In cases where you get injured because of the actions of a reckless driver, you don't have to worry where the compensation will come from. With that said, what happens when you get injured in a car accident because of ice, snow, or rain on the road that caused you or another driver to lose control?
Duty of Care
After a car accident, we have laws in place called
duty of care that say we can't simply drive away from the scene of the accident. That can lead to criminal charges. We owe everyone involved in the accident a duty of care, which means that we have to take care of everyone involved in the car accident to make sure that they are all right and receive necessary medical care.
Especially during difficult weather conditions, drivers must especially exercise responsible steps to prevent unnecessary harm. The law considers it negligent driving when people speed, drive drunk, or get distracted behind the wheel. That said, other actions can also be seen as careless driving like if a driver wasn't driving according to the weather while it was snowing, raining, or foggy.
How Do You Receive Compensation?
How you receive compensation largely depends on the circumstances of the accident. Were you injured alone or was another driver involved? It is advisable to hire a car accident attorney who understands your case because they can determine who was at fault in the accident. They will also look at whether the other driver took negligent actions, which could become a case against them and strengthen your own case.
You want someone who understands this field of law because they can analyze the specifics of your case to determine how to best proceed in the accident. They might look at previous cases to determine the value of your case.
Claim Denied for Bad Weather?
Before you can receive compensation in a car accident, you will first have to prove that the other driver was at fault. They acted negligently, and this led to your injury. In addition, you will have to show how the injuries that you sustained happened as a result of the car accident and not from something else. If the insurance company proves that bad weather caused the accident, then each driver will have to pay for the damages themselves.
Proving negligence in an accident during bad weather can be difficult to say the least. Speaking with a lawyer who understands this field can help because they will know the details to look for to prove fault. You want someone who will conduct an in-depth investigation, and they will gather the necessary evidence.
How Other Drivers Could Be Proven Negligent in Poor Weather
Some of the ways that they could prove the other driver was negligent during bad weather include the following:
● Aggressive and reckless driving before the accident
● Driving with worn windshield wipers
● Driving with worn tires
● Behind the wheel while fatigued
● Failure to follow traffic signs or signals
Many Factors at Play
To determine what type of compensation someone will receive, lawyers will have to look at a number of factors, and this even goes beyond the poor weather conditions. They have to look at what may have caused the accident. In some cases, you may have to fight the insurance companies if you would like to receive a fair settlement because they won't simply hand it over. They will try to get off on a technicality.
Never Sign Anything
Without your
Richmond car accident lawyer present, you should never agree to sign anything because no good can come of it. In some cases, insurance companies will call you up and offer you a figure from the accident. They hope that you will take this offer. In exchange for taking the offer, you have to sign your right to further compensation away, and while this is a dirty trick, it is legal. Before you sign anything, have your lawyer look over the details to ensure that everything checks out. You don't want to later learn how you were given a low figure far below what the case was truly worth.
How Weather Impacts Liability
Accident claims of every kind hinge on negligence. Before the insurer pays out, they first determine the fault of each party, and they use that to determine the payout. Reckless driving during bad weather is the equivalent of negligence. For example, if one of the drivers was going too fast, the insurance company might put them at greater fault for the accident.
What Does Fault Mean in an Accident?
Let's say that you were given a certain percentage of fault in the accident. For example, you were given 30 percent of the fault. In that case, you can only recover 70 percent of the total damages. Depending on the state, when someone is over 50 percent responsible for the accident, they may not be able to collect on the accident.
Whose Insurer Do You File With?
In no-fault states, you will always file with your own insurance company, but who you should file with otherwise depends on the circumstances. If you were in an accident where no other drivers were involved, you will have to file with your own company. If you were primarily at
fault, you will file with your own, as well. On the other hand, if the other party was at fault, you will have the opportunity to file against the other company.
Because car accidents in bad weather can be a tricky subject, you should speak with a lawyer who understands this field of law. Never represent yourself in an accident because without legal experience, you will have a hard time figuring out how to approach the subject. You want to receive the best compensation possible for your case.