If you live in Las Vegas, you know that the palm trees that you see across the valley are not native to the area. They were transported in many years ago to give the city a tropical flavor and beautify many of the valley’s roads, parks, and green spaces. But it’s easy to forget that these palm trees are sturdy enough to cause significant damage to any vehicle which might come into contact with them.
Unfortunately, an auto-palm tree accident resulted in the death of a teenager over the weekend. On Saturday morning around 4am, an 18-year old man was driving a 1991 Nissan car northbound on Centennial Center Boulevard just west of U.S. 95 and south of the Las Vegas Beltway. Prior to reaching the intersection with Tropical Parkway/Azure Drive, the driver lost control of the vehicle and it began sliding sideways. The car then slammed into a palm tree in the road’s raised median, with the tree impacting the passenger side of the vehicle. The wreck killed the 17-year old male passenger, and the driver was rushed to University Medical Center with serious injuries.
Not only will this 18-year old face a possibly lengthy recovery from his injuries, he may also face being named as a defendant in a wrongful death lawsuit which could be filed by the parents of the teen passenger. Because he was 17, the victim was a minor; so any legal action must be precipitated by his parents. While a wrongful death lawsuit certainly won’t being their son back, the parents of the boy could receive reimbursement for medical expenses, as well as compensation for the estimated future wages their son would have earned had the auto accident never taken place.