Man Dies After Crashing into Semi Truck in Clearwater
An earlier posting entitled "Semi Trucks Monitored in Tampa Bay" mentioned that on June 4, 2008 a man drove his automobile into a Semi Tractor Truck on US 19 at the Countryside Ford Dealership in Clearwater Florida. It turns out the man was 77 year old George W. Sturm. He died six days later from his injuries.
Mr. Sturm was driving Northbound on US 19 at 4:30 am as he approached the Ford Dealership. The driver of the Semi Truck was apparently backing into the dealership from US 19 when Mr. Sturm slammed into the side of the truck. According to www.tampabays10.com, the truck was blocking all northbound lanes.
In some states, the fact that Mr. Sturm may have been comparatively negligent in not noticing the truck in front of him might bar his Estate from making a recovery in a personal injury lawsuit. However, Florida follows the doctrine of comparative negligence. That means if Mr. Strum's Estate hired a Clearwater truck accident lawyer to pursue a personal injury claim, a jury would assess whether or not he was negligent in failing to recognize the truck was in front of him and whether or not the truck driver was negligent in taking up all northbound lanes of traffic in the dark. The jury would then assign a percentage of liability to each party if any. It is unclear at this time if Mr. Strum's Estate will pursue such a claim on his behalf.
Scott Distasio
Clearwater Car accident attorney
DISTASIO LAW FIRM
HELPING INJURED PEOPLE
OFFICES: TAMPA
888-595-0022
