The Town of Ledyard, Connecticut, recently awarded four police officers letters of commendation for their brave efforts in response to a car rollover. The accident happened on March 13 when a 17-year-old female driver on east Long Cove Road went around a bend. As she rounded the curve, she swerved to avoid another car. She then lost control of the car, crashed through a stone wall and rolled over numerous times. The girl sustained multiple injuries, including a spinal cord injury, in the crash. The police officers who responded to the scene are credited with saving her life.
During the roll over, the girl struck her head, suffering a concussion. She spent a number of days in the hospital as a result of her injuries. She experienced a spinal fracture, a partially collapsed lung, and fractured ribs. She also had to have metal plates put in across her collar bone. There is no question that her medical expenses stemming from this accident were enormous.
When the four officers responded to the scene, they found a car crushing this 17-year-old. The letters of commendation indicate that the men, without concern for their own safety, worked together to lift off the vehicle, which was partially resting on the girl’s head.
The girls is now said to be fully recovered and headed for her first semester of college. There is no word on whether the driver of the other vehicle involved was injured or whether any fault was ever determined as a result of the official investigation.
If there was any negligence involved in this incident, the injured girl may also have some recourse in a civil suit. If an individual is injured in an incident due to a negligent driver, he or she may be eligible to bring a lawsuit against that person. Compensation may cover medical expenses, permanent disability, lost wages and pain and suffering.
Civil suits against negligent drivers not only award compensation to the injured party, but also deter future negligent behavior. Just like the laws in place which punish irresponsible driving, civil suits act as enforcers of such laws by placing monetary penalties on those whose reckless acts harm the life of another.
Source: Ledyard Patch, “Police Commended for Heroic Rescue,” Jessie King, Aug. 23, 2012
