With Summer Rains Come Increased Accident Rates
Brian O Sutter
Accident Lawyers
Port Charlotte is like the rest of Florida in that it's a hot, wet city. The climate means that it regularly gets rain, and as the summer heats up those rains can increase in frequency. In fact, every year Florida receives around 3.5 inches more rain in the summer each month than during the spring or winter. While those rains can be a godsend during the heat, bringing cooler temps and a refreshing quality with them, they can also be dangerous at times. Wet roads lead to increased auto accidents, and the rains can make visibility difficult while also causing other issues – everything from a car crash to a slip and fall accident can be blamed on the rains.
As a result, it's important to understand more about accident law, personal injury law, and how the rain impacts it. There are no solid answers since each case is different, but there are several key points that are worth understanding. Learning more about them can help you figure out what your rights are and whether or not you're likely to have a good case for compensation.
Obviously, you can't hold Mother Nature accountable for your accident. But if you aren't at fault, the other party could be held liable even if the rains played a role in the accident. Here are a few examples:
- • A driver is driving at an unsafe speed in heavy rains
- • A drunk driver is operating a motor vehicle in a thunderstorm
- • The design of a road creates a large pool of water and provides no warning for its presence
You should notice a common theme here – these accidents aren't directly caused by the rain, they're only made worse by it. That's the key to personal injury cases involving weather. In order to receive compensation you must be able to prove that your accident was caused by the negligent or reckless behavior of the other party – whether it's another motorist, a state engineer who designed the road, or a county who failed to put up signs warning of dangerous conditions during heavy rains.
This is done in numerous ways. A good attorney will review things like police reports, witness statements, and more in order to get a clear picture of what happened. Then they'll determine whether or not you have the grounds for a case.
As for personal injuries that take place on someone's property – a premises liability claim or 'slip and fall accident' – things are similar. Instead of proving that another motorist was at fault, it must be shown that the property owner or manager is at fault.
How? By taking a look at the situation carefully and determining whether or not they were negligent in their actions. For example, just because you slip in a pool of water accumulated during the rain doesn't mean that you will be able to seek compensation. But if it's shown that this particular pool of water has been a risk for some time and the property owner did nothing to correct it or warn about it, you might be able to seek compensation.
The key is to identify exactly what the situation is, who is at fault, and whether or not recklessness played a role in the accident. Yes, our summer rains will certainly impact safety and can make it more dangerous to travel our roads, but as far as fault and compensation claims go it still comes down to the actions of people. This is an important factor to remember, and one your attorney will go over completely before agreeing to move forward with your case.