If you were involved in a single-vehicle accident in Florida and suffered serious injury, you’re probably pretty scared about the future. After all, PIP only covers up to $10,000, and serious injuries can easily eclipse that amount in medical care alone. How are you going to come up with the money?

These fears are understandable. The most common car accident occurs when two drivers crash into one another. If yours is the sole vehicle involved in an accident, most of the time it will be you who is responsible.

Don’t panic, though. Even if your vehicle was the only one involved in the crash, that doesn’t necessarily mean that another’s negligence wasn’t involved. If you can prove to a court that another’s negligent actions led to your crash, you still may be able to receive compensation for what you’ve had to endure.

In this post, we’re going to detail some circumstances that may allow you to file a negligence claim even in a single-vehicle crash.

Manufacturing Defects

Sometimes vehicles have defects that came about during the manufacturing process. Your brakes could fail or your tires could split without warning and cause a crash.

If a defect was the cause of your accident, you can file a product liability lawsuit against the vehicle manufacturer. The manufacturer will be responsible for paying damages if the court determines they are liable for the injuries and property damage sustained in the crash.

Road Issues

If you experienced due to poor road design or other issues with the upkeep of the road itself, you may have grounds to sue the government entity who is responsible for the area. However, these types of lawsuits have special restrictions and timelines for filing, and they will require the assistance of an experienced Florid injury attorney if you hope to be successful.

Additionally, if your accident occurred due to a spill from an overturned truck, you may be able to file a suit against the owner of the truck for damages or injuries that occurred in your single vehicle accident.

Unavoidable Situations

There are also a number of situations where it can be argued that you could not have avoided getting in an accident due to the actions of another:

• A cyclist could suddenly swerve into your lane, and you may react by running off the road and hitting the guardrail.
• A pedestrian could jump out into the road, and you could hit a tree to avoid hitting the pedestrian.
• Another driver could throw litter out of their window, which flies onto your windshield and causes you to crash into a fence.
• A tractor trailer truck’s blown-out tire could become a flying object that causes you to swerve and damage a road sign.

• Deer are notorious for causing car accidents, but pets can also run out into the road and cause you to have a single vehicle accident.

In these cases, you may be able to file a lawsuit due to the other person’s negligence (or, in the case of the pet, their owner).

However, you’ll need to work with someone who possesses a full understanding of the law before filing.

Getting the Legal Help You Need in a Single-Vehicle Negligence Case

It is natural to assume that you are to blame if your vehicle is the only one involved in an accident, but doing so is a mistake. Even if you think you might be responsible, the smartest thing you can do is to speak with a knowledgeable Florida injury lawyer. He or she understands nuances of personal injury law that you likely don’t know and possesses experience that will allow them to think of things that you wouldn’t.

Make an appointment today for a free case review, and your attorney will help you understand the laws, how the insurance applies, and any damages you may recover.

About the Author: 

Andrew Winston is a partner at the personal injury law firm of Winston Law. For over 20 years, he has successfully represented countless people in all kinds of personal injury cases, with a particular focus on child injury, legal malpractice, and premises liability. He has been recognized for excellence in the representation of injured clients by admission to the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, is AV Preeminent Rated by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, enjoys a 10.0 rating by AVVO as a Top Personal Injury Attorney, has been selected as a Florida “SuperLawyer” from 2011-2017 – an honor reserved for the top 5% of lawyers in the state – and was voted to Florida Trend’s ”Legal Elite” and as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in Florida and one of the Top 100 Lawyers in the Miami area for 2015, 2016, and 2017.