The state of California will pay a woman who was rear-ended by then-California Senator Carole Midgen $335,000 over injuries she sustained during a 2007 car accident. Midgen is accused of driving erratically through Solano County for about 30-miles at a speed of about 80 mph in a California-issued SUV on Highway 12 and Interstate 80. Several drivers called 911 to report that there was a driver weaving through traffic at a fast speed.
Midgen's ride ended when she struck a 2005 Honda Sedan in Fairfield, California. Ellen Butawan, the driver of the vehicle that was rear-ended, sustained minor injuries. The state has already paid over $25,000 for damages from the California auto accident.
Midgen, who lost last year's election, says that the medication she was taking for leukemia may have been the reason for her driving behavior that day. The California Highway Patrol says that her cellular phone also contributed to the motor vehicle accident. They say that she took her eyes off the road to reach for her cell phone right before the California traffic collision happened.
One witness say that they saw a female talking on the phone and reading while negotiating lanes and that the distracted driver struck the center divider on more than one occasion.
Midgen pleaded no guilty to reckless driving and was fined $710. Her license was suspended for several months.
Rear-end Crashes
Rear-end collisions are among the most common kinds of auto crashes that result in personal injury claims. ScienceDaily.com reported that in 2006 there were 1.8 million rear-end accidents. Many rear-end crashes happen because a driver wasn't paying proper attention or was driving too close to the vehicle in front of him or her. The negligent motorist also may have been speeding and was unable to stop in time to avoid crashing into the car in front.
Rear-end crashes can result in painful injuries, including sprains, cervical sprains, whiplash, neck injuries, soft tissue injuries, back injuries, shoulder injuries, and knee injuries. Some of these injuries may be hard to detect at first and can also take a long time to recover from--possibly even causing ongoing pain for the car accident victim.
State pays $335k over senator's erratic driving, accident, Legalnewsline.com, July 7, 2009
CHP Investigating Crash Involving State Senator (Democrat), FreePublic.com, May 21, 2007
Related Web Resources:
Human Factors Psychologists Study How To Avoid Rear-end Collisions, Science Daily, May 1, 2008
Carole Migden, CIWMB.Ca.Gov
An experienced Orange County, California car crash law firm will know how to prove that your injuries occurred as a result of your involvement in a specific motor vehicle accident.
