Injured in a Multi-Car Accident?

What To Do After a Multi-Vehicle Crash or Pileup

Video Transcript:

Merrida Coxwell:

You only get one chance in our legal system to get a full and fair recovery, and you're going to do that better with the services of a lawyer.

Rob Rosenthal:

If you're involved in a multi-car accident, do you know what you should do? Well, we're going to find out right now because that's what we're going to ask the lawyer.

Hi again, everybody. I'm Rob Rosenthal with askthelawyers.com and here to answer our questions is my guest, Merrida Coxwell, attorney from Mississippi. Merrida, good to see you again. Thank you as always for helping us out.

Merrida Coxwell:

Thank you, Rob. It's always good to talk with you.

Rob Rosenthal:

So this time of year, I have to think with rains and maybe wintry conditions it’s the right time in Mississippi for multi-vehicle accidents. Let's just start with your experience. What advice do you have for people to maybe help avoid those kinds of accidents?

Merrida Coxwell:

The best advice I can give you is, slow down. Slow down. Slow down. We lawyers always like to say things three times, or use three words; I have actually seen four, I think, multi-car accidents within about the last month in an area in our town called the Water Works curve. Slow down. That's one of the best pieces of advice I can give.

Rob Rosenthal:

So let's say somebody doesn't take your advice and there's a multi-vehicle accident. What is the process? I'm assuming it's different than just a one-car versus one-car accident.

Merrida Coxwell:

It can be difficult trying to decipher who initially started the accident, but it's a fact pattern. The lawyer and the investigator have to dig into it and try to determine who was the initial fault that maybe caused the pileup, and was anyone else contributing in that fault. It can be very difficult. There have been pileups I've read about, where they had as many as 30 or 40 cars. Not often, but I've seen four or five cars recently in our area, and sometimes people, even when they're at fault deny fault. So you just have to look at the physical evidence, see what people said on the scene. Sometimes we hire accident reconstructionists to get out there quickly and look at the scene and try to reconstruct based on their experience, what happened.

Rob Rosenthal:

You mentioned whose initial fault and maybe who contributed. How does that work in Mississippi with contributory fault?

Merrida Coxwell:

Well, the jury is entitled to weigh and apportion fault as they see fit or as they are convinced by the advocates. So you might have one person who started the accident, and you may have another that was following too closely, which is what oftentimes is the cause of many accidents, following too closely, and the jury would have to just apportion that fault. They may say 90% to the person that first caused the accident and 10% to maybe a second car, but it's a very, very fact-determinative process when you have multi-care accidents.

Rob Rosenthal:

Even if somebody feels like they're partially a fault, that doesn't mean they can't recover damages.

Merrida Coxwell:

No, that's correct. They can recover damages. It's quite common in Mississippi. Cases that are handed down by our appellate court or Supreme Court, you see cases all the time where the jury has apportioned fault and put fault on the minor person 10%, 15%, 20%, and the damages that they're awarded are just reduced by that amount.

Rob Rosenthal:

What if you determine, “Okay, the cause was the weather.” Maybe a thick fog rolled in, or there was a slick spot on the road, does that change things as far as determining fault and anybody being able to recover?

Merrida Coxwell:

So there are circumstances where a jury might find someone to not be at fault based on what we call an act of God; let's say there’s some sudden wind burst that was powerful enough to cause an accident. But situations like fog and rain, generally, you are required under the rules of the road to operate your car in a safe manner based on all the conditions, which means slow down and be careful. All of us can witness this every day, people following other cars at one car distance or less, and it's crazy.

Rob Rosenthal:

So, let's talk about the multi-car accident. I'm involved in a multi-car accident, what should my process be? Do I try to get information from every vehicle involved? You always advise us to take pictures and that sort of thing. Do I try to cover that whole thing? What's your advice?

Merrida Coxwell:

Well, if you have the ability and you're not seriously injured, you should absolutely try to acquire as much information as you can. Generally, police officers are going to show up and they're going to put everyone or they should put everyone on an accident report. I've got a couple of accidents that I'm working on now, where the law enforcement officers left a lot off those police reports. They left off admissions of fault. So it is the best idea to obtain as much information as your health permits. If you're carried away in an ambulance there's nothing you can do about it.

Rob Rosenthal:

And what if there's a commercial truck involved, an 18-wheeler or something like that? Does that change the dynamics here?

Merrida Coxwell:

Well, it does for the lawyer because there are more rules and regulations that apply to 18-wheelers and long distance carriers whether they’re intrastate or interstate, but that's more of something for the lawyer to dig into, those of us who handle those cases on a regular basis. We know what those rules and regulations are.

Rob Rosenthal:

And is this the sort of thing even without a commercial vehicle, a multi-car accident, is that the kind of thing somebody should try to handle on their own, or do you recommend they get a personal injury attorney to help them out through the process?

Merrida Coxwell:

You know, you and I have had this discussion before, and I have said that when it's a pure fender bender and you don't have any injury at all—and when I say no injury, that means you've waited long enough to get checked out and to make sure you don't have a hidden injury that comes out in a few weeks or a month—then yes, I think you can settle some of these cases yourself. I know a lot of lawyers don't like me saying that, but it's true. I give people advice all the time on how to do it, but if you have an injury or you suspect you have an injury, in my opinion, you're better off getting the help of an experienced lawyer; they’re going to be able to protect you more than you can protect yourself against an insurance company.

Rob Rosenthal:

The insurance company, they're going to have lawyers on their side for sure.

Merrida Coxwell:

They've got lawyers and they've got adjusters, and look, we all have insurance, so I'm not trying to beat up on insurance. But we pay insurance to protect us if something happens, and if you're injured the goal of the adjuster, not your own adjuster necessarily, but for the other person is to save his company as much money as possible. And how does he save that money? By paying you less. You only get one chance in our legal system to get a full and fair recovery, and you're going to do that better with the services of a lawyer.

Rob Rosenthal:

Lots of great information as always, Merrida, thank you for making some time to answer our questions.

Merrida Coxwell:

You’re welcome. I hope you have a good Christmas.

Rob Rosenthal:

You as well. That's going to do it for this episode of Ask the Lawyer. My guest has been Mississippi attorney Merrida Coxwell. Remember, if you want the very best information or you just want to make sure you can choose a lawyer that lawyers choose, go to askthelawyers.com first. Thanks for watching. I'm Rob Rosenthal with AskTheLawyers™.

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