San Diego Personal Injury Attorney Blog

An American missionary from Lincoln, NE, suffered severe injuries last month in a devastating accident in Baja California, on the eve of the annual Baja 1000 race, the Lincoln Journal Star reported. The accident, a high-speed head-on collision, happened on November 17, 2010. The victim, James Lamb, 34, had just landed in Mexico and was driving with his brother, Andy Lamb, 33, from their missionary headquarters in northwestern Mexico to Ensenada to get potable water. Minutes after James Lamb started driving up a narrow dirt road, a truck coming the opposite direction slammed into his vehicle at the crest of the hill.

According to Race-Dezert.com, the truck that hit Lamb's minivan was the No. 86 Traxxas trophy truck driven by Mike Jenkins and Josh Baldwin. The speed of the vehicle was not known, but it was reportedly going at about 70% of race pace speed, according to one report. This horrific head-on collision happened the day before the Baja 1000, a thousand-mile off-road race that takes place every year on Mexico's Baja California peninsula. The trophy truck that struck Lamb's vehicle was on a reconnaissance run to prepare for the race.

Moments later after the collision with the trophy truck, a prerunner truck occupied by three U.S. Marines who had served in Afghanistan and a fourth civilian man stopped and rendered aid to James Lamb, who was trapped upside down in the smashed minivan. James' brother Andy suffered much less serious injuries.

The collision crushed both of James Lamb's legs. Lamb, the father of two children, was bleeding profusely, and his left arm was attached to his body by only a tendon. It took two hours until Mexican medics arrived - at which point the Marines told them what to do in Spanish, and even showed them how to use the extrication equipment to free Lamb from the wreckage. The next day, a life-flight jet was able to take James to UCSD Medical Center in San Diego, where he underwent emergency surgery, and began the very long road to recovery.

Accident Personal Injury Liability Issues

It is fortunate that the Marines who stopped at the scene were able to help - they may have indeed saved Lamb's life. However, the reality of this accident is that it caused permanently life-changing, catastrophic injuries. This accident raises a number of questions. Who is going to pay for surgeries, hospitalizations, and the treatment that James Lamb will need for the rest of his life? Is the reckless driver that caused this crash going to be held accountable? Despite the fact that this accident happened in Mexico, and not in the United States, the injured victim and his family likely have some legal recourse to hold the at-fault driver accountable. Lamb and his family likely have the ability to file a claim in the U.S. given that both drivers were U.S. citizens and the Baja 1000 is sponsored by a U.S. based sanctioning body.

In the aftermath of this accident, it would be absolutely advisable for the family of the victim to contact an experienced San Diego personal injury attorney as soon as possible. A knowledgeable attorney can review the very unique legal issues that arise from this devastating accident and advise the family of their best course of action to hold the reckless driver fully accountable for the serious injuries he caused, including medical expenses, loss of earnings, physical pain and emotional suffering, and other related damages.

Sources: The Lincoln Journal Star Online, PickupTrucks.com, Race-Dezert.com