St. Petersburg Man Dies When Truck Rolls Over Him

Jason Kristensen, 24, was trying to loosen a bolt on the truck's drive shaft when the vehicle rolled.  51-year-old Clifford Seiferheld became trapped under one of the truck's wheels.  Kristensen and his girlfriend, Britteny Berricchia, 24, were able to lift the truck enough for Seiferheld to escape.  Seiferheld appeared okay at first and went to lay down.  About an hour after the incident, Kristensen checked on Seiferheld and found him lying on the floor.  Seiferheld was taken to Bayfront Medical Center where he died from internal injuries.

This is certainly a tragic event but it is an odd twist of events.  Whjile I do not yet know who owned the truck, but assuming that Kristensen owned the truck (and that Kristensen and Seiferfeld are not family members) there may be liability for which the liability policy may apply.  There will be a $5,000 PIP/No-Fault death benefit paid by the insurance company.  This will come from Seiferheld's policy if he has one.  In the absence of a policy belonging to Seiferheld and assuming that Seiferheld did not own a vehicle on his own, Kristensen's policy will pay the death benefit.  Next, again assuming the Kristensen owns the truck, Kristensen has some legal liability for the death because of its nature as a dangerous instrumentality.  The owner of a dangerous instrumentality is always liable.  Kristensen may have further liability in that it may have been negligent to attempt to perform the repair without proper safety equipment or precations.  In such situation, Seiferheld's estate would have a claim against Kristensen for wrongful death.  If you have questions or concerns regarding this incident, please contact a Central Florida personal injury or wrongful death attorney for a free analysis of this case.  A Central Florida personal injury or wrongful death attorney from Moody Law can meet with you for free to discuss the particular facts and circumstances of the case.