Oil spilled on roadway

[fourstyx]

yes i took the test and got my license, but the DOT is responsible for keep the roads safe to drive, they were notified about oil spillage and large rocks in the road and it took a long time to respond to cleaning them

i was not driving unsafely i had absolutely no chance to even react,

the reason i was not given reckless driving and tires off road tickets was because even the state trooper office said it wasn't my fault

 

[cbg]

Who notified them? How long before? How do you plan to prove that in a court of law?

 

[fourstyx]

so i got some new info since it seems i cant sue for the road conditions,
today i found out that the DOT knows who's the towed the car that cause the oil leakage is. if i find out the person i can sue them for not reporting it, Correct ? and eventually leading to my wreck?

 

[ecmst12]

You can file a claim with their insurance. I think you have a 50-50 chance of collecting, never hurts to try though.

 

[fourstyx]

okay im waiting for information back, suppose they dont have insurance even though i have liability i have un insured motorist so i might be covered by my own

 

[justalayman]

so i got some new info since it seems i cant sue for the road conditions,
today i found out that the DOT knows who's the towed the car that cause the oil leakage is. if i find out the person i can sue them for not reporting it, Correct ? and eventually leading to my wreck?

No idea if this is applicable in your state or not but something you might research.

If this involved a car being towed, in my state, the tow operator is required to, for lack of a better term, "clean up" the area. If they left glass, they could be held liable for punctured tires. If they failed to use oil dry on oil, they might be able to be held liable for an accident resulting from their negligence. (can't say for sure as I have never heard of such a like situation). Maybe something you can look in to.

 

[fourstyx]

so heres what happed, they hit a boulder at least 1 1/2 hours before i came through the area, they drove at least 15 more miles to the next town and then got a tow because the oil leakage was all the way down the highway so they didn't know they were leaking until the car wouldn't drive im am assuming,

 

[ecmst12]

I think you will have a hard time proving him liable for your accident.

 

[fourstyx]

what would make it a hard time? , he was towed by the only tow company in a town of less than 500, the damage to the car towed is no doubly from a large rock that destroyed his oil pan and im sure they can be placed driving down the only road there is because im sure the tow company has a statement of him saying "yea i hit a rock or something and took it out this is why im getting a tow", (as far as he knows he might not be aware that his oil spill caused an accident so im sure the state patrol will contact him first says did u hit a rock and leak oil, and then tell him it caused someone else an accident

if u have any advice on how i can pursue them or what i can do i would be thankful
right now im waiting patrol to call me back because the tow company couldn't release the information to me so he gave it to the patrol at the accident

 

[karaann07]

What are the state laws regarding suing the state department of roads? It is their responsibility to maintain the roads. I do think however that you will end up footing the bill because the law is that you must have insurance and liability insurance which will cover damage you cause therefore it is assumed that in the event where no direct fault on anyone, you will be responsible. I say carry comprehensive insurance. These things are hard to fight.

 

[fourstyx]

i do have liability insurance but no damage was caused by me
This is the new less confusing situation,


I am in Washington state FYI

last week i needed help with my accident that involved totaling my car from hitting oil that was spilled all over the highway

i found out from the forum that is would be hard to sue the DOT for not keeping the roads safe but i if i found who spilled the oil they should be liable.

now i found out today who spilled the oil that caused my accident they hit a large rock a couple hours before i came through they said they didn't know that they were leaking oil they just had their car towed because they didn't know what was wrong.

Are they liable for my accident because the oil was from their car and I have their confession?

they said they would settle if i give a price for how much my car was because i dont think they have insurance anways, but i just want to make sure that they are at fault and do owe for my accident because when i say the value of my car they might want to get them self some legal advice to see if they are at fault, i just want to be one step ahead.

it has already been established by my company and the state patrol that i was at no fault and there was nothing i could do.

 

[cbg]

Okay, this is getting ridiculous.

Since it is clear that you are bound and determined to sue someone, anyone, no matter whether you have grounds to do so or not, go out and interview a few lawyers. See if you can find one who thinks you have a strong enough case to take on contingency.

If you can, knock yourself out.

If you can't, that should give you an idea of the strength of your case.

 

[ecmst12]

Since he was not aware that he had spilled the oil, I don't see how he could be responsible for telling anyone that it needed to be cleaned up. You are still liable for watching where you are going and avoiding road hazards. I also don't see how there could be THAT much oil on the road since it took him 15 miles for it to leak out and his engine to die. Like I said, file the claim with his insurance, just don't be surprised if they deny it.

 

[CJane]

Less than 5 qts of oil created such an enormous oil slick that it caused you to lose control of your vehicle when you'd already slowed down in order to swerve around these rocks?

 

[Just Blue]

Less than 5 qts of oil created such an enormous oil slick that it caused you to lose control of your vehicle when you'd already slowed down in order to swerve around these rocks?

Thank You!!

I have been reading this thread and thinking the same thing!