A Houston police vehicle slammed into a pickup at the intersection of Bissonnet and Beechnut on August 19. According to Chron.com, the accident occurred when the driver of the police vehicle was on his way to a chase at around 1am.
The driver of the pickup will not be ticketed and no one was hurt in the accident. The truck was t-boned in the intersection. According to the report, the police officer did have his sirens and his lights on but the driver of the truck could not stop before entering the intersection.
Crashes with Municipal Vehicles
Drivers sometimes end up getting hurt or killed due to the actions of the drivers of emergency vehicles. Obviously, it’s not uncommon for emergency vehicle drivers to have to drive very fast in areas where the speed limits are much lower. Even though they do have reasons for doing this, you may be able to get compensated for the damages they caused.
Settlements
Sometimes, cities will be fair and offer a settlement amount that takes care of the damages that they caused to people’s property. If a police officer smashes into your vehicle and destroys it, for example, the municipality may simply offer to total out the vehicle for you and to pay you back. This isn’t always the case, however.
When to Sue
You need to talk to an attorney if you’re interested in going after a municipality because of damage that they caused to your property or because of medical expenses that you suffered due to a crash that they caused. There are cases where the municipality won’t offer anything or where they won’t offer enough to actually cover the damages that they caused. In such cases, it’s a good idea to at least consult with an attorney to see what your options are.
If it was a non-emergency vehicle that struck you, you may be able to sue, as well. Accidents involving city buses and other heavy, municipal vehicles can destroy a car in less than a second. In some cases, these accidents may involve serious injuries or even deaths and that means that you need to talk to an attorney about getting compensated. Which part of the city you go after for damages may vary depending upon the department responsible for the vehicle that struck you but, overall, there is usually a way that an attorney can seek compensation for you.
Talk to an attorney and let them know what happened. Even if the wreck didn’t cause injuries, you should be able to get compensated for your financial and property losses as a result of the crash. If an emergency or non-emergency vehicle struck you, be sure to talk to a lawyer about it.