When a moving vehicle strikes and injures a pedestrian, the pedestrian often files a lawsuit seeking money damages. One of the defendants is almost always the driver, who is almost always alleged to have been negligent. In a recent lawsuit filed against mega-celebrities Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez, a pedestrian alleges that he was injured because the couple was negligent in failing to instruct their driver and security team to be alert for pedestrians.
The plaintiff was struck by a chauffeured car carrying J-Lo and A-Rod after they had left a trendy restaurant. The plaintiff acknowledges that neither of the celebrities was driving the vehicle, but he alleges that they were negligent because they failed to instruct their driver and their security team to be vigilant. The plaintiff further alleges that the defendants quickly fled the scene and failed to check on his condition.
The plaintiff in this case will need to overcome the finding of a police investigation into the incident one year earlier. The police said that no criminal charges could be filed because “pedestrians are not allowed to block a vehicle in a space by standing in front of it, and drivers are permitted to creep forward.” This finding basically says that the pedestrian had no right to interfere with the movement of the vehicle in which the defendants were riding. The plaintiff will also need to establish that Ms. Lopes and Mr. Rodriquez had a legal duty to supervise the manner in which their driver controlled the car. According to the complaint, the plaintiff is seeking to recover his medical expenses and damages.
The findings in a criminal investigation do not necessarily determine the outcome of a civil lawsuit based upon the sane incident. Anyone seeking to recover damages in a civil lawsuit may wish to consult an experienced personal injury attorney to understand
