Can I Make A Claim For Weather-Related Accident Injuries?

If you were in a car accident caused by bad weather, and suffered weather-related accident injuries, you may or may not have a case. Read this article to learn more about what factors contribute to the possibility of recovering compensation and then call The Florida Law Group to schedule a FREE consultation if you believe that you do want to seek representation!

All across the nation, it seems as though people are experiencing extreme weather. The Pacific Northwest is reaching record high temperatures in an unprecedented heat wave, the Midwest is seeing tornadoes and flash flooding, and here in Florida – as we are pretty used to in the summertime – we’re seeing strong thunderstorms and near daily rainfall. It’s obvious that bad weather makes driving more dangerous. The U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration reported that 21% of all vehicle crashes each year in the United States are weather-related; on average, nearly 5,000 people are killed and over 418,000 suffer weather-related accident injuries each year.

Injuries sustained in a car accident can be extremely expensive. You may have to pay for ambulatory transport, imaging tests like X-rays and CT scans, surgeries, hospital stays, medications, copays, deductibles, physical therapy, chiropractic care, and more, which could cost tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars (depending on the extent of your injuries). Under normal circumstances, when the accident was caused by someone else, you can file a personal injury lawsuit in order to recover monetary compensation from that person’s insurance company. You may also be able to file a claim with your own insurance company in certain situations, like if the other driver did not have insurance. However, what if the accident was “nature’s” fault? Can you sue and recover compensation then?

The answer is dependent on the specific circumstances of the crash – specifically, if negligence was involved in any way. Every driver has a responsibility to drive with extra caution in bad weather situations. This means reducing speed, avoiding distractions, etc. If they do not, and caused the crash, while bad weather may have been a contributing factor, it was not the only factor – another driver made a bad decision and did not uphold their duty of care to everyone else on the road. Even single-car collisions may be the fault of a negligent driver; another driver’s actions may cause you to swerve and skid off the road or crash into an object. Perhaps the negligence wasn’t committed by the driver, but by another party – the headlights of a car malfunctioned, or the road was not properly maintained and contained potholes that were exacerbated by the weather.

If someone was negligent, and it caused your weather-related accident injuries, you may have a case for compensation, either with your own insurance company or someone else’s. It’s important to note that you may not always know negligence was involved right away. Being injured in a car accident during a storm or other bad weather situation can be a traumatic and frightening experience, and you don’t have all of the information at that point; you don’t know what the other driver was doing or if a faulty road condition caused your crash. Even if you are partially responsible for the accident, you still may be able to recover damages as long as it is determined that you are not more than 51% responsible (according to Florida’s pure comparative negligence standard). However, proving that another party was negligent in a bad weather accident can be incredibly difficult – insurance companies are more likely to attempt to devalue or deny your claim, citing conditions outside of anyone’s control or your own poor caution. That’s why it’s always important to contact a Florida personal injury attorney who can investigate your accident and let you know whether or not you have a good chance at recovering monetary damages for your injuries!

Most Florida car accident injury lawyers offer free consultations, including The Florida Law Group, so there’s no harm in just scheduling an appointment and learning more about your options. We charge clients on a contingency fee basis, meaning that they never pay us anything unless and until we win a settlement – it is a 100% no risk model, because we believe that every accident victim deserves an equal shot at getting justice for their weather-related accident injuries!

The Florida Law Group has recovered over $1 billion for injured car accident victims across the state of Florida. Since 1984, we have earned a stellar reputation for achieving sizable settlements, and we have over 100 years of collective experience on our legal team! Our lead attorney, Chris Limberopoulos, is a board certified civil trial specialist, which is a distinction only 1% of lawyers in the U.S. can claim. We belong to the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, the Best Lawyers In America, Avvo, Super Lawyers, Florida Super Lawyers, the National Trial Lawyers Top 100, the Trial Lawyer Board of Regents, and more prestigious legal organizations. We have offices in 11 locations in Florida – Tampa, North Tampa, New Port Richey, Largo, St. Petersburg, Orlando, Miami, Brandon, Plant City, and Wesley Chapel – in order to offer quality representation to as many victims as possible. You can rely on us to get you what your injuries are truly worth!