When a fatal accident occurs in Louisiana, the family of the victim can file a wrongful death lawsuit against those responsible for their tragedy. In November 2014, an accident on Interstate 10 claimed the life of a young woman. Her mother has now filed a lawsuit against the Louisiana Department of Transportation and the company behind the popular TV show, “Duck Dynasty.”
The motor vehicle accident occurred when the woman was driving back to Zachary, Louisiana, from a hunting trip. The lawsuit alleges that an 18-wheeler, driven by agents or employees of Duck Commander, Inc., cut-off the woman’s vehicle and forced her off the road.
A witness reported that he saw two 18-wheelers exiting the freeway at the same time as the woman. And, the witness claimed that one of them swerved into her lane. The lawsuit also alleges that the freeway was poorly designed.
The woman was thrown from her vehicle and transported to a local hospital. Unfortunately, she was pronounced dead soon thereafter.
The woman’s mother and her husband are attempting to figure out what resulted in the woman’s untimely death. Surveillance video from a nearby campground revealed that two 18-wheelers did in fact pass just before the accident occurred. However, it is unclear whether a Duck Commander vehicle was involved, based on the footage.
The couple attempted to collect data from a nearby weigh station about 18-wheelers, but a sergeant stated that the data was no longer available. A sergeant claims to have attempted to retrieve the weigh station data, but there is no evidence of this visit in the case file.
The family continues to gather information with the hopes that those responsible for the woman’s death will be brought to justice. If someone has lost loved ones in a car accident, they too may be able to file a lawsuit against those at-fault.
Source: Louisiana Record, “Company behind ‘Duck Dynasty’ sued over fatal St. Martin Parish crash,” Whitney Wright, April 13, 2016
