If you hit a snow bank where you didn’t expect it or were not warned about it, your vehicle could suffer damage and you might be injured. There is a possibility that you could seek compensation from the city, county or state road maintenance department if their negligence was responsible for the snow bank.
Filing a claim against any government entity can be complicated, but not impossible. It is advisable to use a personal injury lawyer throughout the claim process, especially if the accident was serious.
Filing a Claim
The basic premise of any personal injury claim is that your injuries (and property damage) were not your fault and caused by human negligence. For example, if a county road maintenance crew didn’t bother to clear a snow bank when scheduled to do so and there was no warning to drivers using that stretch of road, this could be considered an example of negligence. You would need proof that you were not to blame, e.g. were driving too fast to avoid the bank and that the accident was the fault of the maintenance department.
When you file a notice of claim (an initial warning of intent to file a personal injury claim against a government department) you will need to set out the damages you seek to recover. These are of two types: economic and non-economic.
Depending on the government entity, you may not be able to seek non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering compensation or there may be caps on what you can claim. You should certainly be able to secure compensation for the damage done to your car, the cost of all medical treatment including ambulance fees and replacement of any lost earnings.
A typical snow bank accident could occur when you hit a bank that you did not reasonably expect to occur just around a sharp bend on a rural road. The front of the car may be severely dented with engine damage if the snow bank is hard packed snow.
Claim Process
You will need evidence to back up your claim. Recent announcements from the relevant government agency about the road condition which fail to mention the snow bank will be useful. You will also need photos, if possible, of the snow bank and the damage done to your vehicle.
If you have been injured, make sure you get a doctor’s report and anything that can be obtained from other medical facilities where you need to attend to treat your injuries. This includes results of tests and scans as well as proof of what the treatment has cost.
Most government departments have a much shorter statute of limitations for claims against them than against private individuals or businesses. A claim against a city or state road maintenance department, for example, may have to be filed within 6months of the accident. There are also quite strict time limits on responses to the decisions made by government agencies and when a personal injury claim can be filed.
How a Lawyer Can Help File Your Claim
Claims against government departments can be complex and may have to go to court if the claim is consistently denied .It can be hard to win claims against government entities all on your own. You are strongly advised to hire a personal injury lawyer as soon as you can after recovering from the snow bank accident.
