Spanish driver sues dead cyclist for damages after fatal crash
It must be the last word in callousness.
A Spanish driver who fatally collided with a cyclist is suing the dead youth's family 20,000 Euros (£14,830) for the damage the impact of his body did to his luxury car, a Spanish newspaper reported.
Businessman Tomas Delgado says 17-year-old Enaitz Iriondo caused 14,000 Euros (£10,384) of damage to his Audi A8 in the fatal 2004 crash in La Rioja region, the El Pais newspaper reported.
Delgado, who has faced no criminal charges for the incident, wants a further 6,000 Euros (£4,450) to cover the cost of hiring another vehicle while his car was being repaired, El Pais said.
The youth had been cycling alone at night without reflective clothing or a helmet, according to a police report cited by El Pais.
His family won 33,000 Euros (£24,479)compensation from Delgado's insurance company after the firm acknowledged he had been driving at excessive speed and this could have contributed to the incident, El Pais reported.
"I'm also a victim in all of this, you can't fix the lad's problems, but you can fix mine," Delgado told the newspaper, ahead of a January 30 legal decision on his suit.
The family said they had previously pitied Delgado for the guilt he must feel at killing their son but were now disgusted that his greatest concern appeared to be money.
"This was the final straw, a kick in the teeth," the youth's mother Rosa Trinidad told El Pais.
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I suppose one can imagine a situation where a motorist can successfully sue a cyclist for damages on their vehicle. For example, the cyclist could ride full tilt into a legally parked car and put a great big dent in it. Would the cyclist be liable for damages? You bet.
In these circumstances, the plantiff's insurance company has already acknowledged that the plantiff has some responsibilty of the accident. Given the fact that the plantiff came out alive with a damaged car and the defendant suffered greater damages, death, I think the loss is mainly on the defendant's side. So if one were to say come up with a $$ amount for damages or 33,000 euros for the plantiff and about 2,000,000 euros (the usual sum for loss of life) for the defendant that means the defendant suffered something like 99% of the damages. If both sides were to pay equally based on amount of contribution to the accident, all that needs to happen is for the plantiff to be more than 1% at fault for him to have to cough up a lot more than the 33,000 he is seeking. It sounds to me that his own insurance company has already determined that the plantiff is more than 1% at fault. The man is not only callous. He is a fool. Sometimes it is time to get the heck out of Dodge.
bcart1991
If this was my family involved, Mr Delgado would not live to see his suit come to trial.
Hobartlemagne
You could disassemble the bike's frame into individual pieces of tubing, pass them out
to eager family members, and use them to pummel the car.
CA2NC
:mad: + :( + :mad:
By HAROLD HECKLE (Associated Press Writer) | January 25, 2008
MADRID, Spain - A speeding motorist who killed a teenage cyclist is suing the boy's parents over damage to his luxury car, the government says.
Enaitz Iriondo, 17, died instantly in August 2004 when businessman Tomas Delgado's Audi A8 crashed into him at 100 mph near Haro in northern Spain, an Interior Ministry traffic report said. The speed limit was 55 mph.
Iriondo was not wearing reflective clothing or a helmet, the ministry report said. As the sun had set when he crossed the path of Delgado's car from a side road, a regional court found both parties at fault and closed the case, the report said.
Delgado, whose insurance company paid Iriondo's parents $48,500 in compensation for their son's life, filed a suit in late 2006 to recover $29,400 in damages to his car and car rental costs, the ministry traffic report said.
"It's the only way I have to claim my money back," Delgado was quoted as saying by the newspaper El Pais, which first reported the story on Friday. El Pais said a ruling was expected next week.
Iriondo's parents were shocked.
"It's the final straw, a stab in the back," Iriondo's mother, Rosa Trinidad said, according to El Pais. "Before the lawsuit we thought the poor guy would find it hard to live the rest of his life with the thought of having caused our son's death.
The European Union's statistics office says Spain recorded 113 traffic fatalities per million inhabitants in 2004. The average for the 25-nation bloc was 95. In 2006, 3,016 people died on Spain's roads.
Dying doesn't erase your debts and if the rider was the cause of the other damage or played a part in terms of contributory negligence, the fact that it resulted in his own death is not related. I can't speak to the the deal in spain, but it would certainly seem to hold muster here.
Would you all feel the same way if you were at home, and a driver fell asleep at the wheel went off the road and ran into your house severely damaging your home? What about if you were driving and he hit you head on while you were speeding? The fact that the driver or the cyclist died doesn't erase their potential liability here.
closetbiker
that's what I thought. The cyclist should be liable for his contribution to the collision just as the driver should be liable for his contribution. But it's Spain. Don't know what the deal is there.
Still kind of a kick in the teeth though.
ckeizer77
When I was 18 I was hit by a Ford f-150. my helmet put a sizable dent in his hood and my bars gashed up his grill. He tried to take me to small claims court for damages. When I let him know that we'd go to the local newspaper and report the fact that he had failed his driving test because he was legally blind and that his drivers license was obtained because his son, a local police officer, "pulled some strings" he quickly dropped it.
syn0n
If this was my family involved, Mr Delgado would not live to see his suit come to trial.
I'd be counter-suing his family for the Mr. Delgado-sized dent in the hood and crack in the facia of my car.
What a complete *******. Hopefully the family of the victim won't have to face more injustice and humilation in court.
gpsblake
and report the fact that he had failed his driving test because he was legally blind and that his drivers license was obtained because his son, a local police officer, "pulled some strings" he quickly dropped it.
How could you possibly know this information??????
StrangeWill
Better yet, if you knew it, why did you drop it just because he dropped the lawsuit, he's back on the road!
Argus
If Mr. Delgado is allowed to sue the family for damages couldn't the family counter sue Mr. Delgado for damages as well? Especially since in one of these articles I read Mr. Delgado was driving 100 mph in a 55 zone.
Dchiefransom
Every person on this forum should remember this before we post that someone will have to live with the guilt of killing someone for the rest of their life. I still believe that the only emotion most feel is relief that they are not going to prison, period.
StrangeWill
Every person on this forum should remember this before we post that someone will have to live with the guilt of killing someone for the rest of their life. I still believe that the only emotion most feel is relief that they are not going to prison, period.
Whats the difference between that the underline motivation for most crimes, it all stems from a disconnection from realizing that you're affecting other people that deserve to be treated as right as themselves feel entitled to...
closetbiker
Every person on this forum should remember this before we post that someone will have to live with the guilt of killing someone for the rest of their life. I still believe that the only emotion most feel is relief that they are not going to prison, period.
I did a poll on something like that
http://bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=369845
CommuterRun
Every person on this forum should remember this before we post that someone will have to live with the guilt of killing someone for the rest of their life. I still believe that the only emotion most feel is relief that they are not going to prison, period.
:beer:
Dchiefransom
I did a poll on something like that
http://bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=369845
There it is right smack dab in the middle of post #8.;)
hotbike
It's another reason to add your bikes to your insurance policy. Let the driver file a claim with the Insurance company.
It's terrible to drag the bereaved family into court.
Servo888
In my mind a lot of people are at fault here. Obviously the kid should have not been on a 55MPH road without reflective clothing or lights (Darwin award right there...). Secondly the driver should have not been speeding. And thirdly what kind of parents let their kids ride around at night with no lights?
I had a very close call last summer. It was raining, pitch black, and I was going through an intersection around 15MPH. All of the sudden I see a dark figure running in front of my car. Turns out it was some women trying to run through the intersection (I had a green light). By the time I stopped, the person must have been 2-inches from getting pancaked. I spent 1/2 my day freaked out that I almost killed somebody!