I always assumed that personal injury cases where pretty straight forward. After being in an accident, any financial losses that you suffered would be reimbursed by the liable party's insurance company. Unfortunately, things only work this way in a perfect world. In the real world, personal injury cases are extremely complex and getting the insurance company to pay a fair settlement requires the expertise of an experienced injury lawyer. Unfortunately, it took me several months to finally seek out the legal assistance I needed. As a result, I waited much longer than necessary to get the compensation I so desperately needed. During this time, I learned more about personal injury law than I ever thought I would. It is my hope that this blog will allow me to share that knowledge with you so that you can avoid making some of the same mistakes that I did.
In single car accidents, the driver is almost always considered to be at fault. As a driver involved in a single-car accident, it's important to identify the correct cause of the accident because it may determine which insurance coverage should pay the damages. Fortunately, the driver isn't always responsible for single-car accidents. Here are three situations in which other things, other than the driver's actions, may cause a single-car accident:
Sudden and Unexpected Actions of Another Motorist
Negligent or intentional actions of another motorist may make you incur a single-car accident. Consider a case in which another car suddenly swerves in front of you or cuts in from a side street. Suppose that you try an evasive maneuver to avoid colliding with the errant driver and end up hitting an object by the roadside. In such a case, you may succeed in holding the other driver liable for your single-car accident.
However, the challenge is this type of situation is to prove your side of the story. In most cases, you need an admission of guilt from the other motorist or an eyewitness account to bolster up your claims. You may still be held liable for the damages if you can't prove your claim.
Dangerous Road Conditions
A dangerous road condition, such as a pothole or missing guardrails, may also cause a single-car accident. Consider an example in which debris on the road punctures your car's tires, causing you to lose control of your car and hit a building by the roadside. That is clearly an accident caused by a poor road condition.
However, holding another party liable for the damages and injuries isn't easy in such cases. For one, government agencies are usually the ones tasked with maintaining roads. To lay the blame on the government, you must prove its negligence caused the poor road condition that leads to your accident. To escape blame, you must also prove that you couldn't have done anything to avoid the accident. Complicating matters is the fact that most government agencies are immune to such kinds of lawsuits.
Sudden Car Failure
Lastly, your single-car accident may also be caused by a defective part. If the defect is due to poor maintenance or anything you could have prevented, then you are clearly at fault for the accident. However, you may not be liable for damages and injuries arising out of a sudden part failure. This is especially true if the failure can be traced back to a manufacturing or design defect. For example, if a poorly manufactured airbag may deploy without cause, which may cause an accident. In such a case, the fault lies with the manufacturer of the
It's clear that not all single-car accidents are the fault of the driver. It's also clear, however, that it's not easy to prove who is at fault for such an accident. However, with the help of an experienced attorney, it isn't impossible to determine fault in any accident. To learn more, speak with someone like Charlie Tucker P.A.
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