This is your worst nightmare: A car coming from behind you swerves into your lane, and you have to side-swipe other vehicles parked on the street to avoid a head-on collision. It depends on your location and the laws in place to determine who is responsible for this mess. Some of the most likely outcomes were discussed by our legal experts.
Ty Gibson
Ty Gibson, a Texas-based lawyer and founder of Gibson Hill PC is Ty Gibson.
You are responsible for any damage you cause
It would depend on each case as there are many factors that must be considered. The situation would then be carefully analyzed to determine who was at fault and what the damage was.
My experience has shown that you are still liable for any damage that you cause, even though you avoided another vehicle that was wrong. This is to prevent an accident from happening. The fault of the other car that swerved might reduce the extent to which you may be liable.
Comparative Negligence Laws
Texas has a concept called “Comparative Negligence”. Each person can be given a percentage of fault in an accident through Comparative Negligence. The court could consider the car that caused you to crash into other vehicles and swerving as negligence.
You may be held responsible for the crash into the vehicles, depending on how you could have avoided it, such as following too closely, speeding up, or being distracted.
There may be other faults, depending on the facts of the case. However, Texas allows each party to have comparative negligence, depending on the circumstances. It is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the laws of your state as they might be similar.
Jonathan Garza
Jonathan Garza, Personal Injuries Attorney, Herrman, Herrman PLLC.
Richard J. Brandenstein
Richard J. Brandenstein, an attorney based in New York, is a FBRLaw Partner, who specializes in Administrative Law.
Driver is Liable for Rare Exceptions
New York law holds drivers responsible for damages to parked vehicles if they hit them. In most cases, this is an easy process. In some cases, however, the driver of the car might not be considered the person at fault. This is true for cases involving injury.
These rare cases can result in a reduction of damages if the driver was not at fault. The driver is usually the one who is liable.
This article was crowdsourced. Statements of contributors do not necessarily reflect those of this website, other businesses, or other contributors.
What happens if your car is swerved and crashes into other cars? Las Vegas Personal Injuries Attorneys.