San Antonio Rollover Accidents

Rollover accidents are a serious matter, as are the death and significant injuries that often occur as a result of them. The cost of life and property lost in the wake of a rollover can be a substantial and heavy burden to face in addition to the physical and emotional harm that being involved in a rollover. If you or a loved one have been the victim of a rollover due to another driver’s negligence in San Antonio, you have the right to seek compensation.

To begin compensation claims in San Antonio rollover accidents, there needs to be a clear indication of fault. Your San Antonio auto accident must be shown to have been the result of another party’s willful or negligent actions. Proving this can be tricky, which is why we at Carabin Shaw always advise contacting a qualified lawyer. It is never advisable to try and handle these matters without legal expertise. The law is a tricky matter, with tort law being no exception.

Successful cases involving San Antonio rollover accidents tried by Carabin Shaw have all been dependent on successfully proving negligence, as well as clear liability, on the part of the party responsible for your vehicle flipping. This entails a number of requisites being breached by the liable party.

Negligence can be proved differently in various scenarios. In the event that shifting of cargo in a vehicle leads to a rollover, parties responsible for improperly loading said cargo may be at fault for failing their duty to ensure its adequate placement and securement in the vehicle. Even in the awful traffic conditions of San Antonio, drivers have a duty to operate motor vehicles with reasonable care.

Drivers aren’t the only possible parties to be liable. The manufacturer of the vehicle in question has the responsibility of ensuring their vehicles are not defective or at risk of rollover. This is true of all responsible for all aspects of a vehicle, to include tire companies. Mechanics and vehicle technicians share in this duty of care. Even the Texas Department of Transportation, in addition to local city and county governments, has a duty to maintain safe roads that will not substantially contribute to rollovers.

In establishing a party’s negligence and liability in San Antonio rollover accidents, the breaching of a duty must be well shown. It is not enough to establish that a party had a duty to the victim; it must be clear that this duty was breached. There are two common types that a lawyer can highlight in San Antonio based cases: common law breach and “negligence per se” breach.

A common law breach is when a party fails to meet the expectations of what a reasonable person (as recognized by the law) would do in a given situation. Negligence per se is a breach that can directly be connected to the breaking of a law. In the event of a drunk driver causing a person’s vehicle to flip, negligence per se has occurred. In the event of a car flipping due to the city failing to keep their streets in a safe condition, a common law breach has occurred.

San Antonio personal injury cases centered on rollovers also must establish causation. The breach of duty must be proven to have caused the accident, whether directly or indirectly. Negligence per se cases are generally easier to show causality, while common law cases tend to be harder and require a highly experienced and well-qualified attorney. It is not enough, for example, that a vehicle flipped on a road with multiple potholes; there must be clear evidence that:

1. The potholes constituted a breach of duty,
2. That the driver could not reasonably avoid them,
3. And that a pothole caused the rollover.

Finally, there must be a clear evidence of injury or damages incurred by the victim. This must be tied to the accident. As simple as this may appear, Carabin Shaw have encountered cases wherein a defendant has claimed an injury without clear proof it hadn’t occurred before or after a rollover. A lawyer with the legal know-how to obtain medical records and document evidence can establish the causality of this injury is an important asset.

Establishing fault in rollovers can become complicated, and with the physical and financial consequences of the accident weighing upon your family’s shoulders, you need a friend. Count on Carabin Shaw’s decades of winning experience.

If you or a loved one have been in a rollover and believe it was due to negligence, we at Carabin Shaw encourage you to reach out us. Call our offices in San Antonio for a free initial case consultation with our attorneys at 210-222-2288 today.