Third-Party Liability in Auto Accidents
Rare as it may be, there are hundreds of auto accidents that take place every year for which none of the parties actually involved in the crash can be held responsible. The most common form of this type of accident is one that is weather-related. Tennessee recently experienced a couple of severe winter storm systems that resulted in icing and dangerous driving conditions on many of Tennessee's roads and backroads. Drivers who hit ice, especially black ice, may find themselves in wrecks that involve other vehicles and drivers, but it may be nature that is at fault and there may be nothing any of the drivers involved could have done to avoid the accident.
Occasionally, however, accidents happen where none of the involved drivers are at fault, but a third-party is. The most common example of this type of accident is one where a third party creates a dangerous condition on the roadways- allowing water to run off one's property and into the road and turning into ice, placing a sign along the roadway that impedes the view of motorists, placing an object or vehicle in the road- or where a governmental entity constructs a road in a negligent or dangerous manner.
Where an individual creates a dangerous condition in the roadway, any motorist or passenger injured in a wreck caused by that condition may have a claim against the third party. In order to be successful, the injured person will likely have to prove that the third party was negligent and that the negligence was the cause of the injured party's losses. Where the responsible entity is a local or state government, the injured party will likely have to look to the Governmental Tort Liability Act for recovery. The GTLA provides that state and local entities can be held responsible for negligent acts, such as designing a faulty road, but it also caps the governmental entities liability for the injuries at a certain amount depending on the circumstances. Individuals who have been injured in an auto accident due to the fault or possible fault of another should contact an experienced personal injury attorney today to discuss their claims.
