Did an Animal Cause Your Charlotte North Carolina Car Accident?

November 8, 2012, by Michael A. DeMayo

You and your family suffered injuries in a serious North Carolina car accident.

You’re confused about why it happened. Who was responsible? What you can possibly do to get compensated and move on and rebuild your life?

Given your powerful emotions — and still very present memories about the crash — there is a high likelihood that you’re going to want to blame a human being – or multiple human beings – for the events. Indeed, the majority of car accidents in North Carolina stem from driver error and negligence. For instance, maybe an older gentleman hit the gas when he thought he was hitting the brakes, and he careered into your car. Or maybe a teenage driver sped by your SUV and forced you to drive into a ditch.

Unfortunately, when we focus only on blaming other people — due to our powerful emotions, need for justice, and desire to order a complex, chaotic events — we may fail to pay attention to other factors that might have mattered more. For instance, perhaps an animal caused the crash or made it worse.

Animals can be involved in auto accidents in many subtle ways. For instance:

•    A deer running on the highway can cause cars to swerve out of its way and crash;
•    A cat or dog in someone’s seat can break loose from a restraint and distract the driver;
•    While swerving to get out of the way of someone walking his dog, a car can precipitate traffic problems, including accidents “downstream” – that is, far from the swerve itself;
•    Etc

How can you tell if an animal was to blame – or even partially to blame?

Without an external, objective way to assess the situation, you can’t!

To truly understand what happened (or what might have happened), you need to do a thorough, objective, “360 degree” review of the evidence and examine subtle factors that may not have been apparent to you, if you were in the crash itself.

For instance, say a truck driver hit you on I-95. After examining records, photographs, and documents, investigators might find out that the trucker had a large dog with him riding in the cab. The dog jumped up on his lap at an inopportune moment, distracting him, and causing him to veer into your lane and precipitate the accident.

The team here at the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo has resources to help injured victims and their families not only get compensation and justice, but also achieve clarity about what caused the event.