Last month, there was a terrible accident across the eastern state lines that killed seven people, six of which were from Arizona. Eight vehicles were involved in the car accident, which appears to have been caused — at least in part, if not fully — by a dust storm that suddenly blew across the interstate highway. The incident was a chain reaction crash, likely consisting of numerous smaller collisions that eventually involved the eight vehicles.
Chain reaction crashes like this are often very complicated from a legal standpoint. Shared liability usually comes into play, even if a natural phenomenon such as a dust storm is the primary culprit for the wreck. There are still human factors involved in a crash like this. For example, did any of the drivers involved fail to leave enough space between their vehicle and the vehicle in front of them?
What about intoxication? What about speeding? Were any of the drivers uninsured, or did any of them have suspended or nonexistent licenses?
All of these things contribute to shared liability, which is a way of spreading the liability of a crash among all of the parties involved in a crash, even if some of those people really had “nothing to do” with the crash occurring. Shared liability is a crucial element to pileup accidents, and it can result in the victims of these wrecks earning the compensation they need to deal with the injuries, medical bills, property damage and rehabilitation associated with the pileup car crash.
Source: azfamily.com, “Police: 6 killed in New Mexico crash from Arizona,” Associated Press, June 2, 2014