An accident in Caldwell Parish on Dec. 16 left one person dead and two others injured. The accident involved a pickup truck and a car.

According to Louisiana State Police, the fatal accident occurred around 4 p.m. on Highway 165 when a 42-year-old Columbia woman was headed north in the outside lane. The woman was trying to move into the inside lane but instead struck a pickup that was stopped for construction work. In the collision, she also hit three construction workers.

Two of the construction workers suffered moderate injuries and were taken to a local hospital for treatment. The third worker, a 30-year-old West Monroe man, suffered severe injuries and was airlifted to the hospital. He succumbed to his injuries hours later. The woman was cited for careless operation of a vehicle.

Three days after the incident, police were continuing to investigate and awaiting results of a toxicology sample to see if impairment had played a role in the incident. Impairment might be used by a victim as evidence of negligent behavior on the part of a liable driver in a wrongful death claim.

When a police investigation reveals that a liable driver was negligent — ignoring the rules of the road or driving while impaired, for example — the family of a decedent might choose to file a wrongful death claim to recover damages. Damages in a successful case might be both economic and non-economic. Economic damages might include medical, funeral and burial costs as well as loss of financial support and services. Non-economic damages might include loss of companionship for the surviving family members.

Source: The Franklin Sun , “Construction worker killed in Caldwell Parish crash “, December 19, 2014