Regardless of the time of year, weather can contribute to serious car accidents. Still, 24% of all weather-related collisions occur on icy, snow-packed or slushy roadways. Because these road conditions take away traction, wintertime accidents often involve more than two vehicles.
If you are in the middle of a multi-car accident, other vehicles may hit your car on all its sides. This, of course, may leave you with catastrophic injuries. If you are unable to pay mounting medical bills, you may wonder who to hold legally responsible for your wintertime pileup car accident.
A case-by-case analysis
With accidents that involve only two vehicles, assigning blame is generally not difficult. That is not the case with pileups, however. This is because a variety of factors may contribute to the crash. Likewise, many drivers may be partly or even mostly at fault for the collision. Working with an accident reconstructionist may help you determine why your accident happened.
Your chances of recovery
Speed is often a factor in chain-reaction crashes that happen during the winter. Even if you were driving below posted limits, you may have been traveling too fast for road conditions. Fortunately, provided you are not more than 51% responsible for the accident, you may be able to pursue financial compensation from other responsible drivers.
Modified comparative negligence
If you were partly to blame for the pileup, you may not be able to recover financial compensation for all your damages. That is, due to Pennsylvania’s modified comparative negligence law, your recovery may reduce by your percentage of fault.
For example, if you have $100,000 in damages and were 25% responsible for the accident, you may only be able to recover $75,000 from other legally responsible drivers.
Ultimately, because both assigning blame for a multi-car accident and pursuing financial compensation can be complicated matters, it is critical to explore all your legal options as soon as possible.