Car Accident?

Question

My sister recently ran into the back of someone's truck. Usually it would definitely be her fault, but it seems kind of different so I just wanted to see if we have a case. The road that she took was covered in fog and smoke that morning (there was a forest fire the previous day). The man she ran into was parked in the road on the highway talking to someone else on the side of the road (I guess he figured no one would be driving). After my sister hit him, some people who saw it say that they told the man to move his car out of the road because they heard a car coming. Anyways, they're saying it's my sister's fault and it has that she was "following too close". But if the people who saw the accident says that the man was parked in the road, does she have any kind of defense? Thanks

Yeah she said no flashers were on his vehicle...those guys said that he was parked talking to someone else in the road and didn't move when.

Answer 1

Those are circumstances that your sister's insurance company may use to deny the man full recovery of his damages.

However, your sister is still going to hold the majority of the liability because she struck a vehicle that was not in motion directly in the rear.

Most states driving laws require drivers to drive "attentively at all times" or something to that effect meaning even if someone else screws up you have a responsibility to be able to make a reasonable attempt to avoid the accident. Silly, I know, because who's to say what's reasonable.

Anyway, this means that while that guy should not of been stopped there, your sister would still be considered responsible for having been driving at a speed at which she could stop her vehicle and avoid anything she encountered in front of her.

I don't agree with it, but that is how it works.


Edit: In regards to those suggesting his sister get a Lawyer, I think you're Overestimating how interested an attorney would be in the case. Generally speaking, lawyers only take cases involving injuries. Standard attorney fee is 33.3% of settlement. The settlements are not high enough in property damage cases for that 33.3% to be worth the lawyers time in most cases.

I hated my time as an insurance adjuster because all my company wanted to do was pay as little as possible. So I inevitable had to offer very low damage settlements for people's vehicles. Somewhere in the area of 5 people a day would advise me they were going to get an attorney & sue my company(can't blame them).

Thing is, in 3 years of doing that there was never a single case I can recall where a person went out and found a lawyer to represent them or take my company to court. The all either eventually called back and grudgingly accepted the offer, or dropped it altogether.

Answer 2

VERY POSSIBLE, you just might have a case. Depends on your state or country but I'm pretty sure parking in the middle of the highway is illegal and the fact that people had let the driver know is another good fact. You have to make sure you can get these people in a court room as witnesses first though. You cant follow too close on when parked. I seriously suggest talking with a lawyer because if everything is just right your sister will be off and will be able to sue the driver for negligence or something like this. I'm just a law student but from my understanding this is how it works.

Answer 3

Yes, I think in that case she does have a defense. Were his flashers on? Or his parking brakes? Or something that would have allowed his car to be seen? He sounds like an idiot, to me.

Once, a very long time ago, my car ran out of gas. I left it parked in the right lane with the flashers on and walked to a gas station. By the time I had gotten back, my car had been hit. Since my flashers were on, it was his fault. If they hadn't been on, it would have been my fault.

Answer 4

First of all, she is the striking vehicle. You have two scenarios. One vehicle was parked on the roadway, which was dangerous, illegal, and would constitute, obstruction of traffic. A driver must control their vehicle at all times. If your sister couldn't see where she was going, she should have pulled over, and stopped. Good thing the stopped vehicle wasn't a gasoline truck. The insurance company is going to have fun with this one. Both operators were at fault.

Answer 5

I think a good lawyer could win the case for you. Parking a car in the road with fog is not a good idea. That was nuts.

Answer 6

From the situation that you described, your sister was not following too close---the driver of the truck was parked illegally, creating a road hazard. I would say that your sister has a case.

Answer 7

Possibly. Around hear, some of the "degenerates" used to park their cars on dark roads and let people run into them. Then they would run out and claim they were in the car and sue. This happened to a roomate of mine, but the joke was on the idiot in the road. My old roomate is a lawyer who happens to know half the cops in this state. The cop let her go and I think arrested the woman who left her car in the road.

With this is mind, maybe she should talk to a lawyer. Most of them give free consultations.

Answer 8

Ususally, no matter what, the person doing thehitting is at fault. Even with bad weather, they say that the driver should be paying attention. That the driver should slow down enough to accomodate the conditions. There is a slight chance that you culd prove the other driver was causing a roadway obstruction.... however, chances are that your sister will be pegged with driving too fast for conditions, failure to avoid an accident, etc. Good Luck

Answer 9

Actually, yes. Check your state law as most say that it is illegal to stop in the travel portion of a roadway (yes, there are conditions attached, but if you just stop to talk - it is illegal). If you have witnesses saying that the vehicle was stopped for a time before the accident (not that he stopped just as the accident occurred) then she should be able to get the ticket for following too closely dismissed.

Answer 10

Yes, she has a defense. The other person created the hazard by stopping on the road. He assumed the risk by stopping and not moving when others advised him to do so.