyclist. But individuals in the larger vehicles are sometimes injured as well. A fatal motorcycle accident involving two other vehicles occurred recently in Henderson, Nevada on U.S. Highway 95. The crash resulted not only in the death of the motorcyclist, but injury to an occupant of one of the other vehicles. According to the Nevada Highway Patrol, the accident happened at around 6 p.m. in the vicinity of Horizon Drive.
The Highway Patrol spokesperson stated that a motorcycle rider was headed northbound and speeding in the left lane of the highway when he ran in the back of an SUV. The motorcyclist lost control, veered to the right and hit the side of a truck. The motorcycle caught on fire as it skidded down the shoulder.
The motorcyclist was dead before emergency personnel arrived at the scene. One individual in the truck went to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The roadways were shut down for quite some time dealing with the accident.
Fault in an accident is the first step in figuring out the legal consequences of the accident. If the accident was caused by a driver’s negligence, other victims have the right to file a lawsuit and seek monetary damages. In Nevada, injured victims have the right to recover damages for medical expenses, loss of income due to time lost from work, and general damages for pain and suffering. If the negligent driver was killed in the accident, the lawsuit can be filed against their estate, and their insurance company will be responsible to pay any damages up to the policy limits.
Source: Las Vegas Sun, “Motorcyclist dies in U.S. 95 crash; freeway remains closed,” Ian Whitaker, June 6, 2014