The Oklahoma Highway Patrol responded to a fatal crash on a Tuesday morning on Oklahoma Highway 20.
Driver dies on a highway as a semi truck slows down in front of him
The state police think that a 25 year old male was going eastbound on the highway around 9:30 am when he attempted to pass the vehicle in front of him. A large semi truck that was in the next eastbound lane started to slow down to make a left turn at this same time. The victim crashed into the rear of this commercial truck as it was beginning to turn onto County Road 449.
Emergency crews arrived at the accident scene, and pronounced the victim dead a short time after arrival. Police investigated and found that the victim was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. However, the airbags on his 2014 Ford Focus did not deploy as they should have during the impact.
The truck driver was a 48 year old man from the city of Glenpool. He was wearing his seatbelt, but medical personnel suspected that he had some kind of internal injuries. He refused to be treated at the scene and left the area on his own.
Police told the media that they were still in the process of conducting their investigation when the news report was released.
What happens if the vehicle has some kind of mechanical malfunction?
In a situation like this, the victim’s death was likely caused by the improper airbag operation. If the airbags would have deployed as required, they may have been able to minimize the impact from the collision and save the victim.
There is an entire area of the civil law dedicated to these kinds of incidents called products liability. When the company that makes a product is responsible for a manufacturing or design defect, they will be strictly liable for any injuries caused by their product during its intended use. Motor vehicle recalls are common because a car manufacturer discovers that a part is not working properly, and they know that it will ultimately save lives and be less costly to offer all vehicle owners a free replacement from a local dealer.
Will car insurance cover these losses?
Insurance claims are important in less severe accidents. Normally when a car accident results in only property damage or a few thousand dollars of losses, the policy will cover the damage. However, most typical auto policies are not sufficient to cover situations where there are severe injuries or fatalities. These accidents tend to be much more costly for a number of reasons.
Speak with an accident attorney in Oklahoma
There are local lawyers in your state who dedicate their entire practice to civil accident lawsuits. To get more information, use the listings on USAttorneys.com.
