On average, more than 21 inches of snow fall each year in Fairfax, Virginia. There may be accumulating snow reported in any month from October – April, and it only takes a little bit of snow to make the roads treacherous. Because you can’t always stay home during poor weather conditions, you do your best to drive carefully and to avoid crashes. However, sometimes accidents happen due to winter weather, and if you’ve been hurt, you need to know how to protect your fair recovery.
Three Things to Do After an Accident in Winter Weather
If you’ve been involved in a crash, and the negligent party blames the weather, there are steps to take to ensure a fair recovery, including:
- Determine how the at-fault party was negligent. Weather is rarely the sole cause of an accident. Instead, accidents that occur on snowy or icy roads typically happen because a driver is driving too fast for the road conditions or is otherwise negligent. As is the case after all car crashes, you need to prove how the other driver was negligent in order to make a fair recovery.
- Don’t let the weather distract from the real issues. You should expect that the other driver will try to blame the crash on weather conditions instead of his own negligence. But stay focused on learning as much as you can about what happened, and gather evidence relevant to your claim. This may include pictures from the accident scene, evidence from the other vehicle (such as the condition of the tires at the time of the crash), and cell phone records.
- Work with an experienced lawyer. An attorney can help you gather the right evidence to prove liability despite the weather conditions at the time of your crash.
If someone else’s negligence caused your car accident injuries during poor weather conditions, you deserve to make a fair recovery. That recovery could include compensation for your past and future medical costs, out-of-pocket expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering. To learn more about protecting your legal rights and potential recovery, please contact us today to schedule a free initial consultation.
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