Car crashes happen every day, even in the most perfect weather conditions. However, when weather conditions become extreme, the risk of a crash gets even higher. The effects of rain, snow, wind, and fog can also play a significant role in determining the outcome of your personal injury case.
When filing a personal injury claim after a car crash, a variety of factors are examined to establish liability. Weather conditions and their official weather reports can become critical pieces of evidence. Let’s explore the role of weather reports in personal injury claims.
What is a Weather Report?
A weather report is exactly what it sounds like. It is a document or resource that details the weather conditions on any given day, typically provided by a reliable weather report service or meteorologist. It includes information like temperature, precipitation, visibility, and wind speed, which can paint a clear picture of the environmental conditions at the time of a crash.
Weather Impact on Car Crashes
Different types of weather can present different challenges while driving. Though reduced visibility is often an issue with any weather, including sunshine, some weather conditions present more dangerous hazards.
Rain reduces visibility, even when it isn’t pouring down. However, when a heavy storm comes through, visibility can be limited to only 100 feet in front of you. This doesn’t give drivers much time to react to unforeseen hazards ahead. It also makes the roads slicker, making it more difficult to brake in a timely manner. Hydroplaning also becomes a major concern when roads are wet. If a driver hits a pocket of water and loses control of the vehicle, they run the risk of flipping their vehicle or crashing into other drivers.
Snow, sleet, and ice also create dangerous driving conditions. Texans aren’t used to the cold weather and typically aren’t trained to drive in snow and ice. When water on the road freezes, it can create black ice. While invisible to the driver, this ice is extremely slick, and most Texas tires aren’t built to keep traction on ice. This can be dangerous for the driver and others on the road. If the driver can’t maintain control of the vehicle, they are at risk of causing a crash.
While Texans may not be used to ice, we are no strangers to fog. Fog can severely reduce a driver’s visibility, even worse than rain. In dense fog, a driver may be able to see only a few feet in front of their vehicle. This increases the possibility of a crash by a substantial amount.
Weather Reports in Your PI Case
These reports are invaluable in PI cases where understanding what the drivers faced on the road is key to providing context or determining fault. In order to establish liability and recover a settlement, you must first prove that the other driver was acting negligently to cause the crash. This can be more difficult when poor weather is a factor.
For example, let’s say you were rear-ended in dense fog. The defense might argue that the weather, not negligence, was the primary cause of the crash. However, poor weather does not excuse a driver from their responsibility to operate their vehicle safely. Drivers are expected to adjust their driving based on road and weather conditions. Weather reports can demonstrate how conditions were severe enough to warrant extra caution. If a driver did not meet that standard, such as speeding during heavy fog, they could be found negligent.
Now, let’s put you in the shoes of the defendant, or the person who hit the other driver. The weather report could prove that dense fog was limiting your visibility. Your attorney can then do further investigation to prove that you were not driving negligently. In fact, the other driver could be found responsible. If they didn’t have their lights on or were stopped on the road without reason, they could be held liable for the crash.
Navigating a personal injury case involving weather isn’t straightforward. Insurance companies often use poor weather to downplay or deny claims, arguing that it couldn’t be helped, or even place blame on you.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a crash where weather was a factor, contact a qualified personal injury attorney. They can help you review the weather report, establish liability, and get full value for your injury.
