Safety Tips
If you’ve lived in Milwaukee long enough, you know how quickly the roads can change. One minute traffic is moving normally. The next, a light snowfall turns into slick intersections, black ice on bridges, and cars sliding through stop signs.
It was icy… so is anyone really at fault?
The short answer is yes, sometimes. Ice makes driving harder. It does not erase responsibility.
In Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin, liability in a car accident is based on negligence. That means the question is whether someone failed to drive with reasonable care under the conditions.
If a driver fails to adapt and causes a crash, icy roads do not protect them from liability.
When we review winter crash cases in Milwaukee, Madison, Appleton, and Green Bay, certain patterns show up repeatedly:
Wisconsin follows a modified comparative negligence rule. This means you can still recover damages as long as you are not more than 50 percent at fault. If you are found 20 percent responsible, for example, your compensation would be reduced by that percentage.
Winter crashes often involve shared fault arguments. One driver may say the other stopped suddenly. The other may argue someone was driving too fast. Sorting that out requires a close look at police reports, vehicle damage, witness statements, and weather conditions at the time of the crash. These cases are rarely as simple as “it was just icy.”
Some people wonder whether the city is responsible for failing to clear roads quickly enough. Government liability is much more limited and involves special legal rules and deadlines. Most winter accident claims focus on driver behavior rather than snow removal itself.
The real issue is usually whether someone drove in a way that was unsafe for the conditions that day.
Winter accident claims can quickly become complicated. Insurance companies often lean on the weather as a defense. They may argue the crash was unavoidable. They may try to shift blame onto you. At Natasha Misra Law, we look beyond the surface, our team:
Natasha stays personally involved in car accident cases, supported by a highly experienced team that understands how Wisconsin insurers approach winter crashes. We also offer interpretation services, including Spanish, Burmese, and Rohingya, so every client can fully understand their rights and options.
Our goal is not just to file a claim. It is to make sure the weather is not used as an excuse to undervalue what happened to you.
If you were injured in a winter driving accident in Milwaukee, Madison, Appleton, or Green Bay, do not assume the ice automatically means no one is responsible.
Call us today or fill out our form for a free consultation.
Natasha Misra Law is here to review what happened, explain where you stand, and help you pursue the compensation you deserve.
More cars than ever have feature-rich, complex “infotainment” systems to control GPS, set up radio or music playback, make Bluetooth calls via your cell phone, and much more.
But while these can be really useful, they can also cause dangerous distractions. An AAA study found that using these systems could distract users and inhibit their ability to respond to red lights and other simulated on-road situations, particularly for seniors.
So how can you use your car’s infotainment system safely? Here are a few tips from Natasha Misra Law.
If you use GPS to get most places, setting up your destination while your car is stationary and parked is the best way to use your GPS system safely – and avoid typing in addresses and other distractions while driving on the road.
If you need to change your destination, make a phone call, adjust some settings on your infotainment system, or perform other such actions, don’t do so on the road.
Consider pulling into a parking lot or into a safe place on the side of the road to take these actions. This way, you can focus your attention on the task at hand – rather than splitting it between your infotainment system and the road.
Most modern infotainment systems support voice control on their own, and many of them also integrate support for phone-based voice assistance like Apple’s Siri or Google Assistant via Bluetooth.
Using voice commands allows you to do things like make calls, change GPS destinations, and even tune the radio. We recommend consulting your user’s manual to learn more about voice control, and to see how you can use it in your infotainment system.
Even changing the song playing on your infotainment system could distract you from the road for a few seconds at a time – and this could result in a dangerous on-road situation or an accident. Consider setting up a music playlist in advance of your trip so that you don’t have to mess with your tunes while you’re on the road!
If someone’s traveling with you, hand off the responsibilities to them, and ask them to change the song, enter GPS directions, call someone, or take whatever other action you need to do while driving. They can fiddle with the infotainment system all they want without any risks.
Distractions come in many forms when driving, and this can include your vehicle’s built-in infotainment system. So follow these tips from our law firm, and protect yourself, your passengers, and other road users.
Need help getting compensation for an accident? Natasha Misra is an experienced Milwaukee auto accident attorney, and can help you explore your case and your options. Contact us online or give us a call at 414-246-9707 to get started today.
My law practice is dedicated to helping people who have suffered injuries in accidents which were not their fault. Born and raised in Milwaukee, I come from a family of medical professionals. My background and experience help me understand and represent individuals injured in accidents.
.avif){kind=small}
.avif){kind=small}
.avif){kind=small}
