Q: A family member, driving a semi, was merging into a "median" turn lane to make a left turn.
As he was merging, he struck a car that was "parked" in the "median" turn lane. The dash cam video shows the vehicle was not visible until it was too late, giving him no opportunity to make an evasive maneuver. As a former LEO, I'm having a hard time seeing how he was shown at fault. By the word law, what is your opinion so I can lead him I can lead him in the right direction
A: A South Carolina attorney could advise best, but your question remains open for a week. Until you're able to discuss in more depth with a South Carolina attorney in terms of state vehicle and traffic law, this could be a difficult situation for the semi to defend by most standards nationwide. It could depend what boxes were checked off in the police report by the traffic safety officer who responded, but if the collision was rear-end, that presents a challenge. There could be factors that your family member might be able to raise, depending on road conditions, weather, poor traffic controls, poor signage, poor lane marking, nighttime/daytime, other car lights on/off, hazards on/off, operator's efforts to warn other vehicles if disabled, etc. A local attorney or an attorney assigned by the insurance carrier (if one was assigned) could probably offer more detailed insights with the benefit of seeing the police report. Good luck
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