Archive for October 22nd, 2013
Concerns About Liability Prompted Hartford to Reduce Take-Home City Vehicles – Article 597
Posted by Lawyer in Auto Accidents on October 22, 2013
Hartford provides city vehicles to certain employees, but has significantly decreased the number of take-home vehicles in recent weeks after several high-profile accidents. In March, there were 73 vehicles used by city employees, but the Courant reports this number has been reduced to 45 and may decline further.
The mayor cited financial issues for cutting back on the number of take-home city vehicles given to police officers and general government employees. But there is also another reason for scaling back the fleet: concerns about the city’s liability. Auto accident lawyers in Hartford know special rules apply to suing the government after an auto accident, but that there are circumstances under which the city could be liable for employee crashes.
Accidents in City Vehicles Raise Calls for Change
Drivers in take-home city vehicles are not permitted to allow others to drive their cars and are not supposed to use the vehicles for personal use. Many employees, however, have been violating these rules.
The mayor’s chief of staff, for example, was caught using a city vehicle without permission and was charged with interfering with police. The city’s deputy public works director was charged with drunk driving after she totaled a city-issued car and injured another driver in an accident. The Courant also reported on an accident involving the city’s corporation counselor and acting chief operating officer. This accident was the fault of another motorist, but the city-issued vehicle was damaged and the car was being driven by the city employee’s fianc? when the accident occurred at 2:17 a.m. While the driver was another city employee, his operation of the vehicle still violated policies stipulating that “commuter” cars are supposed to be driven only by the assigned employee and only during normal duty hours.
Auto Accident
Car fire after a wreck on Almeda Genoa TX results in the loss of two lives
Posted by Lawyer in Kansas Lawyers on October 22, 2013
A two vehicle accident on Almeda Genoa Road in Houston claimed two lives over the weekend. Around 2:45 a.m. on Sunday morning a car pulled out from a stop sign on Martin Luther King Boulevard and attempted to turn right onto Almeda Genoa Road. The car apparently interfered with the right-of-way of a red or maroon-colored pickup truck heading westbound on Almeda Genoa, causing a collision. The car was knocked in a ditch by the impact and the pickup rolled over, coming to rest on its roof before catching fire. Tragically the driver and passenger in the pickup were unable to exit the vehicle and were trapped inside: both were killed. The car driver was taken to Ben Taub in serious condition and police are continuing to investigate. Channel 2 Houston’s story is here.
Photo credit: Channel 2 houston
Two Vehicle Accident
