Wrongful Death Lawsuit Allowed To Be Filed By Widow of Auto Accident Victim
A state appeals court ruled that Sevastia Podias, the widow of a motorcyclist who was struck by a car on the Garden State Parkway can pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against two passengers in the car who failed to stop and help him.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the lawsuit against Andrew Swanson, Jr. and Kyle Charles Newell, the two passengers in a car that hit Antonios Podias, may now go to trial.
A trial judge originally dismissed the case against Swanson and Newell in 2006, but that ruling was reversed last year when a state appellate court ruled that the two men had a legal obligation to help Podias. The judge had ruled in March that Podias couldn't sue for the bulk of monetary damages against Swanson and Newell because she had already settled out of court with the driver and other defendants for an amount greater than what a jury had determined was appropriate.
Podias’ husband, Antonios, was riding his motorcycle on the Garden State parkway when he was struck from behind by a car driven by Monmouth University student Michael Mairs, whose blood alcohol level was .085. Mairs, Swanson, and Newell were returning to the Monmouth campus from a party in Matawan.
Mairs' car crashed through a guardrail and stopped on the grass near the highway express lanes following the motorcycle accident. The three men then drove away, and a car driven by Patricia Uribe, another Monmouth student, ran over Podias, killing him.
Court records showed that Mairs, Swanson, and Newell never called for emergency assistance. According to Sevastia Podias’ attorney, experts testified that Antonios Podias suffered some injuries from the impact with Mairs' car but likely would have survived those injuries had the young men called for help.
Sevastia Podias also sued Mairs, Uribe, and the host of the party and his parents. Mairs settled for $1.075 million and pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an auto accident, underage drinking, and driving after consuming alcohol. He served 13 months in jail. The host of the party settled for $300,000 and Uribe paid $80,000.
The trial against the passengers will begin in December.
Every day throughout the country families are devastated when innocent loved ones die as the result of traffic accidents According to stats released by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [], there were 500 fatalities in Pennsylvania in 2007 caused by alcohol-related traffic accidents.
The Philadelphia Pennsylvania auto accident lawyers at Cherry Fieger and Marciano, LLP have the experience and knowledge which are necessary to represent clients involved in even the most complex car accident cases. When preparing your case, our skilled team of attorneys will review all relevant facts to assist in determining which party was at fault and who should assume responsibilities. Some factors which may be of importance during this process may include road conditions, weather conditions, the condition of the vehicles involved (i.e., faulty or defective auto parts), and whether or not alcohol or drugs were involved.
