$1M settlement for daughters of father killed in car crash

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The daughters of a single father who was killed after he was struck by a truck that failed to yield at a stop light has settled their case against the at-fault driver for $1 million, the family’s attorneys report.

In March 2018, the victim, whose name was withheld, was driving through an intersection with a green light in Mecklenburg County when a truck, driving in the opposite direction, failed to yield to him and made a left turn, hitting his car on the driver’s side door, said Lynwood Evans and Jeremy Wilson of Ward and Smith in Greenville and Wilmington, respectively.

The victim, who was 44, suffered massive head injuries and died at the scene.

The speed limit was 35 mph. Law enforcement estimated that the victim was driving up to 50 mph while the defendant was driving around 30 mph, and the defendant thus cited contributory negligence as a defense. An insurance adjuster said he believed the victim was driving more than 50 mph and the wreck would not have happened had he not been speeding, Evans said. 

However, Steve Farlow, an accident reconstruction engineer in Raleigh, said that the victim was not speeding and was instead going at or near the speed limit.

Evans said that he and Wilson were prepared to litigate the case and file a lawsuit if a resolution couldn’t be reached, but ultimately, the parties reached a pre-suit settlement of $1 million.

The money was used to purchase annuities with a total combined payout of more than $1.8 million for the use and benefit of the man’s teenage daughters, who were 19 and 18 years old at the time of their father’s death, Wilson said.

“The greatest focus was on the two daughters he sadly left behind,” he said. “He had raised his two daughters as a single father, and they were incredibly close. He had devoted his life to them and to supporting them and they were incredibly close to him and adored him. That was really their family, the three of them. The loss of him in their lives was terrible and devastating.”

SETTLEMENT REPORT — MOTOR VEHICLE CRASH

Amount: $1 million

Injuries alleged: Death

Case name: Case settled pre-suit

Venue: Mecklenburg County

Date of settlement: January 2019

Most helpful experts: Steve Farlow of Raleigh (accident reconstruction engineer)

Attorneys for plaintiff: Lynwood Evans and Jeremy Wilson of Ward and Smith in Greenville and Wilmington, respectively

Attorney for defendant: Withheld