Auto Accidents
| Setoffs and Uninsured Motorist Insurance Policies |
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| Some state statutes allow uninsured motorist insurance companies to setoff amounts that an insured received from workers compensation, Social Security, and settlements with a liability insurance company. Therefore, if an insured were injured in a car accident while driving in the course of his or her employment, the insurance company could offset the uninsured motorist benefits in the full amount of the insured's workers compensation judgment. More... |
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| Attorneys Retained by Auto Insurers: Duty to the Insured |
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| When a lawsuit is filed against an automobile insurance company's insured for damages allegedly suffered by a claimant in an automobile accident with the insured, the insurance company has a duty to defend the insured. A part of the insurance company's duty can be the right to retain an attorney for the insured's defense and to pay that attorney's fee. Because the insurance company selects and pays the defense counsel, questions arise regarding who is the attorney's client and whether the attorney owes a duty to only the insured or to both the insured and the insurance company. More... |
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| Violation of Traffic Laws as Proof of Negligence |
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| In an automobile accident action against a driver for damages suffered in a car collision, the driver's violation of a traffic law can be evidence of his or her negligence. The law calls negligence based upon the violation of a specific requirement of law "negligence per se." Negligence per se means that as a matter of law negligence existed. While the violation of a traffic law is negligence as a matter of law, the violation does not mean that the driver is liable unless the negligence was the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury. Negligence is ordinarily a question for a jury. It only becomes a question of law when a court determines that only one conclusion can reasonably be drawn from the evidence. If the violation of the traffic law is treated as negligence per se, the question of negligence will not be given to the jury. More... |
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| Tort Liability of Owners/Operators of Private Motor Vehicles |
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| While the owners and operators of private motor vehicles sometimes think of their possession of auto insurance as totally eliminating any potential tort liability on their parts, such owners and operators remain subject to the tort system to the extent that their insurance coverage does not encompass part or all of their legal liability for an incident that has caused personal injury or property damage to another person. Such a situation can arise, for example, where a court judgment reflecting injury or damage caused by an insured private vehicle owner or operator exceeds the limits of his or her policy, or where the insured's failure to provide required notice to an insurer or cooperate in the defense of a legal action causes the insurer to assert that it is not required to provide coverage for the loss under the policy. More... |
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| Transporting Hazardous Materials on Roadways |
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| Without trucks products could not get to the neighborhood store. But traveling the roadways with the artichokes and widgets are shipments of hazardous cargo, like flammable liquids, biomedical waste, and radioactive materials. When a truck containing molasses overturns on a highway, the resulting cleanup can be sticky. When a truck containing dynamite overturns on a highway, the cleanup is very risky. More... |
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