Can There Still Be Compensation In Bad-Weather Accidents?
One of the most basic arguments that sometimes discourages people from pursuing accident claims is that an outside factor, especially bad weather, played a role in what happened. First, you should never be so discouraged by the argument to not at least place a call to an auto accident lawyer and hear what they have to say. Second, the law still expects vehicle operators to keep cars, trucks and SUVs in good enough condition to be safely used in bad weather. Consider how an auto accident attorney might move forward with a claim under such circumstances.
Force Majeure
The basis of this possible defense is that a person can't be held liable for things outside their control. If a sudden gully washer caused a car to hydroplane in the seconds before an accident, most reasonable people would consider that outside the driver's power to prevent. Conversely, if they were driving on bald tires during a blizzard, that choice was well within their control.
Safe for the Conditions
A simple counterargument is that every motorist has to modify their driving to account for the road conditions. The arrival of a blizzard doesn't create a sudden exemption that allows a driver to start texting, speeding or doing other dangerous things. In fact, the legal expectations of drivers become more onerous because there's a common-sense understanding that a motorist should slow down and pay better attention when the weather takes a turn for the worse.
It's not unusual for an auto accident lawyer to just proceed with such cases as normal. After all, the at-fault driver might have been looking at memes on their phone at the time of the incident. If there's little evidence they tried to brake because they were distracted, it doesn't matter what the weather was.
Physics
The American legal system does allow for the fact that everything from steering to braking is harder in bad conditions. An auto accident attorney, however, will look at the claims made by the defendant and see if they dovetail with the physics of auto accidents. The co-efficient of friction might be different in a downpour, but tires and brakes do still serve a purpose. While the weather might seem like a good defense, it can break down as an argument if, for example, the motorist's vehicle traveled much farther than it should have at the posted speed limit. That applies even if rain significantly changed the expected performance of the vehicle and roadway.