Those who are members of the AAA Club have to come to rely on the emergency roadside services provided by independent operators and paid for by the Club if they ever encounter any kind of roadside mishap. But as a member of the club, one would expect the independent service providers that respond to calls to be competent and professional, and more often than not not they probably are, considering the number of presumably satisfied Club members.
But, the Charleston car accident lawyers at Howell and Christmas recently read an unfortunate incident involving a Club member whose family has filed a wrongful death suit against AAA, the responding towing service, and a tow-truck driver. A 55-year-old woman was involved in a fatal accident in early March after a tow-truck driver reversed her malfunctioning car from a parking stall and fatally struck her in the parking lot of a Social Security Administration building.
The tow-truck driver, also 55-years-old, was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence after responding police officers detected signs alcohol impairment. The criminal investigation is ongoing.
In regards to the lawsuit, the attorney for the deceased woman’s family had this to say of the incident, “She expected and had a right to rely that AAA would send to her a qualified, competent tow-truck operator. What AAA sent… was a tow-truck operator who admitted to consuming alcoholic beverages on that day.” The lawyer for the family went on to mention that the tow-truck driver was aware of the car’s problems and that the woman was in a danger of being struck by her own vehicle if he were to move it.
The lawsuit accuses the driver of being “careless, reckless,” and displaying “negligent conduct.” The agreement between AAA and the towing service said driver worked for was terminated shortly after the wrongful death accident.
