Emergency vehicles are just about everywhere you look when you’re out on the city streets. Police, EMS, ambulance and fire trucks are potentially out on the roads any time of the day. Sometimes these vehicles get into accidents and then need other first responders to come to their aid. These accidents can be serious and cause significant injuries to those involved.
Ambulance Driver and Passenger Injured in Crash in Paducah
An ambulance and a minivan collided early Monday morning, January 27, 2020, U.S. 60 and New Holt Rd. in Paducah. According to police at the scene, the driver of the ambulance did a rolling stop through the red light at the intersection, and the driver of the minivan didn’t see it and went through because his light was green.
The ambulance driver said her lights were on, but her siren wasn’t working. She admitted to doing a rolling stop at the intersection before hitting the minivan.
Who Pays for Injuries?
Sometimes it gets confusing who is at fault when an emergency vehicle is involved in an accident. Kentucky law gives the emergency vehicle the right-of-way when its lights are flashing and its siren is sounding.
So what happens when either the siren is not working or the lights were out? In this case, the law wouldn’t apply to give the emergency vehicle the right-of-way, however, the law doesn’t stop there. When determining fault in a personal injury case, the victim has to prove that the alleged at-fault driver was negligent.
So the question at trial will be whether the ambulance driver was negligent in not sounding their siren or not flashing their lights. This is regardless of what the criminal code says about who has the right-of-way.
What About Second Injures?
Another issue that comes up when an ambulance is in an accident carrying someone who was injured from a previous accident, then who is responsible for the victim’s new injuries? The law actually allows for both at-fault drivers to be responsible for all the injuries.
For the first injury, the law says that if a second accident is foreseeable as a result of the first, then that driver might have to pay for all injuries. However, the law can also hold the second at-fault driver for all of the injuries because of a legal doctrine that says, “you take your victim as you find him.”
This means that if someone is injured and then gets injured again making those previous injuries wore, then the second driver can be liable for both.
In truth, the insurance companies and the attorneys for the victims will have to sort it all out and hopefully come into a settlement that is fair for all concerned.
Contact a Personal Injury Attorney Today
Accident victims often wonder if they need an attorney, and the answer is almost always yes. The insurance company agents have years of experience and are good at their job which is to pay you as little as possible or nothing at all. You need someone just as experienced to help you level the field.
Talk to a Louisville Personal Injury Attorney you can trust to be on your side and get you what is yours under the law. The attorneys at Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC, have that knowledge and a combined 100 years’ experience in helping clients get the results they deserve. To discuss your case, call Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC today, at (800) 937-8443 or click here to contact them online.
