A recent Tuesday morning changed a Kentucky police officer’s life, forever. The officer’s father had been traveling on US 23, south of Pikeville, when a tragedy occurred. Another vehicle, which had been headed in the opposite direction in another lane, veered across the dividing line and hit the officer’s father head-on.
The blunt force of a head-on crash often results in fatality
When two motor vehicles collide head-on, the impact of the crash occurs with such force that drivers and passengers are at immediate risk for serious, even life-threatening injuries. Many people do not survive such collisions. In this case, the police officer’s father, age 54, suffered fatal injuries in the crash.
Collisions involving wrong-way vehicles often prompt criminal charges
In many cases, a driver who veers over the dividing line is later found to have been sleepy at the wheel or acting under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The man who was behind the wheel of the vehicle that struck the patrol officer’s father has since been charged with DUI, possession of an illegal substance and second-degree manslaughter. Families who grieve the loss of a loved one often include the fact that criminal charges were filed when they submit a wrongful death claim in court to seek restitution on behalf of their deceased family members.
Who can file a wrongful death claim in Kentucky?
An immediate family member of a fatally injured accident victim may pursue justice by filing a wrongful death claim in a civil court against the person deemed responsible for the incident that resulted in a fatality. A human life is irreplaceable. However, court-awarded compensation in a wrongful death case can help alleviate a family’s financial distress by covering funeral expenses and other economic challenges associated with the fatal collision.