The vast majority of car crashes are two-vehicle affairs. One car rear-ends another. A side-swipe. A t-bone. In far fewer cases, there are more than two cars involved in a crash, and even less often, there are single car crashes where the driver loses control of the vehicle and crashes it into a building, tree, or something else.
Most of the time, in the single-car crash, the driver is at fault. That person, if he or she’s injured, likely won’t have a claim to make for injuries and damages because there’s no one else to point the finger at. The passengers in that vehicle, if there are any, can make a claim against the driver’s insurance.
However, in some very rare circumstances, sometimes the driver in a single-car crash can still make a claim for damages. I’ve been working on a case recently where our client’s vehicle struck a horse that was in the road. She was driving home late at night from work on a dark, unlit two-lane highway. There was no posted speed limit. As she came over a hill, suddenly there was a horse standing in the road in front of her. Given her speed and other circumstances, there was no way to avoid the collision, and she was very badly hurt.
If the animal had been a deer or a raccoon, she would not have had any avenue for recovery because they’re wild animals. No one is responsible for taking care of wild animals. But a horse is someone’s property. Someone was responsible for feeding and taking care of that horse, and making sure it was penned or fenced in at night. Once we determined who those parties were, our client was able to make a claim against the responsible parties.
It’s a rare story, to be sure, but it does happen. If you or someone you know has been in a car crash, call 502-633-6002 for experienced legal advice that you can trust. The first consultation is absolutely free.