On behalf of Kammholz Law PLLC posted in Car Accidents on Thursday, February 27, 2014.
People in New York may have heard about a tragic and frightening accident that took place in Brooklyn in February. A young pregnant and expecting mother was helping her husband put their groceries in the trunk of their car when she was run down by a snow plow in the parking lot of the grocery store. The woman was rushed to a nearby medical center, where she was pronounced dead just one hour after the tragic wreck. Medical staff tried desperately to save the child, who was only one week from scheduled delivery, and at first it seemed that the emergency Caesarian section operation was successful. But in another tragic twist, the baby had gone for nearly 20 minutes without oxygen, and may suffer life-threating complications. The family and friends of the woman have expressed their immeasurable sadness. Snow plows are a familiar sight in New York in the winter months, but these deadly vehicles have a duty to be extra cautious while they are working, especially in high-traffic areas where there are lots of pedestrians. It seemed this snow plow driver didn’t exercise these proper precautions, backing over the woman before she even had a chance to get out of the way. He was slapped with three summonses, but likely no criminal charges. Shockingly, this isn’t the first time a person has been killed by a snow plow in New York this month, as an elderly man was mowed down by a plow just two weeks before this horrible accident. Much like a person who negligently causes car accident, a person who causes a wreck in a snow plow should face full liability for their actions. In this case, the grieving husband and father should be able to bring a civil suit for the wrongful death of his wife, and may be entitled to substantial compensation. Source: New York Daily News “Pregnant woman killed by snowplow in Brooklyn but baby survives after Caesarean,” Caitlin Nolan and Thomas Tracy, Feb. 14, 2014