21 year old Heather Stith, of Nicholas County, Kentucky was killed Tuesday morning when she was hit by a car. Ms. Stith was a pedestrian out for a late evening walk when she was struck by a motor vehicle along East Union Road near Main Street in Carlisle. Heather’s family, via establishing an Estate through the Kentucky Court system, will have a Kentucky Wrongful Death Claim related to this pedestrian accident.
Under Kentucky Law, drivers owe a duty to pedestrians, to be in constant control of their vehicles and be mindful of their driving surrounds (which include pedestrians walking). While all the evidence points to the driver of the vehicle not intending to strike Heather, Kentucky Law affords persons injured or killed, due to the negligent driving of others, to seek civil justice and be compensated legally for injuries or a loss of life. Legally there are arguments by the lawyers to be made of who bears what percentage of fault in an accident like this, which will include factual evidence of everything from speed, to visibility, to driver distractions, and so on. Ultimately it is unlikely that Heather will bear 100% fault, and thus a legal recovery percentage/proportional to allocated fault percentages will be available for her family to seek civil justice for her tragic loss of life.
Kentucky Legal Damages from an accident like this include medical bill reimbursement, pain & suffering, and a calculation of the lifetime of lost earnings the deceased would have earned over her lifetime. In cases like the death of Heather Stith, who was so young and airlifted to UK Hospital from Nicholas County Hospital, the legally available civil justice that can be sought by her family and loved ones will be substantial.
For more information on the legalities of these types of legal matters, a link is provided to the Ackerson law Offices webpage. (Click here for the link to the Ackerson Law Offices).