By Richard N. Shapiro, VA Wrongful Death Attorney

Have you ever come upon a slow moving vehicle at night without warning?  As a Virginia personal injury attorney and someone that’s on the road traveling a lot, it’s happened to me more than once. The dark stretch of road ahead of you is empty and then suddenly it’s not. This is exactly what happened to Larry Rickets when he came upon an all-terrain vehicle driving on a highway on the Eastern Shore of Virginia (VA) at night with no tail lights. Virginia traffic laws state that ATV use on public highways is prohibited, except to cross these roads, for agricultural purposes or while in Buchanan County.

Rickets instinctively swerved to miss the ATV but in doing so lost control of his car and crashed. Rickets lost his life and his passenger was badly injured. This may leave their families asking who is responsible. The answer is if the driver of the ATV caused the accident then he may be liable for civil negligence liability to the driver who lost his life avoiding it.

If the ATV driver is found to be at fault, will he have insurance or enough insurance to cover the fatal accident? We don’t know yet, but if the ATV driver lacks adequate insurance, Virginia uninsured/underinsured (UIM) coverage may apply to provide further insurance.

As experienced Virginia car accident attorneys we realize that the uninsured motorist coverage on the victims own car insurance policy is what will provide coverage to their family members if the  ATV driver was an uninsured or underinsured motorist.

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About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a Virginia injury law firm whose attorneys handle Eastern Shore, Virginia (VA), injury lawsuits. Our lawyers have provided legal advice and representation for thousands of victims of car and truck accidents, including many on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. We are familiar with the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and with the towns along Route 13, including people from Accomack, Onancock, Chincoteauge, Wachapreague, Cape Charles, Bloxom, Eastville, Exmore, Greenbackville, Machipongo, Mappsville, Melfa, Nassawadox, Onley, Tangier, Temperanceville, Wachapreague and Wallops Island. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included in the 2011 issue of Best Lawyers in America. They, along with fellow attorney John M. Cooper, were also named 2011 Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law, an honor which fewer than 5 percent of outstanding lawyers receive. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included in the 2011 issue of Best Lawyers in America. They, along with fellow attorney John M. Cooper, were also named 2011 Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law, an honor which fewer than 5 percent of outstanding lawyers receive. Though not every case meets our criteria, we offer free, confidential initial consultations. Give us a call at (800) 752-0042. If you can’t get through due to high call volume, please leave a message and we will return your call.