West Virginia Injury Lawyer Blog

West Virginia's House and Senate committees are expected to pass a bill banning cell phone use and texting while driving. The bill is championed by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, and once he signs it, West Virginia will become one of a growing number of states to ban the practice. Already nine states and Washington D.C. ban the use of handheld cell phones while driving, while 35 states have banned text messaging.

The bill would treat both cell phone use and texting as secondary offenses, meaning that a police officer could cite drivers for cell phone use or texting only after pulling them over for a different offense. Other states treat cell phone use as a primary offense, so police officers can pull drivers over just for using a cell phone.

One typical reason for the imminent ban was given by Delegate Nancy Peoples Guthrie: "We're losing too many people in accidents that we know could be avoided. I don't want to lose any more kids, any more parents, any more people." Already, West Virginia prohibits drivers 18 years old and younger from texting or using a cell phone while operating a car. The upcoming ban would extend that ban to every driver.

The Senate Transportation and Infrastructure committee and the House Transportation and Roads committee are expected to take up the bill, and chairmen of both are optimistic that the legislation will take effect sometime this year.

We at the Wolfe Law Firm believe that banning handheld cell phones and texting is a smart solution that is a long time coming -- one that is sure to save countless lives. While driving is a privilege that everyone should handle with great care, too many people act as though they can do anything (eat, drink alcohol, talk on a cell phone, apply makeup) and come away unscathed. That leads to accidents that could have easily been avoided. Our firm has represented car accident victims for over 20 years, and can attest to the variety of injuries people suffer, as well as the often nightmarish interactions with the other driver's insurance company.

Continue reading "West Virginia Legislature Poised to Pass Ban On Texting, Cell Phone Use, While Driving" »

This story will serve as a precaution for every West Virginia driver: keep an eye on the road at all times, or you could become a casualty of those who have no concern about driving while intoxicated or on drugs.

A tractor trailer driver from Mississippi was recently sentenced in neighboring Maryland to 21 years in prison for going on a high-speed rampage through three states in December 2010, including West Virginia. A police pursuit of Thomas McNeel, 43, began in West Virginia and reached speeds of 80 miles per hour by the time they reached Maryland. While driving along Interstate 70 and Interstate 81, he damaged four vehicles of civilians unlucky enough to get out of the way in time. Police finally slowed McNeel down by shooting out McNeel's tires -- yet even that just slowed him down to 35 miles per hour. When McNeel reached Washington County, Maryland, he purposely swerved the tractor trailer toward a police cruiser. Because of police dashboard cameras, McNeel avoided being charged with first-degree assault, as police determined that McNeel was just trying to scare the officers in the cruiser rather than actually harm them.

Instead, McNeel was charged with four counts of second-degree assault. McNeel later testified that he tried a synthetic methamphetamine called "bath salts" that morning, which left him unable to remember the high-speed chase. His bench trial took place one year after the original offense and the verdict was handed down soon after.

Most people know that driving is a privilege and a responsibility. We might sometimes bend certain rules, but most people would never consider taking drugs before getting behind the wheel. It is almost miraculous that no one was killed in the incident. However, some civilians did pay a price. The people whose cars were damaged by McNeel's tractor trailer have asked for $11,000 for repairs, and one woman reported suffering back injuries as a result.

If you or a loved one ever experiences such a situation, you should go out and hire a West Virginia car accident attorney as soon as possible. An experienced car accident attorney would quickly take evidence from the scene of the crime and gather the necessary witnesses. Your attorney would then help you build a case that the other driver was negligent or reckless. Even if the driver were not as obviously reckless as McNeel, it would be possible to get a sizeable award from the jury -- known as "money damages," or just "damages" -- that could pay your medical expenses, for pain and suffering, and for any possible property damage. You might even be able to obtain punitive damages -- in West Virginia, punitive damages may be awarded if the wrongdoer's actions were intentional or grossly negligent. The burden of proof is a preponderance of the evidence, the lowest burden of proof in a trial.

Continue reading "Driver in High-Speed Chase Through West Virginia Sentenced to 21 Years in Prison" »

As hard as this economy has been on all of us, it may have one unexpected benefit: it reduced the number of fatal traffic accidents across the nation to a 61-year low.

The results came from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data of 2010. West Virginia accidents declined 12% from the previous year. Other states had healthy declines as well, such as Nebraska (15%), Montana (14%), Mississippi (8.4%), South Carolina (9.4%), and Utah (3.3%). At first, it was believed that photo radar and automatic ticketing may have been responsible, but there is no evidence showing a correlation between these new devices and the drop in fatal traffic accidents. Here in West Virginia, use of photo radar is prohibited.

Instead, the lingering effects of a poor economy may be responsible. Fewer cars on the road going to work -- the fewest since 1949 -- means fewer cars to get into accidents. At the same time, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood suggested that there were other factors at work. First, cars in general are safer due to greater improvements in crash avoidance technology. Second, many roads are safer due to improved signs and lighting, and third, more drivers are choosing to wear their seatbelts and to refrain from driving after drinking. Even so, one could argue that those changes have been taking effect for a number of years, and by themselves would not result in such a steep drop in fatalities. The only way to know for certain is to wait and see if the percentage remains low after the economy picks up steam.

While it is encouraging to hear that traffic fatalities are down across the nation, and significantly in West Virginia, it is still often too dangerous on the road. West Virginia has several scenic routes where it becomes easy for the driver to lose focus on the road. Mix that with alcohol, or other poor conditions, and you have an accident that is serious, if not fatal. Operating any vehicle on the road, whether a car or a motorcycle, is a privilege and a responsibility that every driver should take seriously. Yet when you get in an car accident through no fault of your own, you need to know your options.

If you or your loved one has been in a car accident, you should hire a West Virginia car accident attorney to represent you. An experienced attorney would investigate the scene as quickly as possible after the accident, preserve all necessary evidence, and interview witnesses. Once your attorney is able to obtain the evidence, you would file a negligence lawsuit against the one you believe was responsible for the accident. You would claim that he or she had a duty to operate on the roadway as safely as possible. He or she breached this duty by driving carelessly (after drinking alcohol, talking on a cell phone, and more). The breach caused your injury, and your damage was anything from a stiff neck to a shattered leg or spine. In a negligence suit such as this, if you are successful, the usual award is "damages," a monetary award meant to cover medical bills and pain and suffering. We at the Wolfe Law Firm have been representing car accident victims for more than two decades. If you were just in a car accident and need help, contact our firm today.

As drivers, we have been taught to share the road and be thoughtful and courteous of our fellow travelers. This includes tractor trailers, also known as "big rigs," which are many times larger and heavier. Being near one has caused more than one driver to become white knuckled, and often with good reason -- a typical tractor trailer fully loaded can weigh up to 80,000 pounds. A car driver who gets in an accident with a tractor trailer is far more likely to suffer an injury than if the accident were with another car. That is why tractor trailer companies and their drivers must follow safety regulations that do not apply to car drivers. Drivers must maintain a log, and they are not allowed to operate a tractor trailer if they have a blood alcohol concentration of 0.02 or greater. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration requires drivers to work limited hours to avoid fatigue.

Yet far too many accidents happen anyway as the result of driver fatigue or carelessness. Recently on Interstate 77, near Rockport, West Virginia, a tractor trailer driver struck a bridge guardrail at 2:30 am. As a result, diesel fuel was spilled and traffic lanes were closed down. Fortunately no one was injured, but officials said that the lanes would be shut down for three days while clean-up efforts were underway. Unfortunately, the story of another recent tractor trailer accident ends on a darker note. On Interstate 81 in Martinsburg, a tractor trailer hit a black Toyota SUV, causing the Toyota driver to lose control of the car, hit a guardrail, and overturn. While one of the passengers remained trapped inside the SUV, the tractor trailer fled the scene, whereabouts currently unknown.

If you or your loved one is injured by a tractor trailer driver, what are your options? The most obvious would be to hire a West Virginia car accident attorney and sue the tractor trailer driver for negligence, if you can find him. You would argue that the tractor trailer driver had a duty of care to other drivers on the road to operate the vehicle according to applicable regulations. The driver breached this duty through carelessness, or possibly by not resting enough hours or by drinking too much alcohol. The breach caused you or your loved one injury (the car accident), and you suffered damage as a result, such as broken bones, a spinal injury, or even an injury to your brain.

Besides suing the driver directly, you could also sue the company through vicarious liability theory. With vicarious liability, you would argue that the company is also responsible for the driver's actions because the accident occurred during normal work hours, while the driver was performing the usual tasks of employment. If you succeed in finding the employer vicariously liable, you can collect a money award from the employer as well as (or possibly instead of) the driver.

We at the Wolfe Law Firm have represented several clients who were in tractor trailer accidents. It is always important to find an experienced attorney as soon as possible who can do a thorough investigation of the accident scene, before key evidence is removed or disappears. In West Virginia, there is a two-year statute of limitations for filing a claim. So if you or your loved one were injured by a tractor trailer driver, don't wait -- find someone willing to defend your interests right away.

Driving a car is a great privilege. But as always, great privileges come with great responsibilities -- and too often, car accidents can result in injury, or even tragedy, as two recent accidents show.

One multi-car accident happened after 47-year old Fitzgerald Wise ran into two cars on West Main Street in Charlottesville, Virginia. He then backed into a police car and hit a utility pole. A police officer and driver received non-threatening injuries, and Wise was charged with reckless driving. It is unknown whether other factors affected Wise, such as drugs and alcohol. A second recent crash happened to a West Virginia resident, and unfortunately, the result was a fatality. A 60-year old man, Charles Herald, was driving a Dodge Ram Charger with a camper through Kentucky. The camper started to fishtail, causing Herald to lose control of the truck. The truck careened off of the right shoulder, hit a tree, and finally came to a rest. Although Herald was flown to a hospital, he was pronounced dead an hour later.

It is estimated that 5.5 million car crashes take place each year. They are common along several routes in West Virginia, especially on Interstate 79 and Interstate 68. A car accident can result in injuries that range from serious -- such as injuries to the neck, spine, or brain -- to "mild," such as whiplash. In too many cases, car accidents can even result in death. Even those with "mild" injuries can still face a lifetime of problems. That is why you should take any injury from a car accident seriously, no matter how minor it seems at the time.

We at the Wolfe Law Firm have seen quite a number of car accident victims over the past 20 years. Often, these people are fed up with trying to get money from the insurance company to pay for their injuries and need help from an experienced West Virginia car accident attorney. A jury verdict in their favor could give them money for medical bills and pain and suffering. How a person injured in a car accident proceeds depends upon the nature of the accident.

If you or your loved one were injured by a driver like Fitzgerald Wise, you would most likely sue that driver for negligence. You would argue that the other driver owed a duty to you and other occupants of the roadway to drive safely according to the law. By using alcohol, or by simply ignoring road safety laws, the other driver breached that duty. The other driver's breach caused you injury, and you suffered damage as a result. As a remedy, you would seek damages, or a monetary award.

Continue reading "Two Car Accidents in States That Neighbor West Virginia Highlight the Need for Caution on the Road" »

A grand jury chose not to indict a West Virginia man on vehicular homicide charges, believing that there was not enough evidence. The Athens County Grand Jury had convened following a tragic situation where two seniors -- Mary and Fred Hart -- were killed after being struck from behind by a vehicle. The accident happened on an interstate highway in neighboring Ohio.

The grand jury determined that the driver, a 34-year old from Fairmont, West Virginia, did not have alcohol in his system at the time of the accident. Rather, investigators at the scene blamed inattentiveness for the collision. The case will now be referred back to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, which will likely file misdemeanor charges against the driver.

Car accidents are sadly common, with an estimated 5.5 million occurring each year. In West Virginia, they are especially common along Interstate 79 and Interstate 68, and several routes throughout the state. The results can include everything from whiplash to serious injuries to your neck, back, and brain -- or, in the case of the unfortunate couple here, death. Those fortunate enough to survive car accidents may be left with debilitating injuries. Even a "mild" injury like whiplash can have results that last for years.

If you or your loved one is in a car accident, what can you do? One of the first things to do is hire a West Virginia car accident attorney to help you get relief. Although insurance companies are tasked with paying for car accident injuries, they may not cover everything, and often will act resistant when you try to argue with them. Therefore, you need someone who can help you get more monetary funds to pay the medical bills that crop up as a result of the accident. An attorney has the experience and resources to help you determine if the insurance company settlement is fair or not, or whether the other driver's fault was so great that you could obtain a large award at trial.

If the other driver was largely responsible for the car accident, you would file a suit in court stating that the driver was negligent. You would argue that the other driver had a duty to people on the road (including yourself) to drive safely, and the other driver breached that duty through careless driving. The breach was the direct or proximate cause of your injury, and you suffered physical and property damage as a result. Even if you were partially at fault for the car accident, you can still collect a monetary award in court as long as you were less than 50% at fault. That's because West Virginia has a "modified comparative negligence" system, as opposed to a pure comparative negligence system (where a party can collect no matter what their level of fault as long as it is not 100%) or a contributory negligence system (where a party cannot collect even if it is only 5% at fault). Often a negligence case will be settled before it goes to trial. If not, the outcome of the case will be decided by a jury.

Continue reading "West Virginia Man Not Indicted for Killing Two People in a Car Accident" »

Many parts of West Virginia are beautiful, especially in the fall. However, beautiful areas like Appalachia have perils that you would not expect: such as auto collisions with deer. At this time of year, the collisions are most common, as deer are prone to be most active.

For the fourth year in a row, West Virginia was rated by State Farm as the number one state for auto collisions with deer. Right now, with hunting season starting and deer mating, deer are constantly on the move. Not only are they roaming around in the usual rural areas, but also they are appearing more frequently in suburban areas. Part of the reason is suburban sprawl, but the other is that the deer population is growing. At the least, deer can be a nuisance for property owners. At worst, it can mean a fatality for both the deer and you.

Fortunately, deer fatalities remain low -- nationwide, they amount to 200 per year. However, that doesn't mean that a collision with a deer cannot cause a lot of damage. In neighboring Ohio, reported deer collisions were 23,201, but Department of Transportation officials believed that it could be as high as 60,000 because so many people fail to report the collisions. The majority of collisions occur between 5 pm and midnight, when visibility is at its lowest. Motorists often don't see the deer until they are right in front of their headlights, and by then it's too late.

Officials are urging motorists to use extra caution between dusk and dawn and to watch for deer crossing signs. If you see a deer while driving, chances are there may be one or two more nearby. If you accidentally hit a deer, you should report it to a law enforcement agency as soon as possible.

If you accidentally hit a deer, you will be forced to pay for the damage out of pocket or through your insurance. You can't sue a deer for colliding with your car, so it wouldn't be worth it to hire an attorney to represent you. However, most auto collisions are between two people and are avoidable. If you are involved in an auto collision, don't hesitate to hire an experienced West Virginia car accident attorney. An attorney has the resources to quickly investigate the scene of the collision and to interview witnesses. An attorney can also help you obtain damages (a money award) for the injuries that can result, such as head, neck, and spinal injuries. You would file a lawsuit against the other driver for negligence and if you prevailed, the jury would award you damages. Even if you were partially at fault for the accident, in West Virginia, you can still collect unless you are 50% or more at fault.

Continue reading "West Virginia Officials Urge Motorists to Drive More Cautiously to Avoid Deer Collisions" »

Roadway construction is a common sight: orange barrels and construction workers along the side of the road. People usually associate it with slow traffic and endless delays. However, too often people drive cars too quickly or carelessly past construction zones, with deadly consequences. A recent article looks at problems with work zone safety on West Virginia and Ohio roadways.

The West Virginia Department of Transportation reported 356 work zone fatalities in 2009, compared to 1,021 fatalities in Ohio that same year. The top three reasons given were that drivers made unsafe lane changes, they followed too closely, or they failed to control their vehicle. Many of these accidents happened on rural two-lane roadways in Appalachian Ohio and West Virginia, where drivers get distracted by the beautiful views. The West Virginia Department of Transportation has launched a media campaign to promote work site safety until construction season is over. The Ohio Department of Transportation has started requiring its construction workers to use high-intensity flashing lights and reflective tape on all equipment in the work zones.

West Virginia is fortunate to have many magnificent sites, especially the Appalachian Mountains. It is tempting to want to take a drive and just breathe it all in. However, as drivers, we have a great responsibility to those around us to pay attention to the road and its immediate surroundings. Because so many people don't, roadside construction work is seen as highly risky employment. If you or a loved one work as a roadside construction worker and have suffered a serious injury in an accident, you need to find a West Virginia car accident attorney. An experienced attorney would gather evidence from investigators at the scene of the accident and interview witnesses. An attorney would help you file a negligence or wrongful death suit against the driver who caused the accident.

Your attorney would work to find the truth of the situation: whether the driver acted carelessly, or whether the driver's behavior was understandable in light of the situation (for example, if a car veered in front of him and he pulled to the side to avoid hitting the car). Once your case goes before the jury, your attorney would make the best argument possible that you deserved compensation for your suffering. Even if it turns out that your behavior partially contributed to the accident -- such as if you briefly went beyond the orange barrels -- you can still get relief. West Virginia operates under the modified comparative negligence system, where the injured party can get relief if he or she is less than 50% at fault for the accident. If your fault is at 50% or above, however, you cannot recover. You or your loved one may also be able to obtain workers compensation from your employer since the injury occurred on the job.

We at the Wolfe Law Firm have helped countless people in car accidents get money awards for their medical expenses and lost wages. We welcome any attempt by the West Virginia Department of Transportation to put a stop to tragic roadside accidents. Those who fix our roads perform a vital service by making travel safer for all of us. We should return the favor by ensuring that roadside construction work sites are well protected.

Recently, three women from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina were run over by an out-of-control pickup truck while they slept in their tent. They were among the 30,000 people attending the All Good Music Festival in Masontown, West Virginia. One of the women, 20-year old Nicole Miller, was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other two women were flown to a nearby hospital. Elizabeth Doran and Yen H. Tom are reported to be in good condition.

Authorities claim that the driver lost control of the truck as it rolled down a hill. It struck other cars and tents of people camping nearby before hitting the victims. So far, no information has been revealed on what made the driver lose control, whether it was through his own error or whether a third party interfered. The driver has not yet been charged.

Though one should not assume the driver acted irresponsibly, it would hardly be the first time someone lost control at an entertainment venue. The All Good Music Festival is a three-day event in its fifteenth year. Each year, the 30,000 attendees have the option of camping on Marvin's Mountaintop, a 655-acre privately owned property. With so many people and so much open space, it is sadly inevitable that some will use it as an opportunity to act reckless even if everyone else behaves. People want to feel good, and that can involve drinking too much and doing things that you wouldn't normally do. Such behavior too frequently leads to tragic results.

When someone you love is hurt in this type of situation, you would look at a few sources of fault: the one who actually caused the injury, the one who organized the event, and the owner of the property where the injury occurred. For the owner, there is the issue of premises liability. Owners have a legal responsibility to prevent visitors to their property from being injured. When the property is opened for use by the public, or when people enter to do business with the owner, these people are known as "invitees." Owners owe the highest duty of care to invitees: a duty to warn about hazards on the land that the owner knows about or should know about. Usually, premises liability involves accidents like slipping and falling. With the death at All Good Music Festival, the question is whether a car veering out of control counts as a "known" or "should have known" hazard. An experienced West Virginia personal injury attorney can evaluate the situation and determine whether the owner of the property can be held liable. If there is a history of such accidents, that might be strong evidence for holding the owner responsible. If the organizers of the event are not the owners, they may be held liable as well depending upon how foreseeable the accident was and whether they did everything to prevent it. This is why many event organizers carry insurance.

Otherwise, you would file suit against the one who caused the injury. You would claim that he acted negligently, that he owed you a general duty to behave reasonably, and instead his careless behavior was the cause of your injury. An attorney can help you gather evidence to show that, for instance, a driver in a car accident had too high a blood-alcohol level.

Continue reading "One Dead, Two Injured After Being Hit By Truck at West Virginia All Good Music Festival" »

Insurance policies are a part of many personal injury cases, and Insurance companies are a common courtroom foe for any West Virginia automobile accident attorney. Because insurance comes into play in so many cases, it is extremely important to accurately evaluate any applicable policy terms at the outset of the case, so that you can know with certainty where the difficulties may lie. The Wolfe Law Firm has helped many clients deal with insurance claims in the past, and our attorneys have found a recent decision that has been handed down by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia that may have great impact on cases involving insurance claims going forward.

In Witt v. Sutton, plaintiff Witt was an employee of the South Charleston Sanitary Board, and was driving a truck owned by his employer while performing his job duties when he was struck from behind by Defendant Sutton. Plaintiff sustained several severe injuries in the accident, and afterwards filed a negligence lawsuit against Sutton. In this suit Plaintiff sought damages from his employer's underinsured motorist insurance carrier and his personal automobile insurance carrier as well because they had denied him coverage for his injuries and allegedly violated West Virginia's Unfair Trade Practices Act in doing so. Plaintiff eventually settled with Sutton and his employer's insurance company, but the claims against his personal automobile insurer remained. The policy Plaintiff purchased from that Defendant included $10,000 worth of no-fault medical payments coverage, and Plaintiff filed a claim on the policy to pay his medical bills for injuries sustained in the accident with Sutton. Plaintiff claimed that Defendant was acting in bad faith by refusing to pay the claim, but Defendant denied payment because the policy excluded coverage for injuries sustained while operating a vehicle owned by his employer. Defendant then filed a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the claims, which was granted by the lower court as they agreed that the vehicle Plaintiff was driving did not meet the requirements for coverage under the policy. In response, Plaintiff appealed the trial court's dismissal.

On appeal, the Court analyzed the language of the insurance policy, with the relevant part stating that coverage is available for "a non-owned car," so the question the Court considered was whether the employer's truck constituted a "non-owned car." The policy language did not directly define "non-owned car", but it does specifically state that a car is not a "non-owned car" if it is owned, registered or leased by an employer. The Court then stated that West Virginia law dictates that clear and unambiguous language in an insurance policy is not subject to judicial construction or interpretation, and found the language in the policy to clearly and unambiguously exclude the Plaintiff from coverage. In making its finding, the Court also stated that there was nothing in the record to indicate that any public policy was violated by the language of the insurance policy. Therefore, the Court held that the lower court correctly ruled on the motion for summary judgment and affirmed the dismissal.

In many instances, traffic accidents appear to make for fairly straightforward legal claims when a person suffers injuries in the wreck. A West Virginia traffic accident attorney need only assemble the evidence to determine which driver was at fault in the accident and assign liability, evaluate the damages suffered by his client, and proceed as necessary with the insurance companies involved to get his client compensated. However, there are times when such accidents may have been caused by mechanical failures or other problems with one of the vehicles themselves. In such cases, it is important to evaluate the case in light of possible products liabilities claims in addition to standard claims for driver negligence. When these claims become a part of a case, attorneys must carefully consider the procedural issues that can arise when national corporations are involved as defendants. The Wolfe Law Firm is familiar with the difficulties that develop in such cases, and our attorneys recently uncovered a decision from the US District Court's Southern District of West Virginia regarding the complex jurisdictional issues that can arise in such cases.

Layton v. Ford Motor Company was an action brought by plaintiff, Amanda Kay Layton, after she was involved in a single car accident in Preston County, West Virginia. The accident occurred when the Plaintiff lost control of her 2003 Ford Expedtion and struck a tree. Upon impact, the car's airbags and seatbelts failed to function properly, and she suffered severe physical injuries as a result. After the incident, Plaintiff filed a lawsuit in West Virginia state court against Ford Motor Company (the manufacturer of the vehicle in question), several other companies involved with the design and production of parts contained in the SUV, and J&J Ford Sales (the dealership that sold the Expedition). Plaintiff's complaint included claims of negligence and strict products liability against each of the defendants.

In response to the lawsuit, Ford removed the case to federal court on the basis of diversity jurisdiction and claimed that J&J Ford Sales, which was located in West Virginia until it was dissolved in 2008, was joined in the lawsuit for the "sole purpose of defeating diversity jurisdiction." Ford also claimed that because the dealership had been dissolved, it was not properly joined as a defendant. After removal, Plaintiff filed a motion to remand the case to state court, claiming that the claims against J&J Ford Sales were valid.

The court examined Defendant Ford's claims that Plaintiff had fraudulently joined J&J Ford Sales under the fraudulent joinder doctrine that allows a federal court to ignore the citizenship status of a defendant -- that would otherwise destroy diversity -- to exercise jurisdiction over a case. The Court went on to state that under West Virginia Law, a claim may be brought against a dissolved corporation, and found Ford's argument that such a claim can only be brought to the extent of its undistributed assets to be unpersuasive. Instead, the Court cited case law stating that jurisdiction cannot turn solely on the financial strength of a given defendant, and held that Ford had failed to satisfy the requirements of demonstrating fraudulent joinder. The Court then remanded the case back to the West Virginia Circuit Court from whence it came.

Car wrecks are one of the most common events that give rise to personal injury claims, and when a vehicle accident occurs, insurance companies are invariably involved. In such cases, understanding the insurance policy at issue is of the utmost importance, and the language of that policy can have a huge impact on the recovery amount available to the injured persons. We here at the Wolfe Law Firm have handled cases for many victims who have been wounded in automobile, motorcycle, and tractor trailer accidents, so our West Virginia traffic accident attorneys are constantly monitoring changes in the field as new decisions are issued by the courts in this state. We recently discovered a decision rendered by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia that shows just how important it is to be mindful of the wording and definitions contained within any insurance policy factoring into a case.

Adkins v. Erie Insurance Company is a case that arose from an automobile accident in 2005 that severely injured a young girl under the age of 18. The case began as a declaratory judgment action filed by the victim's parents, who sought the court's ruling as to whether they were entitled to damages that they incurred as a result of their daughter's injuries and the medical costs of helping her recover. Plaintiffs alleged that the woman who caused the accident was insured by defendant Erie Insurance, and the policy she had purchased from defendant provided a $300,000 per accident limit and a $100,000 per-person limit. The victim's case settled for the per-person limit of $100,000, and as a part of that settlement, plaintiffs reserved the right to file a declaratory judgment action against defendant in order to determine whether the defendant would have to pay an additional sum to plaintiffs under a separate per-person policy limit.

At the circuit court, defendants proffered evidence that their policy provided coverage for damages from "bodily injury, meaning physical harm, sickness or disease, including care, loss of services, or resultant death." As a result of this definition, the court found that the plaintiff parents' claims were separate and distinct from their daughter, and that their claims for expenses and medical treatment for their child. That meant that the claims were not subject to the limitation of liability provision restricting payment to the single, per-person limit. Defendant then moved under rule 60(b) of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure for the court to vacate the order, contending that they had given the court an incorrect and inapplicable definition of bodily injury. Evidently, Defendant had amended the policy at issue so that damages involved "bodily injury, meaning physical harm, sickness or disease, or resultant death of a person" -- meaning they had removed the language regarding care and loss of services. As a result of this motion, the circuit court reversed its earlier decision, and held that the per-person limit applied, and that her settlement prevented any further recovery under the insurance policy.

Plaintiffs appealed the circuit court's reversal, claiming that the circuit court had abused its discretion by basing its ruling on what amounted to newly discovered evidence. The Appellate Court found that a failure to file documents in an original motion did not convert the evidence in those documents into newly discovered evidence under West Virginia law. However, the Court held in favor of the plaintiffs, because defendants had failed to present the correct version of its own policy, and that could not serve as a basis to relitigate all of the claims in a Rule 60(b) motion. In so holding, the Court reversed the circuit court's decision.

This past week, a two car accident occurred in Parkersburg, West Virginia that resulted in two people being sent to a nearby hospital for treatment of their injuries. The Parkersburg News and Sentinel reports that the crash occurred on Murdoch Avenue in the middle of the afternoon. A driver sideswiped a vehicle going in the opposite direction and subsequently struck a telephone pole. Fortunately, the driver in the sideswiped car was unharmed, but both the driver of the car who caused the accident and her passenger were taken to the emergency room for treatment. The driver was also cited for reckless driving, failure to maintain control of her vehicle, and an improper lane change.

In the accident described above, the driver who sideswiped the other car received multiple traffic citations. This is not an uncommon occurrence, but it is important to note that receiving a traffic ticket does not mean that the recipient is automatically liable in a civil suit should any of the victims pursue a legal claim to recover their damages. Under the rules of evidence, such citations may be used to help prove that person was at fault, but the ticket by itself does not prove that a person is liable in a civil action.

That is why the services of a West Virginia traffic accident attorney are so valuable to anyone who has been the victim of an automobile wreck. An experienced car accident attorney who is familiar with the West Virginia rules of evidence can help you assemble and use the facts involved in any case effectively. These rules can be quite complex in the way that they are applied by the courts, and without the skills and legal knowledge of a lawyer, the evidence a victim needs to recover her damages could be excluded by the judge.

WDTV News reports that a Randolph County school bus was involved in an accident yesterday on Route 92. According to news reports, the bus - that was carrying 21 passengers - was rear ended by a commercial truck when it had stopped to allow some of the children to disembark the bus. The collision injured two students, who were taken to the hospital for treatment of their non-life threatening injuries. State Police officers are currently investigating the incident in order to determine the cause of the wreck.

Most traffic accidents only involve a few persons, but when public transportation is involved, cases can become much more complicated simply because there are often far more victims involved. In the case described above, only two children required immediate medical treatment, but given the large number of children onboard the bus, the outcome could have been far worse. While the driver of the truck that rear-ended the bus may have been at fault, there are many other factors that could have contributed to causing the accident. Negligent truck maintenance, malfunctioning brakes, or even broken bus brake lights could have played a part in causing the collision. Determining the actual cause or causes of the accident is a difficult and complicated process, and is best approached by someone with experience and applicable legal knowledge.

If you or a loved one has been involved in such an accident, it is always a good idea to consult an attorney for advice as soon as possible. A West Virginia personal injury attorney can perform a proper investigation and evaluate the resulting evidence to create a plan for your case. By retaining legal representation, you are protecting your rights and helping to ensure that you are able to obtain the medical treatment you or your child needs.

Last week, a three vehicle accident occurred on US 60 where it intersects with Hughes Creek Road in Hugheston, West Virginia about 20 miles southeast of Charleston. The wreck occurred when one vehicle exiting Hughes Creek struck a second car on US 60. After the initial T-bone collision, a third car was swept up in the accident and crashed as well. Unfortunately, nine people were injured in total, and those victims were taken to medical facilities for treatment after Kanawa County sheriff's deputies and local fire department personnel responded to the wreck.

When any car accident occurs, one of the most challenging legal issues confronting a court is making a determination of fault and liability. There are often many factors that coalesce to create the circumstances causing an automobile wreck, and the addition of more vehicles only serves to complicate the analysis. In the accident described above, the limited information contained within the Charleston Gazette's story indicates that the driver entering US 60 from Hughes Creek Road was driving negligently and caused the initial collision. The first driver is also likely to be legally responsible for the second portion of the accident as well, but proving causation is more difficult because that first driver did not directly impact the third car. Sorting through all of the circumstances that contributed to the second part of the crash is a difficult job, and it is one best left to a legal professional familiar with the legal rules and theories used by courts to assign fault.

If you have been involved in a multi-car accident, you need experienced and knowledgeable legal counsel to marshal the facts of your case to form the most compelling legal arguments possible. A skilled West Virginia automobile accident attorney can evaluate the factors that contributed to the accident, determine who was at fault, and use that information to create a plan of action that will protect your rights. In the wake of such accidents, it is best to contact an attorney as soon as possible to get started sifting through the information and get you prepared for the legal journey ahead.