The Law & You

I Slammed Into a Tree and Totaled My Car. Can I Bring a Claim?

A viewer lost control of her vehicle and slammed into a tree. She broke her nose and totaled the vehicle. Can she bring a claim?

Haley Bianco: Time once again for “The Law & You.” With us today we have attorneys Greg Feldman and Mollie Clark. Great to see you guys.

Molly Clark: Great to see you.

Haley: And April showers bring May flowers. We’re almost there. Although showers contributed to this next question we have from one of our viewers. This comes from Kara in Moosic. Kara says, “I hydroplaned and lost control of my vehicle. I slammed into a tree and totaled my car. I also broke my nose. Can I bring a claim?” What do you think, Molly?

Molly: Kara, you’re not going to like me for this one. You’re not going to like my answer to this question. Unfortunately no, you do not have a claim. You’ll be deemed at fault. There’s no other vehicle to go after. You can’t go after PennDOT or the highway for hydroplaning. It’s a natural occurrence, it happens. No there’s no coverage for your medical bills for your injuries. There’s no personal injury action.

Greg Fellerman: She’d have medical bills.

Molly: Well sure. Her medical insurance.

Greg: But her auto would too. Not a good case.

Molly: No. No, I’m sorry.

Haley: I help you out but you wouldn’t have a case with the lawyers.

Greg: You hydroplane usually when you’re speeding. So I mean you could hydroplane at certain speeds. Look, we sue PennDOT that all the time. We actually enjoy doing it. But this is not one that they’re at fault. I mean we’ve had it where they were speeding where they just built a road and there was oil when it rained and we’ve had some of those cases. But at the end of the day, this is not a case against Brenda. It’s really your fault. So slow down when it rains.

Haley: Would this be under the Act of God clause?

Greg: It could come under something like that.

Haley: That happened to me when I’ve been driving before.

Greg: Right. You know, we say it snows, you slow down it rains, you slow down. If you’re driving in the sun, you slow down. When you encounter a weather-related road condition, you gotta slow down in this situation. It’s your fault. I feel bad for you, but you don’t have a case.

Haley: Hope your nose gets better soon.

Molly: Sorry Kara.

Haley: So just slow down. Keep it safe out there if you have another question you can give them a call. Express any concerns at them you can find them online. You can like them on social media.

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