Objects flying off vehicles causing Automobile Collisions and Serious Personal Injury
We all see it travelling on our highways. An overloaded pickup truck hits a bump on the road and out flies a part of its payload into the path of oncoming cars travelling at 65 miles per hour. Most of the time the cars behind the problem avoid the object and move on down the road. Not so all the time. Yesterday, a hay bale fell off a truck on Highway 46 in Bartholomew county. The bale hit a motorcycle traveling in the opposite direction causing the motorcycle to crash. Two Hoosiers William Eland III and his wife Lindsay Eland were on that bike when the hay bale struck Mr. Eland causing serious personal injury. Mr. Eland was air lifted to Methodist Hospital. He was, at last report, in critical condition. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Elands.
As with many objects flying off of other vehicles, the Elands had no time to react. However, the person who placed the bale on the truck knew that if the object, in this case a bale of hay but it could be any kind of object, flew off the truck travelling at highway speed, it would act like a missile causing serious personal injury and possibly wrongful death. Because that driver knows this, he/she is obligated to use reasonable care to make sure that all objects on the truck do not escape.
This is the basis of our civil justice system. If you know that something you are doing will likely cause serious personal injury to another unless you use reasonable care, then you are obligated to use that reasonable care to make sure others are not harmed. This only makes sense. It is essentially the Golden rule. You do not want to be hurt by someone else not using reasonable care. In turn you are obligated to use reasonable care not to injure another.