Automobile accidents give rise to the majority of personal injury claims in the U.S. Car collisions often carry legal consequences in proportion to the severity of the accident. Legal claims which arise from motor AREAS of PRACTICEs are governed by the law of negligence. A person who operates a vehicle is expected to exercise reasonable care and a failure to use reasonable care is considered negligence.
A person who negligently operates a vehicle may be required to pay for any damages, either to a person or property, caused by his or her negligence. The injured party is required to prove that the person who caused the accident was negligent, that negligence was a proximate cause of the accident, and that the accident caused the plaintiff's injuries. A driver may also be liable for an accident due to his or her intentional or reckless conduct. A driver who is reckless is one who drives unsafely, with willful and wanton disregard for the probability that such driving may cause an accident. A driver could be found reckless, for example, if he or she drives in a threatening or harassing manner and causes an accident. Criminal charges may also stem from such behavior.
As with other types of accidents, figuring out who is at fault in a traffic accident is a matter of deciding who was negligent. Courts look to a number of factors in determining whether a driver was negligent. Among the court looks for are whether the driver causing the accident was disobeying traffic signs or signals, failing to signal while turning, driving above or below the posted speed limit, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, etc.
Another reason for accidents is reckless driving. A driver may be liable for an accident due to his or her intentional or reckless conduct. A driver who is reckless is one who drives unsafely, disregarding the fact that such reckless driving may cause accidents. Excessive speeding also constitutes reckless driving. Improper or excessive lane changing and improper passing without signal can also constitute reckless driving.
When riding a motorcycle or bicycle, you rely on others to react to you in a responsible matter. If those around you fail to do so, serious injuries can occur. Our legal system is set up to force those who have been negligent towards you to compensate your injury and loss.
Drunk Drivers
Drunk driving is a reason for an accident that can also provide criminal charges as well as civil lawsuits. In a lawsuit arising from a drunk driving accident, in addition to the intoxicated driver's liability for the injuries he or she caused, a bar or social host may be liable for damages if they served an obviously intoxicated guest, who then drove and caused an accident. The fact that the person who served the intoxicated driver alcohol may be held liable does not relieve the intoxicated driver of liability, however.
Non-Negligent Driver Accidents
In certain cases, accidents are caused by factors unrelated to the conduct of any particular driver. An automobile accident may occur due to a latent defect in the automobile. In such a case, an automobile manufacturer or supplier may be responsible for injuries caused by such a defect in the automobile. Liability is imposed, in these cases, under the principle of product liability. A product liability suit is brought against the seller of a product for selling a defective product that caused physical injury to a consumer or user. The question of whether the manufacturer was negligent or not does not arise.
Other factors, such as poorly maintained roads, lighting or other highway defects and malfunctioning traffic control signals can contribute to cause an accident as well. In such cases government entities may be sued. However suits against government entities can be tricky as the law often affords immunity to such entities.
Life does not always work out according to your original plan. When an auto accident occurs because of the negligence of another person or company, you owe it to yourself to get the best personal injury lawyer possible. When you are injured in a car accident, your attorney will work hard to make get you compensatory damages. Compensatory damages are established by law to help the victim return to the same position he or she was before the accident. This includes medical bills, vehicle repair, lost wages, and any other injuries sustained during the accident. Courts also award punitive damages based on extreme negligence involving irresponsible behavior or defective parts of the vehicle. Let us walk you through your situation and provide you with answers on how to recover the damages you deserve.
