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Car Accident
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Winter weather can wreak havoc on road conditions, leading to traffic accidents. About 70% of the roads in the United States are in parts of the country that get at least five inches of snow per year and 24% of weather-related crashes happen in snowy, icy or slushy conditions. Winter weather crashes result in over 1,300 deaths and 116,800 injuries every year. When weather conditions contribute to accidents, it can be difficult to determine who should pay for the damages.
If you have injuries and property damage due to a winter weather accident, several parties could be responsible for paying the costs. If you have collision coverage on your vehicle, your auto insurance will probably cover the damage to your vehicle, less your deductible.
If you have health insurance or personal injury protection or medical payments coverage on your auto policy, you may have coverage for your medical bills. If someone else caused your car accident, you may be able to recover compensation from that driver or the driver’s insurance company.
The negligence laws in the state where the accident happened impact who pays for damages in a winter weather accident. Most states have some form of comparative negligence. However, a few states have contributory negligence laws that prevent anyone who contributes at all to their own damages from recovering from another party, even if their contribution is only 1%.
Texas has a modified comparative negligence law that allows a driver who is 50% or less at fault to collect damages from the at fault party or parties. If you are partially at fault, the amount of your damages you can collect will be reduced by your share of the fault.
Utah and Idaho’s negligence laws work the same as Texas, except you can not collect damages from another party if you are 50% or more at fault.
Arizona has a pure comparative negligence law, which means you can collect damages from an at-fault party even if you are 99% at fault. However, your damages are still reduced by your percentage of fault and the other party can also collect from you.
As an example, if you are in an accident with another driver in Texas, Utah or Idaho and that driver is 60% at fault and you are 40% at fault, you can collect 60% of your damages from the other driver and the other driver can not collect anything from you. However, if the accident happens in Arizona, you can collect 60% of your damages from the other driver and the other driver can collect 40% of the other driver’s damages from you.
Many people think that if they hit another vehicle or object because the roads are slick that it isn’t their fault. However, this is usually not the case. Drivers must drive safely and appropriately for weather conditions.
Drivers who lose control of their vehicles in winter weather conditions are usually at fault for any accidents they cause unless a reasonable person could not have anticipated the hazardous road conditions. The courts usually expect reasonable people to anticipate hazardous driving conditions during winter weather.
Drivers must drive appropriately for weather conditions. This means that driving behaviors that would be reasonable in ideal road conditions may constitute negligence in poor weather conditions:
Driving the speed limit could be negligent in poor weather conditions. Drivers must reduce their speed to allow adequate stopping time and maintain control of their vehicles when the roads are snowy or icy.
Following too closely is always a negligent driving maneuver, but drivers should leave even more space between their vehicle and the vehicle in front when the roads are slick because a reasonable person should expect it to take longer to stop. Finally, driving with worn out tires, windshield wipers in poor condition or with failing brakes is always a hazard, but poor road conditions increase that hazard.
It is usually not possible to keep roads completely free of snow and ice during the winter. However, if a city, state, business or organization fails to properly maintain a roadway or creates hazardous conditions, the entity responsible could be liable for your accident.
Drivers should completely clear snow accumulations off their vehicles before they drive them. If someone fails to clear the snow off their vehicle and that accumulated snow flies off their car and obscures your vision, causing a crash, the negligent driver of that vehicle may be liable for your damages.
However, you are still responsible for taking reasonable precautions, such as slowing down or stopping your vehicle to clear the obstruction. You may be partially at fault if you keep driving and hit another vehicle or object.
Winter weather conditions often lead to chain reaction accidents where multiple vehicles collide. Determining who is at fault can be tricky, because sometimes vehicles push vehicles into other vehicles and there can be multiple impacts between some vehicles in the chain.
Generally, the driver behind is responsible for the damage to the vehicle in front, but if a driver hits a vehicle and causes that vehicle to hit another vehicle, that driver may be responsible for damage to more than one car. If you are in a chain reaction accident, pay attention to how many impacts you felt, heard or saw and note whether you were able to stop before hitting the car in front of you.
If you stopped in time, but another vehicle pushed you into the car in front, that driver could be liable for all of the damages. However, if you hit another car and then someone hit you causing you to hit the other car again, the other driver will only be partially responsible for the damage to the vehicle you hit.
The parties involved in car accidents often disagree about whose fault the accident was. If you make a claim against someone else’s insurance, the insurance company will investigate the accident and decide who it thinks is at fault.
If you disagree with the insurance company’s assessment, you have the option to sue for damages in court. If you work with an attorney, your attorney will also investigate the accident to determine who is at fault and gather evidence to prove your case if the fault lies with someone else.
Evidence may include the police report, eyewitness accounts, details about the accident scene, photos of damage to the vehicles and weather reports. In some cases, your car wreck attorney may work with an accident reconstruction professional. Many cases end with an out of court settlement, but if the case goes to court, the court will make a determination of fault and award damages if appropriate.
If someone else’s negligence caused your serious injuries, the team at Fielding Law will fight for you. We have helped hundreds of accident victims get the compensation they deserve. Call us today at (877)880-4090 to schedule a free evaluation.