Being injured in a serious car accident can change your whole life in just a moment. The expense of the damages, coupled with a host of potential emotional and physical injuries, will put most people in financial ruin, disrupt the plans they had for their life, and adversely impact their mental well-being.
Working with an experienced nationwide car accident attorney can be invaluable when it comes to getting the money you need. At Local Accident Reports, we offer straightforward legal advice to the victims of motor vehicle accidents across the United States. Our objective is to assist our injured clients in securing the maximum amount of financial compensation available for their injuries and other losses.
We offer a free case evaluation to all potential clients, and our attorneys work on a contingency fee, meaning that you don’t pay us anything unless we win your case. Contact us today to find out more about how we can help you recover physically and economically after a single-vehicle accident.
What is a Single-Vehicle Accident?
As the name suggests, a single-vehicle accident is a car accident in which only one vehicle is involved. Single-vehicle collisions can take place in many different ways, such as:
- Leaving the roadway
- Running over debris or foreign objects
- Vehicle rollovers
- Running over an animal
- Crashing into trees or utility poles
- Driving too fast for current road conditions
- Distracted driving
Generally speaking, the term “single-car accident” only applies to crashes in which injuries are only sustained by the occupants of the primary vehicle. However, an accident may also be classified as a single vehicle when bicycle riders or pedestrians are injured as well. Accidents that involve harm to someone else’s property, such as a parked vehicle or a house, are not regarded as single-vehicle crashes.
Leaving the Scene
A perfectly normal reaction to a car accident is to try to remove yourself from the situation as quickly as possible. Even if no one was injured, fleeing the scene of a single-car accident without notifying the police is still a misdemeanor. If you feel that the incident was not your fault, it is essential to thoroughly record all the details of the accident and, if your vehicle is no longer driveable, have it towed directly to a repair shop. The more detailed your insurance claim is, the better your odds are of getting help or making a third-party claim. If your accident does result in property damage, injuries, or a fatality, fleeing the scene will quickly become a crime, potentially resulting in a felony hit-and-runcharge, which is punishable by substantial fines and incarceration, depending on the severity of the damage done. Regardless of how frightening it might be to face the consequences of your actions, it is always better to face them head-on than to make them worse by trying to run.
Insurance Claims
Depending on your auto insurance policy, making a claim may or be not be difficult. Collision insurance covers single-vehicle accidents. It also contributes to vehicle replacement and repair costs. Comprehensive insurance coverage will pay for any damage resulting from other events that you have no control over, such as vandalism, inclement weather, or theft. In most cases, liability for a single-car accident is allotted to the driver of that vehicle since it is assumed they were in a position to prevent the crash in the first place. Some common situations in which the driver would be held liable are:
- Operator error
- Disobeying driving laws
- Speeding
- Driving while fatigued
- Driving while under the influence
There are some scenarios, however, in which the driver could prove that a third party was liable for their single-vehicle accident, including:
- Narrow roadways
- Environmental factors
- Sharp bends in the road
- Faulty vehicle parts
- Defective roadways
- Obstacles on the road
In order to reassign liability, you will have to prove that a duty of care existed and was either ignored or overlooked by the other party and that breach of duty was the true cause of your single-vehicle accident.
Preparing a Claim
At its core, an insurance claim is an official request to the insurance provider asking for funds for vehicle repairs and other costs. A person may file a claim if they feel that a third party was to blame for an accident that otherwise would have been prevented. A single-vehicle collision insurance claim may also be made directly with the driver’s insurance provider in the event that the third-party influence was not an actual entity, like inclement weather.In order to file this type of claim, you will need to have properly documented the incident, had your vehicle professionally inspected, and reported it to the local police. While it is possible for a claim with very little information to be successful, your odds of compensation are typically proportionate to the amount of evidence you have.
Contact a Single-Vehicle Accident Attorney Today
Single-car accidents are not a simple thing to recover from. Even if no one was injured, there are usually major vehicle repairs and other expenses that have to be taken care of. If you were injured in a single-car accident, contact the nationwide car accident attorneys at Local Accident Reports as soon as possible. We have worked hard to earn our reputation for attaining successful results for our injured clients in even the most complex personal injury cases. Call Local Accident Reports at (888) 657-1460 to schedule your free consultation today.