Serious Injury Accident in Jacksonville, Florida After Vehicle Hits Object in the Road
A multi-vehicle traffic crash occurred in Jacksonville, Florida last week on I-295 near Duval Road after a vehicle struck a ladder that was in the road. That vehicle crashed and caused others to crash as well. Some of the people involved in the crash were seriously injured.
This raises the question as to who is at fault when a vehicle hits an object, such as a ladder, that is in a vehicle's path of travel. In the context of a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit, the injured party(ies) will seek damages for their injuries from everyone whose negligence caused or contributed to the crash. In a case where a vehicle hits something in the road and then crashes into other vehicles, several questions must be asked to determine fault. First, what was the object and how long has it been in the road? Should the vehicle have seen the object and been able to avoid it? Did other cars ahead of him/her avoid the object?
If the object just fell out of another vehicle and there was no time to avoid, it, fault may be attributed to the driver who allowed the object to fall from his/her vehicle. If the object had been in the road for some time and the driver should have seen and avoid it, some fault may be attributed to the driver or person who allowed the object fall into the road (if that person can be identified) but may also be attributed in part to the driver who who should have avoided the object but did not. Also, if a driver is following another vehicle too closely, it may be too difficult to see and avoid an object in the road that could otherwise be seen and avoided.
In an accident like this, there may be several factors, and multiple parties, that contribute to the accident and the subsequent injuries caused by the crash.
