Weather-Related Vehicle and Pedestrian Accidents: Avoiding Missteps When Establishing Liability and Causation
Challenges of Investigation, Insurance, Effective Use of Experts, Unique Defenses, Comparative Negligence, and More
A live 90-minute CLE video webinar with interactive Q&A
This CLE webinar will discuss avoiding potential missteps when dealing with the special liability and causation challenges that arise from weather-related accidents. The panel will address investigation, insurance, the effective use of experts, defenses, comparative negligence, and more.
Outline
- Overview of weather-related accidents
- Visibility
- Sun Glare
- Calculating the Azimuth and Altitude angle of the sun
- Sky condition (clear vs cloudy)
- Snow squall
- Torrential rain
- Dense fog
- Lighting conditions towards sunrise or sunset and pedestrian accidents
- Twilight times: civil, nautical and astronomical
- Sun Glare
- Slippery Roads
- Rain and wet roads
- Icy roads from freezing rain, sleet, snow, and refreeze
- Bridge vs road surface
- Shaded road vs road exposed to direct sunlight
- High winds
- Blowing debris (roadway signs, construction equipment) onto roads
- Falling trees and limbs
- Residual snow cover falling off moving cars and trucks
- Visibility
- Items to utilize for your case
- Police report
- Decoding the report. Look for roadway conditions and environmental conditions
- Final outcome from police investigation
- Video, photos, eyewitnesses
- Meteorology report
- Engineer report
- Arborist report
- Police report
- Insurance considerations
- Factors considered in determining liability
- Defenses
- Comparative negligence
- Act of God
- Sudden emergency
- Unavoidable accident
Benefits
The panel will review these and other critical questions:
- What responsibilities do drivers have during adverse weather?
- What is considered a sudden emergency?
- Is poor visibility a defense?
- What are best practices for gathering evidence from the accident scene when the weather may alter it?
Faculty
Thomas M. Else
Senior Forensic Meteorologist- WeatherWorks, LLC, AMS Certified Consulting Meteorologist #675, SIMA ASM Certificate Holder, National Weather Service Trained Storm Spotter
WeatherWorks
Mr. Else is a Senior Forensic Meteorologist for Weather Works, LLC in Hackettstown, NJ with over... | Read More
Mr. Else is a Senior Forensic Meteorologist for Weather Works, LLC in Hackettstown, NJ with over 27 years of professional experience. He was granted the Certified Consulting Meteorologist designation by the American Meteorological Society in 2011, and was granted the Advanced Snow Manager (ASM) designation by the Snow & Ice Management Association in 2018. Mr. Else's specialties include: Creating site-specific Certified Past Weather Reports for both Plaintiff and Defense firms. His Areas of Expertise include: slip-and-fall accidents on snow, ice and/or water, refreeze, wind damage, lightning strikes, floods, visibility, lighting conditions, and more.
Alexander P. Kemp
Attorney
Michigan Auto Law
Mr. Kemp is an attorney in the firm’s litigation division. He has been with the firm for several years, beginning... | Read More
Mr. Kemp is an attorney in the firm’s litigation division. He has been with the firm for several years, beginning as a law clerk. While in law school, Mr. Kemp had the opportunity to first chair a felony jury trial at the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office in Detroit. Prior to attending law school, he was a judicial intern for the Honorable Ronald Lowe in the 35th District Court.
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