—
This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.
Were you recently involved in a car accident, and now you wonder who is responsible for your damages? Car accidents have various causes, but nearly all accidents point a finger towards negligence. While your car accident case might seem straightforward, you might want to make a clear case of negligence to get fair compensation. But how do you prove negligence in a car accident?
It all comes down to what you can prove and what tools you use to prove negligence on another party. If you still have questions after you’ve read this article, you can click this link to learn more about what driver negligence entails. Let’s dig in.
What Is Negligence?
The concept of negligence often refers to the failure to exercise expected and reasonable care that eventually results in a person’s injury or damaged property. Experts mostly base negligence on an individual’s failure to take precautionary measures seriously, rather than their direct actions.
One example of negligence that was caused by a driver’s failure to be cautious would be a driver speeding on the highway. In this case, the driver could be charged with neglect for failure to obey speed limit rules. They were speeding because they were in a hurry. They didn’t mean to cause an accident, but they still did and now they must be held responsible.
Some examples of negligence can be considered to be caused by malicious intent. This could be a driver who intentionally rams another person’s car in an act of road rage. Another example would be an intoxicated person who gets behind the wheel knowing they will be a danger to others on the road.
Proving Negligence in Car Accident Lawsuits
Most state laws require car accident victims to prove negligence in order to win compensation in an injury claim. You will be required to provide evidence of all of the following elements to prove negligence that caused a car accident.
Duty of Care
You will need to prove that the defendant owed you some duty of care. What does this mean? Generally, every driver on the road owes other drivers the fundamental duty of care. As a driver, you shouldn’t operate your vehicle in a manner that may injure other users on the road. This rule applies to every driver.
Your car accident case should prove that the other driver was negligent by denying you the basic duty of care. Instances such as using the phone while driving, speeding, or following too closely easily fall into this category. Your car accident attorney should collect adequate evidence showing that the defendant didn’t exercise a reasonable duty of care.
The Breach of Duty of Care
This second element is closely associated with the first element. You must show that the defendant breached his duty of care. On this basis, negligence may be due to drunk driving, making a dangerous U-turn while texting, or perhaps speeding. These actions must demonstrate how their actions violated the duty of care. Violation of duty of care shows that a reasonable driver would not have acted as the defendant acted.
The Breach of Duty of Care Caused Your Injuries
According to the law, you must provide adequate evidence showing that a driver’s negligence caused an accident other than citing duty of care violations. Your lawyer must prove that the defendant’s actions directly caused your injuries.
One way this can be problematic is in a case where a victim’s previous injuries were aggravated and made worse in an accident. When this happens, your lawyer must show that the recent accident in question was the primary cause of making the injury worse.
The Violation of The Duty of Care Caused Financial Losses
In order to get compensated from a car accident lawsuit, you must prove that all of the damages and losses you are claiming are directly linked to the crash. It’s important to note that damages that were incurred before the car accident do not add weight to your compensation claim. Your financial losses may include:
- Costs incurred due to your injuries, such as rehabilitation and medical bills.
- Income losses like wages that you lost when you were out of work recovering from the accident
- Property damage, such as car repair costs.
You and your lawyer are responsible for calculating the costs and losses that were incurred in the accident. These damages may be financial, physical, or emotional, as would be the case where pain and suffering is concerned. You may be instructed to demonstrate that you were less than 50% to blame for the car accident in some cases. The fault laws vary by state.
—
This content is brought to you by Charles Britton.
Photo: Shutterstock