An Atlanta auto wreck lawyer can shed more light on your situation. Single-vehicle accidents are not always as cut-and-dry as Atlanta insurance reps would like to make them seem. There are many reasons why a person may have been in a single-vehicle accident, and there are good defenses available for various reasons.
What is a Single-Vehicle Accident?
A single-vehicle accident is any crash or wreck which involves only one vehicle. Often these accidents include hitting dividers, guard rails, or other obstructions. In Atlanta, through deer season, it is not uncommon for drivers to hit deer, and that is considered a single-vehicle accident.
Other single-vehicle accidents include pedestrian accidents, running off the road, colliding with a tree or pole, and spinning due to adverse weather conditions. These types of accidents can come with serious injuries and even death. It’s not uncommon for single-car injuries to take months to recover from, and many people are left without employment after taking so much time off to recover.
To make matters worse, most insurance companies attribute 100% of the fault to the driver and disregard the other aspects of the crash. A single-car accident is not always only the driver’s fault.
Can I Defend Myself After a Single-Car-Crash?
Yes, you can defend yourself; however, you will likely be partially liable or liable in some capacity. Georgia’s laws on fault and negligence are very closely intertwined. You can redirect fault by proving that other parties shared some aspect of fault.
Popular examples include resorting to a lack of notices or lack of postings about the road conditions. The Tennessee 1-75 crash, which occurred in 1990, is an outstanding example of this. There were signs warning drivers of fog, which were not visible due to the fog and steam which came off of a nearby company. Although this accident involved 99 cars rather than a single car, it goes to show that the lack of visibility, warning, and signs can put the fault of a crash onto someone other than the drivers.
Who Could Be Liable?
In single-car crashes, liable parties can include the driver. But liability in Atlanta can also fall to the city, local government, and even vehicle manufacturers. For example, if your tire tread whips off and your car pulls violently to the left, sending you into a pole, then the manufacturer of the clearly defective tire may be liable.
There are times when pedestrians may be liable as well if they were ignoring basic pedestrian rules and led to your accident. Fighting for liability is always difficult in single-vehicle accidents and should require an Atlanta auto wreck lawyer.
Do I Have to Tell My Insurance?
Many people struggle with telling their insurance the same way they didn’t want to tell their parents they got in trouble in class. The issue with single-vehicle accidents is that depending on your coverage, telling your insurance may get you points on your insurance record and no compensation.
If you’re worried about telling your insurance, then you should speak with an attorney straight away. You likely only have thirty-days or less to contact your insurance about an accident. Additionally, if there is a police report, then there may be an ongoing investigation you need to participate in as well.
There are so many times that people tell their insurance company too late when they could have received compensation. When in doubt, contact your insurance company. The scenario of a single-car accident is one of the many reasons why it pays to have full-coverage insurance, although it does still leave you in the lurch on occasion.
Hiring an Atlanta Auto Wreck Lawyer
An Atlanta attorney might not seem like your go-to option, but often they work on contingency fees. Or in other words, they only get paid when your Atlanta car crash settlement is in your favor.
Contact an Atlanta Auto Wreck Lawyer at The Weinstein Firm
Working with the evidence at hand, it may be possible to show that you were not exclusively at fault for the crash. Georgia’s at-fault laws make it so that you can reference products and manufacturers’ defects as well as other forms of negligence. Unmarked deer territory or poorly marked ramp speeds can direct some fault onto the City of Atlanta, Fish, and Game, or even your vehicle’s manufacturer.
Contact The Weinstein Firm to discuss the state of the environment for your crash and your vehicle during the accident. During a consultation with one of our top attorneys, you can learn more about single-vehicle accidents and what to do to resolve them with fair compensation.
