The subject of car accidents is one that is more complex than most people realize. This is doubly true when the issue of civil litigation emerges in the aftermath. When you are involved in an accident, you will need to procure qualified representation from a lawyer. You need to hire the most effective lawyer possible because the attorney must prove the most critical point in your case; the issue of 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.
Establishing blame following an accident is not as straightforward as you might think. This is because the law will hold the person who caused the accident responsible for all damages that result from it. There are many situations where it is easy to attribute blame for an accident. An example of this would be where somebody driving under the influence smashes into somebody while breaking a red light at speed. If that happened, the drunk driver would certainly be 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.
There are three categories of such comparative fault in car accidents and different states have adopted them. These categories are:
Pure comparative fault. 51% comparative fault. 50% proportional comparative fault.
A qualified lawyer needs to approach a case with a clear understanding of these three categories.
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%.
The most harsh category is the 51% comparative fault category. If the state uses this, then any injured party whose responsibility for an accident is more than 51% will not be entitled to claim any damages.
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.
The ability to claim damages from car accidents requires clearly establishing who is at fault and to what degree. Only an experienced and knowledgeable lawyer would be capable of proving where fault actually lies.
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.
Establishing blame following an accident is not as straightforward as you might think. This is because the law will hold the person who caused the accident responsible for all damages that result from it. There are many situations where it is easy to attribute blame for an accident. An example of this would be where somebody driving under the influence smashes into somebody while breaking a red light at speed. If that happened, the drunk driver would certainly be 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.
There are three categories of such comparative fault in car accidents and different states have adopted them. These categories are:
Pure comparative fault. 51% comparative fault. 50% proportional comparative fault.
A qualified lawyer needs to approach a case with a clear understanding of these three categories.
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%.
The most harsh category is the 51% comparative fault category. If the state uses this, then any injured party whose responsibility for an accident is more than 51% will not be entitled to claim any damages.
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.
The ability to claim damages from car accidents requires clearly establishing who is at fault and to what degree. Only an experienced and knowledgeable lawyer would be capable of proving where fault actually lies.
About the Author:
Contact Hall-Tanner-Hargett in Tuscumbia, ALhttp://shoalslawyers.com for legal information. Hall-Tanner-Hargett is in no way associated with the author or this document.
No comments:
Post a Comment