Single car accidents are not uncommon and happen for a variety of reasons. One such crash occurred recently in Rochester, Massachusetts when a vehicle veered off the road near 116 Marys Pond and 113 Walnut Plain Road just before 11:00 a.m. and struck a tree, causing massive front-end damage.
The occupants had to be extricated from the car before being airlifted for medical attention. No other reports are available about their condition or how the accident occurred.
Causes of Single Car Crashes
People crash cars for multiple reasons. Most causes of single vehicle crashes are :
- Fatigue—falling asleep at the wheel
- Speed—taking a sharp curve at an excessive speed can cause a car to leave the roadway
- Avoiding another vehicle or animal in the roadway—you may have to take immediate action to avoid a car suddenly coming straight at you, or avoid a deer or other animal that has run in front of your vehicle or that suddenly appeared in your headlights
- Impairment—use of drugs and/or alcohol can impair your judgment and cause you to lose sight of where you are on the roadway
- Distracted driving—texting or otherwise looking at your phone and then having to suddenly swerve to avoid running off the road; having to suddenly avoid a pedestrian, animal, or large object in the roadway can cause you to lose control
- A blown tire, braking or steering issue
- Weather—driving too fast for conditions such as on an icy road, during a torrential rain, heavy snowfall, or hail can easily result in loss of control
If you were a passenger in a single vehicle car accident, you may have a claim for any injuries you sustained against the driver, even if the driver is a relative.
Liability and Compensation in Single Car Accidents
All motorists have a duty to exercise reasonable or ordinary care in driving, which means obeying all traffic laws and being on the lookout for hazards. Negligent driving can encompass any of the reasons for single car accidents outlined above. For instance, a motorist is negligent for falling asleep, driving impaired, or while distracted. Taking a curve too fast or driving too fast in poor weather is also a breach of the driver’s duty to use reasonable care.
If there is a mechanical issue that caused the motorist to lose control, then a car accident lawyer can investigate to see if the car manufacturer was guilty of a manufacturing or design defect, or a negligent mechanic failed to properly service the vehicle. Negligent road design is another possibility. A municipality has a duty to safely design roadways including fixing potholes, properly warning of dangerous road conditions, building entrance ramps that are not too short, or not maintaining the roadway in other respects that can reasonably be foreseen to be dangerous and cause a motorist to lose control.
What Your Car Accident Lawyer Can Do
If your car accident lawyer is able to prove negligence by the driver and that your injuries were caused by the accident, then you have a valid claim for damages, even if the driver is a family member. Most claims are brought against the driver’s auto policy unless the driver was uninsured. In that event, you can proceed to make a claim for uninsured motorist coverage using your own auto policy or that of a household member.
Also, if the driver had to use emergency maneuvers to avoid another car that suddenly appeared in your lane of traffic, but then fled, and your vehicle crashed into a tree or overturned causing you injury, you can use the uninsured provision of your own auto policy or that of a household member to recover compensation for your injuries.
Uninsured claims are handled in the same manner as a third party claim except that your own insurer is now your adversary, and a final disposition is through binding arbitration instead of a trial if the matter is not settled. As the claimant, you still have to prove that someone who was not insured was negligent in causing the accident and your claimed injuries.
Damages in Single Car Accident Injury Claims
Damages in any injury claim vary based on the nature and extent of your injuries, past and future treatment, wage loss, and how your injuries have affected your enjoyment of life. Damages are typically:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Past and future income loss
- Loss of earning capacity
- Diminished quality of life
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Spousal claim for loss of consortium
An experienced car accident lawyer is essential to presenting all of your damages and in obtaining reasonable compensation.
Retain A Car Accident Lawyer from Burns and Jain
You have many injury lawyers to choose from, but our attorneys have a proven track record spanning decades of experience in obtaining millions of dollars for our clients. Call us at (617) 227-7423 for a free consultation about your car accident or other personal injury claim.