The 21-year-old son of a famous actor died after street racers collided with his vehicle on a suburban California street. Along with the young man, two other people also died at the scene of the accident. One victim was 20 and the other victim was 19. Police who investigated the accident said that the three victims were thrown from their vehicles in an accident that was so forceful it caused a fire.
The initial investigation showed that two motorists who were racing each other struck the young people’s vehicle with their vehicles. Two people in the cars that were racing had to be taken to the hospital with injuries authorities described as serious.
Accidents after a driver’s serious misconduct can raise difficult issues
In this case, it is simply not enough to call the street racers who caused this accident careless. What they did was plainly against the law and obviously dangerous and irresponsible behavior.
While it remains to be seen, the problem with cases like this tragedy is that the drivers who should pay compensation too frequently either do not have automobile insurance or have insurance with limits that are way too low to cover the enormous financial and emotional losses they caused.
It is likely that the grieving families will have to explore the possibility of filing a claim for uninsured or underinsured motorist benefits.
Provided that they purchased this coverage, they should be able to turn to their own insurance companies for some additional compensation. These additional benefits can be a lifesaver for a family that has lost income and has out-of-pocket medical bills.
Sometimes, insurance companies refuse to pay claims for these benefits without good cause. In other cases, they may not offer nearly what a person’s claim is really worth. This is why many people are well served by seeking out professional legal assistance.