What To Do If You Caused a Car Accident But Not at Fault

It doesn’t happen very often but when it does the circumstances are usually tragic.  We live in a community with many elderly drivers and many drivers that are in poor health.  Therefore, we occasionally represent people injured because an elderly driver lost consciousness (heart attack, stroke, etc) and crossed a center line or struck a vehicle from behind. 

The reason these accidents are often very tragic is because in the most accidents an at-fault driver will make some attempt to avoid the accident by braking or swerving which lessens the impact to some degree.  However, when a driver loses consciousness and has no ability to control the vehicle, they are unable to take measures to reduce the crash.

From Florida Law's Perspective

Florida law has certain defenses available to the driver when they suddenly lose consciousness so long as there is no evidence that the driver was warned or on notice of the condition.  Florida courts have reasoned that if the person did not know and should not have known of the condition that caused loss of consciousness, the required element of forseeability is not present and the person is not negligent.   

In The Event of a Vehicle Malfunction

Another common circumstance in which a driver may try to avoid responsibility for a car crash is when the vehicle malfunctioned to cause the crash.  The most common argument is brake failure.  Sudden brake failure is a defense that must be brought at the onset of the lawsuit and allows a potential plaintiff to investigate other possible negligent parties to determine the cause of the brake failure.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car, truck, or motorcycle crash, we are here to help.  We are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week and provide Free Same Day Consultations to discuss and evaluate your case.  Call, Email or Text Today.