If while driving under the speed limit, I rear-end someone in a rain storm will they consider me at fault for the accident? I've seen two PI lawyers who say the driver was at fault. What should I do?

A:

The PI lawyer is probably saying "No go," because of the weather conditions and the fact that your daughter's car ran into the other car. Experience tells me she will be found partially at fault, and without knowing NC tort law I can't say what that would mean.

A tendency for everyone is to focus on the weather; and perhaps draw the conclusion the first car was disabled due to the weather. But that's the one unknown that needs to be the focus of the investigation. What was wrong with the first car causing it to have trouble and stop running? How old was it? How had it been maintained? Did the emergency flashers work? If not, why not? If so why weren't they on? Did that driver have flares available? If so why weren't they lit? If at trial the lawyer can change the focus of attention to the car's owner for failure to maintain it with proper maintenance and then to take proper emergency precautions, then your daughter's case has a better chance of being successful.

And the first collision, that driver can hardly cry foul over your daughter doing exactly what he/she did in crashing into the rear of the other vehicle. That driver will in all likelihood support your daughter's claim.

Let's get back to the speed of your daughter's car. She needs to be ready to defend her speed. Rain is rain and we've all driven in a rain storm without reducing our speed to much more than the speed limit. What she did up to the point of the actual emergency is important to be ready to discuss and must be dissected. Nothing unusual up until the vehicle in front veers left. She needs to be ready to testify, although it was raining up to that point there was nothing unusual or hazardous requiring a further reduction of her car's speed.

In a rear-ender, speed alone is never analyzed alone. Speed is always coupled with distance between the two cars. How many car lengths were there between the front of her car and the rear of the vehicle in front?

What other distractions did she have to contend with that were under her control? Radio? Smoking a cigarette? iPod? Cell phone? If she had a cell phone in the car you might get the next bill and see if that phone was being used at the exact time of the accident. That is an important fact that has to be analyzed.

Litigation costs are another consideration. Not everyone can afford to drive a Porsche; so many people drive a Volkswagen, a Jetta or a Focus. Like your choice of car and what can happen in an accident, litigation costs drive the "ride" and with the inability to hire accident reconstructionists and spend a lot of money on expert evaluation the risks of loss increase. That's okay you just need to know the limits of what any lawyer will be able to do. Don't expect the lawyer to spend thousands of dollars in case analysis on a case that will never be worth more than $10,000.00. The economic feasibility isn't there.

Lombardi Law Firm
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