Sometimes car accidents happen because a driver, despite driving safely and responsibly, is faced with a sudden and unexpected event that did not leave him enough time to react safely and there was nothing he could do to avoid the accident. Think of a tree suddenly falling in the driver’s right-of-way, or the driver suffering an unexpected seizure or loss of consciousness. The unexpected nature of these types of car accidents often lead to serious personal injuries, but the driver who caused the accident will argue he did not have the chance to avoid it. Courts in Pennsylvania have acknowledged this argument as the sudden emergency doctrine.
The sudden emergency doctrine is a defense used when a driver, driving in a safe and responsible manner, is confronted with a sudden unexpected event that permits little or no opportunity to apprehend the situation and act accordingly. Courts in Pennsylvania have acknowledged the sudden emergency doctrine in a slew of car accident situations, including dense fog, blinding lights, mechanical errors and sudden loss of consciousness.
Despite the Courts’ recognition that a defendant should not be liable for personal injuries he could not avoid causing due to sudden emergencies, it is important for victims of these car accidents to realize that things are not always as they appear.
While a car accident may appear at the scene as though a sudden emergency left the driver without any opportunity to avoid a crash, it may be that the driver could very well have avoided the dangerous situation before the event that caused the sudden emergency ever took place. For instance: where mechanical problems, such as a flat tire, or faulty brakes have led to a car accident causing substantial personal injuries, the responsible driver may be driving on tires that are low on air, or old and needed to be replaced, or maybe he was aware of his faulty brakes but had yet to get to them fixed; or if a driver lost consciousness or had a seizure causing him to lose control of the vehicle and cause an accident, it must be discovered whether that person took his medicine, or was aware of his condition and by driving knew he was putting everyone else on the road at risk.
Another very common example is when a sudden emergency causes an abrupt stop of traffic leading to a rear-end collision. Pennsylvania law states that all drivers are responsible to keep an assured clear distance from the vehicle in front of them for precisely this situation.
With all of this in mind, if you or someone you care about sustained a personal injury in a car accident that was caused by someone else, it is important that you talk to a personal injury lawyer to have a clear picture of what your rights are.
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