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Although car accidents are common occurrences, the legal issues associated with them are very complex. The issues become even more complicated when a road accident is followed by a civil law suit. If you are ever involved in an accident, you would be well advised to consult with a lawyer. You should try to find a lawyer who is an expert in the field of personal injury law and specifically car accidents. Your lawyer's primary task will be to get to the core of the issue, which is establishing fault.
There may be many issues arising from an accident, but the main aim of an attorney in a civil case will be to work out who should be blamed. If the attorney's client is defending a suit, the attorney will try to minimize the amount of blame.
Working out whose fault the accident was can be difficult. When attributing blame for an accident, the attorney has to establish that the driver responsible was negligent. The reason why it is so important to work out who is responsible is because the liability for any damages arising from the accident rests with whomever was at fault. Sometimes, establishing the blame is easy. For example, if an accident occurred when a drunk driver, who was traveling at high speed, failed to stop at a red light, then it would be easy to establish that the drunk driver was responsible.
What if the accident is less straightforward than the example? Let's suppose that the drunk driver was speeding and had a green light, but collided with a sober driver who had gone through a red light. Establishing blame in this scenario is more complicated, since both drivers have been negligent. You might think that each driver would have to bear half the costs, but this is not necessarily the case. There are situations where one driver is deemed more negligent than the other, and is held 70% responsible. Dealing with problems like these is where accident attorneys earn their fees.
The types of fault that can be attributed have been divided into three categories of comparative fault. Throughout the US, most states have adopted one of these categorizations. They are known as:
Pure comparative fault. 51% comparative fault. 50% proportional comparative fault.
Any attorney representing an accident client needs to be fully aware of, and understand, the comparative fault that applies in the state.
If the state uses pure comparative fault, the amount of damages that will be paid to an injured party will be reduced by whatever percentage of the blame falls on that party. In other words, if a claimant was 40% responsible for an accident, then any injury or damages payout will be reduced by 40%.
In states that use 51% comparative fault, any individual who is more than 51% responsible for an accident will not be able to claim for any personal injury or damages that he or she has incurred arising from the accident.
In states that use 50% comparative fault, any person who is less than 50% responsible for causing the accident is entitled to claim for personal injury or damages.
It can be seen that a person's ability to claim for injury or damages is very much dependent on properly apportioning the blame for an accident. That is why it is of the utmost importance to hire an excellent accident attorney to represent you if you are involved in a car accident.
There may be many issues arising from an accident, but the main aim of an attorney in a civil case will be to work out who should be blamed. If the attorney's client is defending a suit, the attorney will try to minimize the amount of blame.
Working out whose fault the accident was can be difficult. When attributing blame for an accident, the attorney has to establish that the driver responsible was negligent. The reason why it is so important to work out who is responsible is because the liability for any damages arising from the accident rests with whomever was at fault. Sometimes, establishing the blame is easy. For example, if an accident occurred when a drunk driver, who was traveling at high speed, failed to stop at a red light, then it would be easy to establish that the drunk driver was responsible.
What if the accident is less straightforward than the example? Let's suppose that the drunk driver was speeding and had a green light, but collided with a sober driver who had gone through a red light. Establishing blame in this scenario is more complicated, since both drivers have been negligent. You might think that each driver would have to bear half the costs, but this is not necessarily the case. There are situations where one driver is deemed more negligent than the other, and is held 70% responsible. Dealing with problems like these is where accident attorneys earn their fees.
The types of fault that can be attributed have been divided into three categories of comparative fault. Throughout the US, most states have adopted one of these categorizations. They are known as:
Pure comparative fault. 51% comparative fault. 50% proportional comparative fault.
Any attorney representing an accident client needs to be fully aware of, and understand, the comparative fault that applies in the state.
If the state uses pure comparative fault, the amount of damages that will be paid to an injured party will be reduced by whatever percentage of the blame falls on that party. In other words, if a claimant was 40% responsible for an accident, then any injury or damages payout will be reduced by 40%.
In states that use 51% comparative fault, any individual who is more than 51% responsible for an accident will not be able to claim for any personal injury or damages that he or she has incurred arising from the accident.
In states that use 50% comparative fault, any person who is less than 50% responsible for causing the accident is entitled to claim for personal injury or damages.
It can be seen that a person's ability to claim for injury or damages is very much dependent on properly apportioning the blame for an accident. That is why it is of the utmost importance to hire an excellent accident attorney to represent you if you are involved in a car accident.
About the Author:
Some law firm and injury law ideas came from Hall-Tanner-Hargett (www.shoalslawyers.com). The author is not associated with Shoalslawyers.com and they did not verify this article for accuracy.
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