Electric vehicles have significantly increased their presence on the road in recent years, thanks to decreasing prices and an uptick in subsidies and tax cuts for those who choose electric vehicles. However, evolving vehicle technology also complicates car accident claims. If you’ve been injured in an electric vehicle crash, it’s important to discuss your options with an attorney. Call the team at Reeves & Mestayer at 228-374-5151 to set up a consultation with our team.
Safety Features and Risks of Electric Vehicles
The safety features built into electric vehicles can decrease the number of accidents and affect the complexity of the accidents that do occur. While these features can make the road safer as a whole, they can also cause unexpected side effects and damage. Advanced safety systems strive to decrease accidents or at least minimize the severity of accidents that do happen, and as technology evolves, it’s likely that we’ll see crash rates decrease.
New technology also presents new risks, and it’s important that drivers of electric and standard vehicles know exactly what those risks are. For example, EVs use high-voltage systems that could potentially cause electric hazards when an accident happens. This complicates emergency personnel’s efforts to help victims, as the risk of an electrical fire is always present. Another potential hazard is a thermal runway, which occurs when a lithium-ion battery catches fire. This could make an already-severe accident one that causes unprecedented amounts of property damage and bodily harm.
Difficulties With Investigation and Accident Reconstruction
The difficulties posed by electric vehicles don’t just extend to the accidents themselves, but determining liability and seeking compensation after the fact as well. While electric vehicles are substantially more popular now than they were just ten years ago, police officers and investigators still have a limited amount of experience with them. This means that may handle crashes and crash investigations in unsafe or ineffective ways, potentially damaging evidence or misinterpreting it.
When it comes to reconstructing an accident, electric vehicles complicate the entire process. Accident reconstruction specialists must have specialized training and experience in electric vehicle components and how they differ from those used in standard vehicles. Since this technology is still relatively new and constantly evolving, finding accident reconstruction specialists with this type of experience may be a challenge.
One benefit of electric vehicles is the amount of data they create; this data can help experts understand what happened prior to, during, and after the crash. The downside is that retrieving and interpreting this data can be incredibly difficult, especially since systems vary across different types of vehicles. While this data can be useful, it’s considerably less helpful when so few people can accurately access and interpret it.
EV-Related Injuries and Losses
EV accidents may leave victims with a range of injuries and other losses. The different structural design features and technology used in electric vehicles can lead to different types of injuries, and medical professionals may not yet have substantial experience with recognizing these injury patterns and providing evidence-based care.
Additionally, EV accidents can leave victims with substantial property damage. The elements in EVs can lead to electrical fires that total vehicles and nearby property, driving up the cost of accidents substantially.
Legal Challenges
When you are involved in an accident with an electric vehicle, it’s important to work with an attorney with experience in this area. Determining liability can be hard, due to the different types of evidence created by EVs and the need for expert analysis of that evidence. EVs may also be covered by different types of insurance policies in some jurisdictions, complicating your efforts to recover compensation from the liable party.
It’s also important to consider the regulations in place for electric vehicles. This is something that is changing constantly, and a vehicle that is not up-to-date on regulations and standards could complicate liability issues.
Start Your Personal Injury Claim with Reeves & Mestayer
Have you been hurt in an electric vehicle accident? The team at Reeves & Mestayer is here to help you. Let us advocate for you while you recover. Set up your consultation now by calling us at 228-374-5151 or connecting with our team online.