A high profile hit-and run car accident during the last week was noteworthy because it involved the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. Hit-and-run accidents pose special problems for car accident injury victims. Identifying the hit-and-run driver is important to obtaining fair compensation for one’s injuries. When the driver cannot be identified, a hit-and-run accident victim may pursue compensation from his/her own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage. Even if the driver cannot be identified, drivers that leave the scene of an accident may do so because they lack a driver’s license and car accident liability insurance.
California Secretary of Commerce, John Bryson, was involved in a collision in which he rear-ended another vehicle. While media reports indicate that Bryson initially stopped and engaged in a brief conversation with the occupants of the other vehicle, he allegedly got back into his vehicle and collided with the same vehicle a second time when driving away. It is not clear whether Bryson exchanged insurance information with the driver of the rear-ended vehicle before leaving the scene. However, Bryson then reportedly collided with yet another vehicle before being found unconscious behind the wheel of the vehicle.
While hit-and-run accidents like this often involve alcohol or drug impaired drivers, Bryson complied with requests for a breath and blood test. The breath test revealed that he had not been drinking, but the results of the toxicology blood test for drugs is not yet available. Bryson suggested that he had suffered a seizure prior to the collision. The accident is being investigated as a felony hit-and-run. It is unclear how the seizure would have caused him to be involved in three separate collisions but the incident is still under investigation.
If the toxicology report reveals that Bryson was under the influence of drugs, which impaired his driving, the victims that were injured in the collisions may have a right to pursue a personal injury claim for the injuries they suffered in the car accident. Law enforcement authorities have indicated that if Bryson’s toxicology report reveals that he was not under the influence of drugs while driving he will not face criminal charges. Even if the cause of the collisions was seizures related to a medical condition, this will not necessarily prevent a civil lawsuit for injuries. The key issue in the case of San Francisco car accidents caused by a medical condition is whether this is an ongoing medical condition such that it was reasonably foreseeable that Bryson might suffer a seizure causing a collision.
Contact Us For Your Free Consultation
If you are involved in a collision with a hit-and-run driver in San Francisco, our experienced San Francisco car accident lawyers have assisted many victims injured in hit-and-run accidents in the Bay Area. We invite you to contact The Law Office of Ian Zimmerman for your free initial consultation. We are open 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., speak Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese, and are available for weekend, evening, home and hospital meetings and visits. We also offer free initial consultations and work exclusively on a contingency fee basis so that you pay nothing if we don’t win your case.