Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog
Not all personal injury lawsuits are filed against a driver of a car who hits another individual and causes bodily injury. Lawsuits against third-parties are often brought due to the circumstances that made the car, truck or motorcycle accident possible in the first place. For instance, it would not be unusual for a company that made faulty tires, brake system components or other safety-related replacement parts to be sued individually or together with a commercial trucking firm that installed the parts on their fleet vehicles.
While this aforementioned example is related to products liability suits, it is an example of how a third party can be sued by the victim(s) of am automobile or commercial trucking accident that may have been caused by the premature failure of such parts or components. Similarly, a third party that provided the conditions for an accident to occur may sometimes be sued, in addition to the person or entity that was directly responsible.
As Maryland personal injury lawyers and auto accident attorneys, we serve not only the residents of cities like Annapolis, Rockville and Gaithersburg, but also motorists and vehicle occupants who may have become injured in a traffic collision in Washington, D.C.
Once a person has been injured in an automobile or trucking wreck, it’s nearly impossible to turn back the clock to a time when that victim was well and free of bodily injury. Although many injuries can heal over time, such as minor cuts and bruises, the long-term effects of a head, neck and spinal injury can linger for months, if not years. Closed-head trauma is one such injury that can affect a person’s quality of life for years down the road.
A short while ago, news reports announced a third negligence lawsuit had been filed against the Maryland-based Walther Productions for its part in a tragic on-site auto-pedestrian accident that occurred earlier this year at an out-of-state event. According to news reports, the initial accident happened in mid-July when a festival attendee lost control of his truck, which was apparently parked in a designated vehicle area on a hill above a camping area.
The vehicle reportedly rolled down an incline and into the campsite, fatally injuring a 20-year-old woman, and seriously injuring two other attendees. The latest victim to sue the festival stated in her suit that the organizers allowed for “an unsafe atmosphere” in that they permitted vehicle parking so close to the camping area. One could assume that had the parking area been provided with guardrails to prevent a vehicle from running downhill and into the camping area that this accident may have been avoided.
Based on court records, the lawsuit filed with a U.S. district court states clearly that Walther Productions “failed to exercise reasonable care to prevent” this tragic pedestrian accident. The suit goes on to claim that organizers failed to protect the attendees from potential injury resulting from the “negligent and reckless act” of parking vehicles on a slope that did not offer sufficient traction, nor other protections (such as guardrails) other persons below the parking area.
According to reports, Walther Productions is based in Maryland and is one of several named defendants in the suit, including the promotion company’s president, Tim Walther; Marvin’s Mountaintop, where the festival was being held; and a number of other festival vendors, such as the parking and security companies that were contracted to run various aspects of the festival.
The father of the deceased woman had already filed a wrongful death lawsuit against festival organizers in October, seeking punitive damages. In addition to this legal action, and that of the other surviving victims, the local prosecutor’s office was awaiting a sheriff’s department accident report before pressing any criminal charges against the festival and its organizers.
Third negligence lawsuit filed against All Good Music Festival, Baltimoresun.com, October 25, 2011