“Negligence” is essential for proving personal injury cases, including car accidents; it determines who pays the losses. If you were involved in a car accident because of someone else’s negligence, you must determine the other party’s fault. While you can check police reports to know who they blamed for the accident, establishing liability is more than that.
This article discusses ways to determine fault in a car accident. Meanwhile, if the accident was not your fault and you intend to file a claim, you should get a personal injury lawyer to help.
1. There Must Be a Duty of Care
You will first establish that the at-fault party (defendant) owed you a duty of care. Traffic laws exist that each road user must know and obey to keep themselves and others safe. That means anyone who drives a vehicle on public streets automatically owes other drivers a duty of care.
2. They Breached the Duty of Care
Next, you will show that the defendant breached the duty of care they owe you – that is, they were negligent. The law considers individuals negligent if they fail to comply with the duty of care provided. For example, a driver who runs a red light or drives recklessly with alcohol in their system has violated a duty of care.
For instance, a person is sick but takes their job so seriously that they go to work anyway. While driving, they get nauseous and dizzy and cannot see the road clearly for a few seconds. Driving when they were not in the right frame of mind has violated their legal duty of care.
3. Their Negligence Directly Caused the Accident
It is not enough that a driver was negligent; their negligence has to be directly responsible for the collision. For example, it is entirely possible that if a collision occurs between the sick driver and another, it is not their fault. That means they will not be held liable for damages; they would be the ones to claim damages.
In another instance, the nauseous and dizzy driver crashed into the rear of a vehicle that stopped at a red light. They did not notice because they could not concentrate on driving – no thanks to the nausea and dizziness. This is an act of negligence, and it is responsible for the collision.
4. You Suffered Measurable Losses
To claim compensation in a crash, you must prove that you suffered quantifiable damages. If, for example, a collision almost happened and you sustained no injuries, you cannot sue. On the other hand, if there was a collision, but you were not injured, you cannot lay a personal injury claim.
“You must establish that you suffered measurable losses to get compensation for personal injury. In other words, you can measure your losses in actual fiat currency,” says injury attorney Brandon Kinard of KGS Law.
Conclusion: What Damages Can You Recover?
How much compensation you get from a personal injury claim depends on certain unique facts about your case. Nevertheless, the most common categories of compensation requested by people following a car accident include loss of wages, psychological breakdowns, medical bills, and pain and suffering.
You can get compensated for the finance that went into treating any injury suffered. You can also get compensation for lost wages or salary you did not get because you could not go to work. Also, you can get compensation for physical discomfort and emotional distress due to the injuries you suffered in the accident.