Generally, vehicle accidents involve two or more cars including hit and run accidents where the at fault driver cannot be located. Notwithstanding, there are many vehicular accident situations that may occur without the presence of another car which not only lead to property damage but also personal injuries to the occupants in the vehicle.
Some Considerations are:
Accidents caused by defects in poorly fixed or neglected roads.
Accidents caused by improperly installed structures by a third party.
Accidents caused by automobile manufacturing defects.
Accidents caused by another driver who subsequently flees from the scene.
Passengers injured in single vehicle accidents
Police reports, witnesses, and other corroborating evidence
Neglected Road: Governmental agencies are taxed with the responsibility of monitoring and ensuring that the roads are safe for its citizens to drive on. Despite this, an otherwise careful driver may not be able to avoid potholes or divots in the road and if this leads to an accident resulting in personal injuries, the governmental agency may be responsible.
Improperly installed objects: Similarly to the neglected roads situation, if a poorly installed object like a sign post, street sign or otherwise unexpectedly falls onto or into the path of a vehicle and causes property damages and / or personal injury, the entity who was responsible for ensuring adequate installation of that object may be held liable.
Automobile Manufacturing Defects: It is well documented that for one defect or another, manufacturers routinely recall their vehicles for additional repairs or software updates for operational safety concerns. What happens if a recall was not announced before a manufacturing defect leads to an automobile accident and personal injury? The manufacturer may be prosecuted for civil liability.
Dangerous Driver Forced The Victim off The Road: Sometimes in spite of one's best efforts there are a lot of unsafe drivers who for inexplicable reasons decide to drive unsafely which may cause an otherwise safely driving victim to veer off the road in an effort to avoid collision. In these situations, the at fault driver does not stick around which creates the effect of a single vehicle accident.
Passengers: Notwithstanding the above, occupants who were injured in a single vehicle accident are generally in a "preferred status" from a personal injury claim consideration because they can file a claim against the insurance policy of the driver of the car in addition to the possibility of exploring other liable parties.
Police reports, witnesses, and other corroborating evidence: Given the inherent nature of single vehicle accidents, you should anticipate that the contesting party may not singularly accept your version of effects and request corroborating evidence. For starters, immediately reporting the incident to the Police and depending on the seriousness of injuries and/ or damages to your vehicle ensuring that Police arrives at the scene to document not only your version of events but also the inclusion of pertinent facts such as a divot on the road in relation to the accident, fallen signposts, and even describing the peculiar damages to your vehicle in relation to a manufacturing defect assertion. Further, ensure that witness names and phone numbers are included in the police report where applicable and obtain traffic camera videos or pictures where available.
CONCLUSION: Given the above list is not exhaustive of the single vehicle accident possibilities, it is prudent to contact us if you have any questions for a free phone or office consultation.