Three people were killed in a car/truck accident which happened on Hwy. 57 in George County,MS. Robert Myrick of Lucedale, the driver of the work truck, and a passenger were killed in the car wreck. Two other passengers received personal injuries and were taken to the local hospital. Myrick's truck collided with a Hummer SUV driven by Terrance Moore of Biloxi,MS who died at the scene.
Who has a claim against whom and why? If the truck came over into the SUV's lane of travel and caused the accident, then the driver of the SUV has a claim against the driver of the truck. Since this was a County truck, then the County will also be liable for their driver's actions. The passengers in the truck would also have a claim against their driver and the County for their driver's actions in causing the wreck. To take it one step further, suppose the County only had $25,000 of car insurance; could the driver of the SUV collect more than $25,000? The answer is yes, if he had underinsured motorist coverage which is greater than the County's insurance coverage. For example, if the SUV had $100,000 of UM coverage,then his family could collect the $25,000 from the County's insurance and $75,000 from his own UM coverage.($100,000-$25,000=$75,000). The family of the SUV driver could also make a claim against their own insurance company for funeral benefits under the medical pay provisions of the policy.
What if the tire blew out on the truck which contributed to the accident? Then anyone injured or killed would have a claim against the tire mfg. for a defective product under the product liability law of MS.
