Tort Liability for Use of Emergency Vehicles

The operations of emergency vehicles are a common everyday feature on the streets and highways of the United States. These operations consist of the employment of vehicles that include ambulances, police cars, and fire trucks in response to situations demanding more or less immediate reaction. Due to the frequency of their operations and the nature of their use, emergency vehicles are inevitably involved in accidents that result in the bringing of legal actions seeking to recover damages for death, personal injury, or property damage caused by such accidents.

Manufacturing Defects in Automotive Products Liability Cases

The essential things that have to be proved by a plaintiff in a products liability action against the manufacturer or seller of a car or truck are that the vehicle contained a defect that created an unreasonable risk of danger when the vehicle was used for its intended purpose and that the alleged defect caused the occurrence of a collision or similar incident, for example a vehicle fire, that resulted in the death, personal injury, or property damage for which the plaintiff seeks to recover damages. Such alleged defects in a vehicle may include shortcomings in its design, errors in the manufacturing of its numerous parts and their assembly into a complete car or truck, or failure to properly warn the purchaser or user of some danger inherent in the operation and use of the vehicle.

Motor Vehicle Insurer's Right to Reimbursement of Indemnity Payments

The obligations of insurers to make payments under policies of motor vehicle insurance are based on the sometimes uncertain answers to questions about the extent of coverage and the liability of an insured to a party making a claim under the policy. An insurer may therefore face a difficult decision as to whether to make a payment in response to a third party's demand for such payment under a policy, risking the possibility that the payment is uncalled for in light of some limitation in the coverage, or to deny such a request and risk a claim that the insurer's failure to make the requested payment has made it liable to an insured for additional damages, such as the amount of a judgment in excess of the policy limits.

Auto Insurance Coverage for Tow Trucks

The frequency of occurrence of vehicular accidents and various kinds of mechanical breakdowns that cause the disablement of cars and trucks on the streets and roads of the United States necessarily results in an extensive use of tow trucks to assist in the resolution of such situations and the removal of affected vehicles from the scenes of such accidents and breakdowns. The operations of tow trucks, and the variety of risks involved in their use, create a number of unique concerns in the area of motor vehicle insurance.

Applicant's Duty to Read Application for Auto Insurance

The contractual agreement entered into when a policy of auto insurance is created is based on the application for insurance made by a prospective insured to an insurer. In situations where there are disparities between the policy as issued and the insured's understanding of the coverage he or she was applying for, or where errors or inaccuracies are found to exist in matters asserted or acquiesced in by the insured in the application, legal issues may arise concerning the extent of the insured's duty to have read the application so as to assure its accuracy and completeness.