Davis Law Group, P.S.

The Legal Aftermath of the Puget Sound’s Snowmegeddon 2012

Snowmegeddon Accidents Have Legal Repercussions For Winter Weather Drivers

The LA Times ran a story this week that accused Seattle-area residents of being "snow wimps" that can’t drive in winter weather conditions.  Whether or not that is true is up for debate on local news radio talk stations across the region.  But what is clear is that there are a lot of people who don’t have very much experience driving on icy roads.  The Washington State Patrol (WSP) said it had responded to about 2,300 accidents in a 24-hour period from 9 a.m. Wednesday to 9 a.m. Thursday.  That is roughly quadruple the average number of accidents on any given day.  
Trooper Guy Gill, spokesman for WSP told the Los Angeles Times, “you can see we're just getting hammered with crashes, and the reason why is folks, number one, are going too fast for conditions, and they're just not able to maintain control of their vehicles, and there's lots of little sports cars and things that really have no business being out in this kind of weather." 
Now, in the aftermath of Snowmegeddon, literally thousands of accident victims are asking themselves “Who is at fault for a car accident due to snow, ice or black ice?” Can you blame the weather conditions for your accident?  Can the guy that hit you blame weather conditions to avoid liability?  
The short answer is ‘no’.  
Most people don’t know that they are still at fault if they cause an accident during winter weather conditions.  One cannot blame the weather for an accident.  
For example, if you are rear-ended by a vehicle behind you in which the driver lost control on black ice, he is still at fault for the accident.  Therefore you are entitled to compensation from his insurance company for your injuries, medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering.
If you have been in an accident during this week don't let the at-fault driver or their insurance company try to blame the road conditions.  The at-fault driver had a responsibility to drive safely--no matter what the conditions.