Tragic Accident in Eastern Jefferson County Kills Pedestrian While Getting Her Mail
Tragically, Mary O’Connor, 74, has died after being struck by a vehicle while retrieving her mail yesterday. She was apparently survived the accident, only to succumb to her injuries and University of Louisville Hospital. According to the Jefferson County coroner’s office, Ms. O’Connor dies of multiple blunt force injuries sustained in the accident. O’Connor was a resident of the 3600 block of Trail Ridge Road in eastern Jefferson County. According to a spokesperson for Metro Police, the driver of the car, a Mercedes, looked away for a second, then notice O’Connor getting her mail and tried to swerve, but was unable to avoid her. O’Connor lived for about 40 minutes after being struck. The driver’s name was not released to the public, but the police do not appear inclined to charge him with any crime.
Obviously, this presents a sad situation. Our hearts go out to both the O’Connor family and to this driver who certainly did not intend to injure anyone when he got in his car yesterday afternoon. As this is a blog about the law and other legal topics, I would like to provide a little analysis of the implications of this wreck.
Many people believe that in order to be compensated for being injured in a car accident, that you must have two cars involved. This is a misperception. In fact, many of the types of insurance coverage that are available to drivers or passengers of car that are injured are also available to pedestrians: PIP, liability, and UM or UIM, to name a few. Read more about these coverages at our earlier posts. In the situation involving a pedestrian, presuming the accident was the driver’s fault, the pedestrian would still be entitled to the liability coverage of that car to compensate for the loss. Moreover, if there is not any coverage or if there is not enough coverage, the pedestrian might also be able to take advantage of his or her own UM or UIM policy on a vehicle in their own home (even though they were not driving that vehicle at the time of the accident!).
Finally, PIP coverage will be available to the pedestrian as well, even though they were not actually in a vehicle at the time of the accident. Although people injured in auto accidents usually get PIP coverage from the car they are in at the time of the accident, the primary PIP policy that would be available to an injured pedestrian would be from the vehicle that hit them. If that car did not have any insurance, the pedestrian might be able to get PIP coverage from one of their own vehicles even though they were not in it at the time of the accident (similar to the UM/UIM coverage discussed above). If there was not PIP coverage on the car that hit them, and they did not have any PIP coverage of their own, then the pedestrian might have a third option, the Kentucky Assigned Claims Plan (PIP that is provided in the event that someone does not have their own coverage an no other coverage is available).
Obviously, these different types of coverage, where they come from, and which one is primary in any given situation can get very confusing. If you find that you are in need of advice on what coverages might be available to you or a loved one who is injured as a pedestrian in an automobile accident, don’t hesitate to contact auto accident and injury attorney Brian D. Cook at Bahe Cook Cantley & Nefzger PLC for expert legal advice on your rights.
