Louisville Car Accident Lawyer Case
In January of 2009, a Louisville, Kentucky Federal Court ruled on a Louisville car accident case. The case is captioned Norton v. Canadian American Tank Lines, 2009 WL 86603 (W.D.Ky.). In Norton, Mr. Norton collided with the rear of a tractor-trailer that was parked by the defendant on the side of a road. The driver was inside the sleeper cab of the tractor asleep when the accident occurred. The accident occurred at approximately 6am. The night before the accident, the driver of the tractor trailer parked on the side of the road with the left tires of the vehicle on the pavement, and the right tires on the grass shoulder. The tractor trailer extended seven feet into the roadway. The driver placed no warning devices such as reflective triangles or flares in the roadway.
Mr. Norton in his Louisville car accident case alleged that the driver was negligent in the parking of his vehicle and that this negligence was the proximate cause of his injuries. Mr. Norton claimed the driver was negligent because he violated a statutes (negligence as a matter of law) and because he breached a general duty of care (ordinary negligence). The court reviewed the applicable statutes and case law. The court reviewed case law from the 1930’s and the 1950’s. And after careful reasoning, it determined that the defendant did in fact violate a state roadway statute and thus was liable according to the rule of negligence per se. And as the driver was negligent as a matter of law, his employer is vicariously liable for the injuries that were caused by his negligence. So, in this case, Plaintiff’s Louisville car accident lawyer won and the court granted Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment.
But, the court did not grant the defendants’ motion. The defendants filed a motion claiming that Mr. Norton was not warning his seat belt and that that failure was a substantial factor that contributed to his injuries. The court held that that issue was a question of fact for a jury and not something that the court would decide on its own. Accordingly, the case was remanded back down to the trial court for conclusion.
If you have been the subject of a Louisville car accident matter, please call and speak to a Louisville car accident lawyer at the Law Offices of Andrew S. Alitowski at 888-ASK-ANDREW (275-2637) or contact us online. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
If you are injured…Ask Andrew!!!
