Grandmother of U.S. Olympic luger dies in car accident
- December 19, 2013
The grandmother of a 2014 U.S. Olympic luge team member Erin Hamlin was killed in a head-on collision in the upstate New York town of Trenton Dec. 9. According to police officials, the 75-year-old woman, a Remsen resident, was a passenger in a car that lost control and crashed head-on with an oncoming vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. The driver of the car in which she was riding is being treated at a Syracuse hospital for multiple injuries. The driver of the other car escaped with minor injuries.
Road conditions were described as slushy. It has not been acknowledged whether this contributed to the fatal car accident.
In the aftermath of injury accidents, a lawyer representing the injured plaintiff in a case like this one may bring a civil suit against the responsible party to ensure proper compensation for medical expenses, loss of wages during recovery and repairs that the other driver’s insurance policy may not fully cover. Insurance policies will not likely cover non-economic losses such as pain and suffering or emotional distress. This can be a hardship for victims and their families.
In this particular case, the surviving family members may choose to pursue damages for wrongful death, including loss of companionship and funeral expenses. In some cases, more than one liable party may be pinpointed in an accident; fatal highway accidents may be due, for example, to deficient roads that were not maintained in a manner appropriate for seasonal conditions. An attorney may be able to help determine if improper road design or maintenance such as poor grading contributed to the accident. If so, other entities may share in the responsibility for the accident.
Source: Kansas City Star, “Grandmother of US luger killed in car crash in NY”, December 10, 2013