Weather Related Car Accidents

No one can control the weather, but people can control how they drive when bad weather is an issue. Unfortunately, however, many people do not adjust their driving in poor weather conditions, and the combination of inclement weather and reckless driving frequently leads to car accidents. If you were involved in a weather-related car accident, it is in your best interest to consult an attorney to discuss whether you may be able to recover compensation for any injuries you sustained in the collision. Howard Leopold of Leopold Law, L.L.C. is an assertive Bergen County car accident attorney who can assess the circumstances surrounding your accident and advise you of your options for pursuing damages.

Weather conditions can make it difficult to navigate a car safely. For example, fog can reduce visibility, making it difficult for drivers to see where they are going. Similarly, rain and snow can cause limited visibility and frequently make roadways slippery, which can make controlling vehicles difficult. Ice can also make driving perilous, as it not only makes road surfaces slick but often is not easily visible, and drivers may not be aware that it is on a road until it is too late.

When a person suffers injuries in a weather-related car accident, a variety of factors will affect whether the person can recover compensation and who may be liable for the person’s harm. Regardless of the underlying cause of an accident, to recover damages in a car accident lawsuit, a plaintiff will generally have to prove the defendant’s negligence.

In New Jersey, this requires the plaintiff to demonstrate that the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty to act with reasonable care in consideration of the circumstances and the defendant’s behavior constituted a breach of that duty owed. The plaintiff must also show that the breach caused the plaintiff to suffer measurable harm. In other words, in a car accident case, the plaintiff must show that the defendant’s actions or failure to act caused the accident, and if the accident had not occurred, the plaintiff would not have been injured.

If the defendant is a driver involved in the accident, they may argue that the accident was caused by the weather and not negligent driving. In such cases, the plaintiff will have to obtain evidence showing that the defendant’s driving was unsafe, given the weather conditions, and therefore, the defendant’s driving was the actual cause of the accident. For example, if the plaintiff can show that the defendant was driving too fast for the conditions present at the time of the accident or following too closely behind another driver, the plaintiff may be able to establish liability. Similarly, if the defendant did not take steps to ensure that they had adequate visibility prior to driving, such as defrosting or clearing their windshield, the defendant may be deemed negligent as well.

In some lawsuits arising out of weather-related car accidents, the entity responsible for designing or maintaining the road where the accident occurred will be named as a defendant. For example, if the roadway was poorly designed, resulting in the pooling of water or patches of ice, the party that designed the road may be found to be negligent. Likewise, if a party that bore the responsibility of clearing ice or snow from a road, failed to do so in a timely manner, it may constitute negligence as well.

Car accidents frequently occur in poor weather conditions, but weather-related collisions are usually brought about, at least in part, by negligence. If you were injured in a car accident, it is prudent to confer with an attorney to discuss what damages you may be able to recover. Howard Leopold of Leopold Law, L.L.C. is a trusted Bergen County car accident attorney who can assess the circumstances surrounding your harm and advise you of your options for seeking a favorable outcome. Mr. Leopold has offices in Hackensack and New York City, and he regularly helps people harmed in weather-related car accidents seek compensation in lawsuits in Bergen County and cities throughout Hudson, Passaic, and Essex Counties in New Jersey, and Bronx, Richmond, Kings, New York, Queens, and Rockland Counties in New York. You can reach him via the form online or at his New Jersey office at (201) 345-5907 or his New York office at (646) 650-2106 to arrange a confidential and free consultation.