Hulkamania is now on the back burner in the wake of an injury lawsuit filed by their son's friend stemming from a serous car accident last August. Nick Hogan was driving his father's Toyota Supra with his friend John Graziano as a passenger when the car accident happened. It is suspected that Nick Hogan was speeding at the time of the collision when he lost control of his Supra and struck a median causing the car to spin out of control and hit a tree.
The Attorneys for Graziano filed a rather lengthy personal injury lawsuit, which among other things, includes three counts of negligence. The car accident complaint names Hulk Hogan, his estranged wife, Linda Hogan and of course 17 year old Nick Hogan. Graziano spent a long time in the hospital in the ICU in a medically-induced coma. He also broke his skull and is expected to need indefinite care, most likely at some type of assisted care facility. Graziano's medical bills already exceed more than $1 million.
The basis and the thinking behind naming Nick's parents as party defendants in the personal injury lawsuit can best be explained by a Florida statute that imposes liability on the owners and insured for accidents and resulting injuries caused by the negligence of one of the authorized drivers under the insurance policy. Some jurisdictions have assigned the label "family purpose doctrine" and what it will ultimately mean is that Nick Hogan's parents will be on the hook individually and jointly should this matter go to trial and a verdict is returned.
Once defense that will most certainly be asserted by the Hogan's lawyers is that Graziano is suspected of not wearing his seat belt, which will spur speculation of what injuries could have been avoided had he in fact been wearing his seat belt in the car crash.
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a car accident or any other type of transportation accident, I would invite you to please visit my website, www.samlevine.com or contact my office, Sam Levine, Attorney at Law.
