A three-car collision left one woman dead and a man charged with a homicide. The woman was stopped in a construction zone when a Volvo truck struck her causing her to flip and then hit a Chevy Silverado. The Jeep and the Chevy both caught fire and the woman driver of the Jeep was killed.
The accident happened around 4 p.m., Friday, June 14, 2019, on Kentucky Highway 55 in Taylor County. Police have charged the driver of the Volvo truck with reckless homicide but did not give any details on his actions that led to the charge.
How Does a Criminal Charge Affect a Suit for Injuries?
Many people wonder if the person who injured them is charged with a crime whether they can still sue them in civil court and whether the criminal charge helps them or hurts them. First, a lawsuit is largely unaffected by any criminal charges as the two court systems are separate. Kentucky law states that a conviction in a criminal court does not mean that the person is automatically liable in a civil suit. This means everything in a civil court has to be proven irregardless that it might have already been addressed in a criminal court.
This means that if the person is found guilty in a criminal court, he or she isn’t liable in a civil court until that court has a trial. It also means that if a person is found not guilty of a crime that they can still be found liable for those same actions in a civil court.
Criminal Activity and Insurance
However, a criminal act that leads to an injury might affect whether the at-fault person’s insurance can be used. Most insurance policies will not pay out for criminal activity. This comes into play when someone steals a car and then crashes it, and then the owner of the car wants the driver’s insurance to cover the damages. The insurance company will refuse to pay out because they don’t want to cover crimes.
However, in the case of a reckless homicide charge, the person wasn’t committing the crime just by driving the car but was being charged with driving recklessly which is covered by their insurance policy. Otherwise, in any accident if the police felt you were reckless, the insurance company might use that to not pay a valid claim.
Do I need and Attorney?
If you’ve been injured or had a family member killed because of someone else’s recklessness, then you need to talk to an attorney to determine your rights under the law. If the driver was arrested or charged due to the incident, don’t let the insurance company tell you that it’s not covered because the person committed a crime.
Don’t deal with the insurance company alone, rather call the attorneys at Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC, for a free consultation to and a case evaluation. When you call Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC, at 800 937-8443, you will immediately speak to a member of the legal team and not a message machine. You can also Live Chat with an expert who can immediately began helping you with your claim.
