It is easy to understand how accidents can happen on the Louisiana roadways. There are so many variables that can affect drivers. The variables can include external factors, as well as personal factors. The weather can make it a danger to drive. Likewise, people’s driving habits can impact whether fatal accidents occur.
It appears that one Louisiana driver’s driving practices caused a recent fatal accident. The accident occurred on Louisiana 42. The police report that a 24-year-old, who was driving, went off the road, overcorrected and then returned to the road, ultimately slamming into another vehicle head-on. In the other car was a 56-year-old woman, who died from her injuries.
The accident investigation leads the authorities to believe that excessive speed was a factor in the fatal car accident. Speed is certainly a variable that a driver can control. Furthermore, several sections of the Louisiana Vehicle Code govern speeding. Nevertheless, some drivers choose to speed.
When speeding the a cause of an accident, someone injured in such an accident or a family looking to recover for the loss of a loved one can focus on this fact to build their case. Speeding is related to a civil action for negligence. In particular, it is relevant to the issue as to whether the driver who caused the accident breached his duty to other roadway users to drive safely and in accordance with the law.
To evaluate this question, a factfinder – – whether it is the jury or the judge – – will examine whether a reasonable driver in a similar situation would have engaged in such excessive speeding. If the factfinder concludes that such conduct was unreasonable, then it must conclude that there was a breach.
This is only one element of a negligence case, however. Other factors and questions also must be demonstrated and proven by the party seeking compensation. Only then can the victim or his or her family recover for the pain and suffering resulting from the incident.
Source: WAFB, “Troopers: Driver suspected of speeding faces negligent homicide charge,” Joshua Auzenne, Mar. 6, 2014