Jesse Valdez and Veronica Hernandez Killed in Singe-Vehicle Accident in Lubbock, Texas

According to local reports, two people were killed in a single-vehicle accident in Lubbock, Texas. The accident occurred around 5 a.m. Sunday, September 25 when 28-year-old Jesse Valdez and 31-year-old Veronica Hernandez were killed in a single-vehicle accident. Police believe Valdez was driving his Chevrolet pickup when he left the roadway and struck the back of a legally parked 18-wheeler. The vehicle then exploded soon after the collision. Texas Department of Public Safety are investigating the accident.

Site of the Accident

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Commentary
My condolences go out to the families of both the victims involved. Single-vehicle accidents can be some of the most difficult to explain and thus one of the most difficult events to put a family through. Often the difficulty of these incidents are little or no witness testimony and just one party involved. An accident of this nature requires a third party investigation aside from the police report, conducted by an expert in one-car vehicle reconstructions (there are indeed investigators in the business who specialize in events like these).
Now, why am I harping on another examination of the incident? The contingencies in an accident like this run the gamut, from implicating a driver in a fault determination, to a manufacturer incurring fault. Most will view this accident and directly correlate the accident to the driver. While I am not ruling this possibility out, there could be other reasons involved as well. Back to those in a second, if a driver is found to be using excessive speed or driving erratically, certainly they could face liability in a wrongful death claim by survivors of the passenger. You see, a wrongful death claim is contingent on a victim's death being the effect of the negligent actions or inaction of another party. Just as much as other contingencies, this type of claim is very dependent on a private investigation.
Back to a potential claim against a manufacturer, when you read of a driver who lost control of a vehicle and the article does not suggest any type of intoxicant, a closer look should be taken at mechanical failure. Over the past few years, a number of claims have arisen against tire manufacturers who produced a product that wears unevenly, holding an accident hazard. Braking systems are always suspect as well because of the system's ability to affect an entire accident. These are just a few examples of potential issues that arise from automobile accidents that may not be easily seen on the surface of an incident.
Obviously I am guessing at the cause or causes of this terrible wreck, but my goal is to highlight how accidents are rarely just accidents, but typically a concert of several issues.

Lubbock Wrongful Death Attorney Michael Grossman

Posted by: Lubbock Wrongful Death Attorney Michael Grossman | Posted on: 9/26/2011 | Comments (0)

Jesse Valdez and Veronica Hernandez Killed in Singe-Vehicle Accident in Lubbock, Texas

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