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Audubon County, Iowa accident shows why passengers have better claim than do drivers

Posted on Oct 23, 2011

The next case is out of Audubon County on October 19, 2011 and frankly this case will more likely than not end up in litigation. The facts as stated in the Iowa State patrol report indicate either driver may be found to have been at fault or both drivers may be equally at fault. Here is the key factual conclusion that raises this issue: "AT THE SAME LOCATION THE TWO VEHICLES COLLIDED NEAR THE CENTERLINE OF THE HIGHWAY..." In this collision we have four people either injured or killed. In vehicle 1 is a 22 year old driver Jason Rattenborg from Audubon and in vehicle 2 is Kendall Ware a 55 year old from Lineville, Iowa. A 17-year-old passenger, in vehicle 1, Kristopher George Crawley, 17 is noted as a "fatality". Rattenborg, Ware and Mark Anthony Piearson (vehicle 2) were all noted to be injured and it appears seriously so.

So let's discuss the what-if both drivers were at fault, then what? That simply means the passengers have a better claim than do the drivers. The passengers have a viable claim against both drivers and their auto insurers. Several clients come in and say they don't want to sue the driver because he's a friend of the family. And that may be true, but you still have to sue them to get to their insurance. That's just the way it is in Iowa so get over it. Here is the link to the preliminary report and to the full report. To read the Des Moines Register's story, One dead in head-on Audubon County crash, Tom Alex of the Register follow the linked text.

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