Pedicab Accident Leads To Multiple Lawsuits
The dangers of automobiles have been obvious from the beginning, and as the number of cars on roads in the United States increased, so did the number of catastrophic accidents. The fact that drunk driving was so common did not help, especially as interstate highways came to connect all major American cities, displacing railroads as the main means of long-distance travel. Traffic fatalities declined sharply in the 1980s, when laws went into place criminalizing drunk driving and requiring car manufacturers to install seatbelts in cars and vehicle occupants to wear them. Recently, various cities have looked for ways to make their inhabitants less reliant on cars, since not only are cars bad for the environment, but vehicle ownership is financially burdensome, whether yours is an electric vehicle or an old-fashioned gas guzzler. Pedicabs, which are bicycle-driven taxicabs that can transport one or two passengers, are one such alternative, and these have become a frequent sight in touristic areas of Charleston, South Carolina. Pedicabs are certainly safer than the electric scooters that have invited themselves to the downtown areas of many other tourist destinations in the Southern United States. Of course, drunk drivers are as much of a hazard to pedicabs as they are to pedestrians, bicyclists, and other motorists. If you got hit by a car while riding in a Pedicab, contact a Columbia car accident lawyer.
At Fault Driver and Several Bars Pay Settlements to Injured Man’s Family
In 2022, Travis O’Dell’s career as a Pedicab driver ended. While he was driving a Pedicab in Charleston, a drunk driver struck him, causing catastrophic injuries. A 30-hour emergency surgery was just the beginning of the new normal for him. The driver who caused the accident, Andrew Melton Demetre, was 24 at the time of the accident. He did not stop to render assistance. He was later charged with hit and run and DUI resulting in severe bodily injury. Demetre pleaded guilty and spent time in prison.
O’Dell and his family filed a lawsuit against The Alley, a bar where Demetre got drunk before causing the accident that caused O’Dell’s permanent injuries. Under South Carolina’s dram shop liability laws, if a drunk driver causes an accident, the people injured in the accident have the right to file a personal injury lawsuit against the bar or restaurant where the employees continued to serve alcohol to the drunk driver even after he or she was already too drunk to drive. Even the drunk driver himself or herself has the right to file a dram shop liability claim if he or she got injured. After Demetre was released from prison, he also settled a personal injury lawsuit filed by O’Dell and his family.
Let Us Help You Today
The personal injury lawyers at the Stanley Law Group can help you get justice after an accident where a drunk driver struck a pedicab or other non-motorized vehicle. Contact The Stanley Law Group in Columbia, South Carolina or call (803)799-4700 for a free initial consultation.
Source:
abcnews4.com/news/local/man-sentenced-to-1-year-in-prison-for-seriously-injuring-pedicab-driver-in-2022-downtown-charleston-police-department-cpd-andrew-melton-demetre-travis-odell-hit-and-run-felony-great-bodily-injury-south-carolina-sc-wciv
