An auto accident defendant might use the act of God defense to avoid compensating you for your damages. However, you are not out of luck just because the accident occurred in bad weather. You may still get what you deserve, depending on the circumstances of the accident. Below are some tips on how to get your compensation in such a case.
Prove an Alternative Cause
Just because an accident occurred in bad weather doesn't mean that the weather caused it. Other causes of auto accidents don't disappear simply because of inclement weather. For example, even during a storm:
- A drunk driver can still drive the wrong way and hit your car
- A car's brakes can still fail, causing it to hit you
- An inexperienced driver can still lose control of their car and hit you
Therefore, you need to prove that something other than the weather caused the accident. Expert witnesses, accident reconstruction experts, physical evidence, and eyewitness testimony can all help you prove the accident's cause.
Prove a Contributing Factor
Multiple factors sometimes combine to cause an accident. Such accidents can even have multiple liable parties. In such cases, each liable party should compensate the accident victims according to applicable state laws.
For example, weather and another person's negligence can cause an accident. Consider a case where visibility is poor and a driver decides to drive their car with defective lights. The combination of poor visibility (a weather issue) and defective lights (a driver's negligence) can combine and cause the driver to crash into you.
In such cases, the person responsible for the contributing factor should compensate you for your injuries. You may need to prove, for example, that you would not have suffered severe injuries or damages without the liable party's contribution.
Move Fast to Preserve Evidence
You will win or lose your quest for auto accident compensation on the strength of your evidence. Evidence preservation is necessary for all accident claims, but it's even more necessary for weather-related accidents. Weather elements fluctuate all the time. If you don't preserve evidence, the insurer and court might not understand the weather's role in the accident.
For example, an auto accident defendant might deflect blame for poor weather even if the prevailing weather condition is not that dire. In such a case, take pictures of the road and surrounding environment to prove your claim that the weather could not have caused the accident.
The onus is on you to prove that the defendant should compensate your injuries. Contact a law firm like Braje Nelson & Janes LLP to learn more.
