Louisiana Woman Injured in Ambulance Accident
A Louisiana jury awarded $117 million personal injury verdict to a woman who was severely injured in 2010 while riding in an ambulance that crashed into a semi-truck on a highway. The woman, who was 7 months pregnant, began experiencing serious stomach pains and called an ambulance to take her to the hospital. On the way there, the ambulance was traveling along the highway when its driver allegedly became distracted and rear-ended a semi-truck.
As a result of the accident, the 21-year-old woman was forced to prematurely give birth to her baby, despite the infant weighing in at just over 3 pounds. She also suffered a traumatic brain injury and a severed spinal cord injury that caused a partial loss of function in one of her arms. The woman has been hospital-bound since the time of the incident.
The ambulance driver allegedly acted negligently in his duties, and was held responsible for the woman's injuries. According to court testimonies, the driver became distracted and reached over to grab a company-issued tracking device that had fallen down. He was driving 60 miles per hour without using the ambulance's sirens or emergency lights. Jurors awarded the woman $117 million to compensate for her injuries, medical expenses, pain and suffering, and disability.
Injury Caused by the Negligent Actions of Others
When catastrophic accidents such as this one occur, the consequences can be devastating, particularly if they are caused by the negligence or recklessness of someone other than the victim. This is why personal injury law upholds victims' rights and states that the party responsible for causing an individual's injury should be held legally liable for the damages the individual suffered.
Negligence is defined as conduct that falls below the standards of behavior established by law for the protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm. A person acts negligently if he or she departs from the conduct expected of a reasonably prudent person under similar circumstances. In plain English, if someone in your same shoes would have acted differently and effectively been able to prevent someone else from getting hurt, you may have acted negligently.
Unfortunately, people act negligently every day. Car drivers, truck drivers, ambulance drivers, property owners, product manufacturers, medical professionals, and pet owners can all act in ways that cause injury or harm to others. When people fall victim to negligence, they can seek financial compensation for the damages they suffer by filing a personal injury claim. With the help of professional personal injury lawyers, they can obtain resources that help them cope with injuries, pay for expenses, compensate for lost income, and provide them with necessary long-term care.
Contact our Los Angeles Personal Injury Law Firm if You Have Been Injured by Another's Negligence
If you have suffered serious injury due to another party's negligence, please do not hesitate to call us at the
Pacific Attorney Group to learn more about what your legal and financial rights are. Our personal injury attorneys do not charge to discuss the details of your injuries and determine whether or not you might have a valid personal injury case.