Posted in News on December 20, 2012
A 59-year-old man only recently got discharged from a Billings hospital after receiving serious injuries in a December 2 collision on a rural North Dakota roadway. After initial treatment at a regional emergency room, the man was flown to Billings for treatment of injuries including three fractured ribs, multiple breaks in his right arm bones and extensive bruising. The man said that he had never been involved in such a violent car accident before. Unfortunately, a second man lost his life in the collision.
According to official reports, the accident took place when a Toyota pickup driven by a man from Wyoming skidded on ice and crossed over the centerline into the path of a GMC driven by the survivor of the accident. The survivor said that the accident happened too quickly for him to be able to swerve out of the way.
The loss of life in an accident is always a tragedy for the victims’ family and community members, but a serious accident can have lasting effects upon survivors as well. Even in cases in which a person is able to fully recover from injuries, the recovery period can result in overwhelming financial challenges stemming from medical expenses and lost wages.
In many cases, insurance policy proceeds will not be enough to fully compensate an accident victim for the true costs of injuries. Obtaining fair compensation from an insurance company becomes even more difficult in cases like this one, where it may be difficult to assign fault for the accident. It may take a thorough accident investigation by an experienced personal injury professional to determine whether the driver who crossed the center line bears responsibility for driving carelessly or too fast for conditions.
Source: Williston Herald, “Accident leaves one dead, one injured,” Jenna Ebersole, Dec. 8, 2012