What If My Car Accident Happened on Ice? | Denver Injury Lawyer

Perhaps more than any other factor, inclement weather can cause or significantly contribute to a car accident.  When the roads are covered in snow and ice, these slippery conditions can make it difficult and even impossible to safely operate and control your vehicle.  When you lose control of your vehicle in icy and snowy weather, the results can be serious and devastating.

If you have been in a car accident that involved snowy or icy weather conditions, one question that might arise is whether you can still take legal action or obtain compensation for your injuries and other damages. The following includes some of the things you should be aware of if you’ve been involved in a car accident on ice.

Proving Negligence in a Car Accident Case

As with most car accident cases, you must be able to establish that someone else was negligent or at fault for the accident and any injuries or other damages caused by the accident.  If there were other drivers involved in your car accident and you think that they may be liable, you might be able to seek compensation from that other motorist.

If your accident involved your car only, however, insurance companies will typically review your case to determine whether you engaged in negligent actions that might have caused or contributed to your accident.  If the roads are icy or snowy, you are expected to take reasonable actions, so as to limit your chances of an accident.  This might mean slowing down for the conditions, having snow tires on your vehicle, and leaving enough room between your vehicle and other vehicles or objects on the road.

Insurance companies will also likely look at how severe the weather actually was, and whether the roads were salted or otherwise treated at the time of the accident. If you failed to take reasonable precautionary actions to avoid your crash, your recovery might be limited; if you were distracted, under the influence, or otherwise negligent, your insurance company will likely not compensate you.