The driver and a passenger were injured in September when a 2000 Volvo station wagon rolled over and slammed into the concrete median of interstate 90 near Ellensburg, Washington. According to a report in the Yakima Herald, the Volvo had started to drift off the road to the right and the driver over-corrected, veering over to the shoulder and causing the rollover. The vehicle was totaled.
The Washington State Patrol made preliminary recommendations that the driver be cited for wheels off the travel portion of the roadway. It does not appear as though drugs or alcohol played a part in the accident.
Legal Options for Passengers in a Single Vehicle Car Accident
When most people think about car wrecks they envision multi-vehicle accidents. While multi-vehicle accidents represent a significant portion of accidents, wrecks involving a single car occur frequently as well. Still, victims of a single vehicle crash may not realize what legal options are available to them.
For a victim of any type of personal injury accident to be entitled to compensation, someone else must have been negligent and that negligence must have caused, or contributed to, the victim’s injuries. Negligence is the legal term to refer to blame, or fault, in an accident. In the case of a multi-vehicle accident, the negligent party is usually the driver of another vehicle. In a single vehicle accident, the negligent party may be the driver of the vehicle in which the victim was a passenger.
But it is also possible that someone other than the driver was negligent. For example, the manufacturer of the vehicle or even a governmental agency could be a defendant. Imagine that an improperly maintained highway resulted in a huge pothole, which caused the accident. In that case, the state agency responsible for road maintenance could be sued. Likewise, if a defect in the vehicle itself was responsible for the crash, then the manufacturer could be named as a defendant.
Regardless of who is ultimately determined to be responsible for the accident, a passenger who is injured in a single vehicle accident may need to pursue a personal injury lawsuit to receive compensation.
Protect Your Right to Compensation
If you have been injured in a Washington State car accident, it is important to consult with a Washington State car accident attorney as soon as possible to protect your right to receive compensation. Only an experienced car accident attorney can properly evaluate your case and advise you regarding what legal options are available. The Washington State auto injury attorneys at Mariano Morales Law can help. Contact the team today by calling (509) 853-2222 or by using our online contact form for your free initial consultation.
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