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Odd car accident started with sneeze
Civil lawsuits surrounding motor vehicle accidents often hinge on the issue of liability and who or what caused the crash. In car accidents, in order to allocate responsibility for the crash, it is often necessary to pinpoint negligence. When a driver in Illinois fails to use reasonable care under the circumstances and causes an accident, that driver may be negligent.
In a lawsuit against a driver for damages, a judge or jury will consider various factors to determine whether or not the driver acted negligently. Proof that the driver disobeyed traffic laws, that the driver was speeding at the time of the accident or driving under the influence are all good pieces of evidence to demonstrate negligence.
Careless or distracted driving can be another basis for a finding of negligence as well. Drivers who negligently cause an accident may have to pay damages and compensate anyone injured in the car crash for things like medical expenses, time away from work and even pain and suffering.
An unusual accident that recently occurred in Naperville, Illinois, brings up another important question in car accident liability. Is a driver responsible for causing a car accident if the driver&s sneeze caused her to be distracted?
The accident occurred around 7 a.m. as one car started to slow down for a school bus, the second driver was sneezing and crashed her car into the first vehicle. The second driver told police about the sneeze, but she was still cited for driving too fast under the conditions and for failure to reduce speed to avoid the crash.
Whether or not a sneeze constitutes distracted driving, the point is that drivers need to use reasonable care given the situation or circumstances. Drivers can never anticipate everything that will happen on the road, but obeying the speed limit and traffic safety laws are necessary to avoid even more accidents.
Source: Naperville Sun, "Naperville Police Blotter: Sneeze causes car crash," Nov. 20, 2013
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