Top 5 Oddest Accident Claims You Have to Read to Believe
It is said that “truth is stranger than fiction.” There is no area of the law that this quote applies to quite like personal injury law. Accidents and injuries occur for more reasons than one can conceive. Though car accidents are no laughing matter, we have seen and heard our fair share of unusual accidents. Here are our picks for the Top 5 Oddest Accident Claims You Have to Read to Believe.
1. Clutter Bug
In 2007, police in Massachusetts responded to an auto accident where the cause was too much trash in the vehicle. There was so much trash, that apparently the gas and brake pedals were obstructed, causing the driver to lose control.
2. Irony and Identification
In 1995, a Volkswagen crashed into two trees when the driver fell asleep. Both occupants were killed. The driver was identified, but the passenger had no identification. His face was too damaged for the media, and the only items on him were change and tickets to a Grateful Dead concert. It was suspected that he was a hitchhiker. To this day, he has not been identified.
3. Silent Night
In 2013, an investigative reporter’s vehicle was seen careening so fast through a Los Angeles neighborhood that sparks were flying off it. The vehicle collided with a palm tree and ignited. After the accident, reports suggested that the victim’s top secret investigations may have led to someone seizing remote control of the vehicle and causing the accident in an effort to silence him.
4. A Broken Record
The damages claimed in personal injury cases certainly vary, but one accident really stands out. In 2009, a Utah woman recognized by Guinness for having the world’s longest fingernails was a passenger in one of four cars involved in an accident. While she survived, her fingernails did not. BBC reported that they were “damaged beyond repair” and were “a fundamental part of her life and unique character”. After the accident, she refuses to regrow her 30-year-long nails, stating that she may not live 30 more.
5. Santa Ana Auto Jump
Need we say more?