Can an Insurer Use the Weather to Deny or Reduce Your Claim?
Statistics show that motor vehicle accident rates generally go up in the winter in New Jersey, often due to snowy or icy road conditions or impaired visibility in winter storms. If you’ve been hurt in a car or truck accident during the winter months in New Jersey, don’t be surprised if your insurance company tries to blame it all on the weather. Can the weather affect your right to recover compensation after a car accident? If so, how does that work?
Can an Insurer Deny Your Claim Because of Snowy or Icy Road Conditions?
Though insurance companies often try to limit their liability in winter weather accidents, arguing “act of God,” these types of claims are rarely successful. For an insurer to succeed with such a claim, there would have to be convincing evidence that the weather alone caused the accident, and there would need to be no evidence that the negligence of another person caused or contributed to the accident. Such cases are rare.
Motorists traveling on snowy or icy winter roads in New Jersey must act reasonably under the circumstances, which means that they must:
- Take all reasonable measures to ensure that any snow or ice is removed from their vehicle’s windows and windshields, as well as from the bumpers, trunk, and hood of the car.
- Ensure that the windows are clear of frost or ice, so that visibility is not impaired
- Reasonably maintain the vehicle to ensure safety on winter roads, including making sure that there is sufficient tire traction and that all brakes, lights, signals, and warning indicators are properly working
- Adapt their driving to the specific weather conditions, reducing speed when appropriate, maintaining sufficient distance from other cars, and operating the vehicle in such a way as to prevent unnecessary skidding on sharp turns or corners
Depending on the circumstances of the case, failure to take any of these actions could be considered negligence on the part of the motorist who caused the accident.
Damages May Be Reduced If It’s Determined You Were Partially Responsible
It’s fairly common for both parties to a motor vehicle accident to have some responsibility for causing the accident. One party may have been speeding, and the other party may have been using a handheld device at the time of the crash. If either party had not been engaged in negligent conduct, the accident might not have happened.
Like most other states, New Jersey applies the legal principle of comparative negligence when both parties have some responsibility for causing the crash. Under this approach, if the injured party is found to have some liability, their recovery will be reduced by their percentage of fault, as determined by a jury. New Jersey follows the principle of “modified” comparative negligence, which means that if you were more than 50% responsible for causing the accident, you cannot recover damages in a personal injury lawsuit.
Accordingly, your insurance company may investigate the accident and determine that, for example, because you were exceeding the speed limit, you could not stop in time and collided with the other vehicle. If the company decides that you were more than 50% at fault, it might deny your claim altogether on comparative negligence grounds. Or, if the insurer determines that you have a degree of liability that’s less than 50%, it may reduce the payout on your claim accordingly. Of course, if you disagree with the insurance company, you can always file a lawsuit seeking full and fair compensation under your policy.
Contact the Law Office of Howard D. Popper
At the Law Offices of Howard D. Popper, we can help protect your rights. For a free initial consultation to discuss your options after you’ve been hurt in a New Jersey motor vehicle accident in snowy or icy weather, contact our office online or call 973-993-8787 to set up an appointment. We have offices in Morristown and Newton.
We handle all personal injury claims on a contingent fee basis. You won’t pay any attorney fees unless we recover damages for your losses.