The two main components of a car accident case are liability and damages. Virginia uses contributory negligence in determining liability in car accidents. Under contributory negligence, an injured party who was hurt in a car accident must prove that the other driver was negligent to recover any financial compensation.
Negligence is simply the failure to use ordinary care. However, under contributory negligence doctrine, the defendant has a chance to demonstrate that the plaintiff was partially to blame for the accident. If the defense can show or convince a jury or a judge that the injured party was not following the traffic signs or was on their phone, or negligent in some manner and that negligence caused the accident, they may be completely barred from recovering damages.
Contributory negligence is a harsh law in some ways because even if a jury or judge determines a plaintiff is as little as five percent at fault, they are barred from making a recovery for their injuries. One part of contributory negligence that is beneficial to injured parties is something called joint and several liability. This means that if two vehicles were at fault for an accident, each of them is responsible for the full amount that is owed to the injured party.
Proving Causation in Virginia Car Accidents
Once the injured parties prove another person was negligent, they must demonstrate that the accident is the direct cause of their damages or injuries. In these situations, the defense counsel may argue that something other than the accident caused the plaintiff’s injuries.
For example, if a person does not develop back pain until a week after car crash, defendants may attempt to prove that an underlying condition caused the plaintiff’s injuries. A local attorney could analyze your medical records or speak with an expert who could show that the defendant is directly liable for your injuries.
Liability refers to who is responsible for the car accident. All motorists in the state have a duty to operate their vehicles without risking the safety of others. Therefore, those who drive carelessly or recklessly could be held liable for breaching their duty of care.
In some cases, fault may be easy to prove. For example, if a person is rear-ended while at a stop sign, the driver in back will most likely be the liable party. In instances such as these, the defendant may admit fault before the case goes to trial. Then the case would only proceed on the issue of damages. Many negligent drivers, however, do not admit fault, and it becomes the responsibility of the injured party to prove liability through evidence.
If two drivers are involved in an intersection crash and both claim they had the green light, proving liability can be more difficult. Evidence such as police accident reports, witness statements, and photographs or videos from the scene could help show who is at fault.
Determining who is responsible for a car accident depends on a careful review of the facts and evidence surrounding the collision. Insurance companies, attorneys, and courts all rely on specific details to establish fault and decide who must pay for the resulting damages. Nevertheless, some of the most influential factors in proving liability come directly from the people who experienced or witnessed the crash themselves.
The most important elements for proving liability are statements from each of the driver involved. Usually, the statements given at the scene are fairly accurate because the accident has just happened and parties are not generally thinking about lawsuits or how to protect themselves. They are just telling the police officer what just occurred. One of the most important parts is what each of the drivers who are involved in the accident say.
Witnesses that are passengers in the vehicles are important as they also have invaluable firsthand memory of the event. However, the passengers in a vehicle are often biases as they have some sort of relationship to the driver in many cases.
The other types of witnesses, and often the most valuable, are uninterested witnesses. These witnesses may be someone in a third vehicle that was not involved in the accident, but saw the crash happen. These witnesses typically do not know either of the other drivers, so they are generally able to provide a very factual account of what happened. Sometimes, these uninterested witnesses are pedestrians walking somewhere when they see the wreck, but oftentimes, they are in other vehicles. The difficult part about uninterested witnesses is their information is often not gathered at the scene.
If a plaintiff can successfully prove liability, he or she may be able to file for economic and non-economic damages. Injured parties could seek compensation for losses such as medical bills and lost wages.
Legal professionals often incorporate current and future losses into a plaintiff’s damages. A lawyer in the area could help you prove liability in your car wreck case so that you do not miss the opportunity to recover compensation.
From the very beginning of your case, through litigation and settlement, having a dedicated car crash attorney at your side could help you get the best possible outcome. Determining liability in car accidents is difficult, but by working with the experienced lawyers at The Warren Firm, you may be able to collect the right evidence to collect the compensation you deserve. Call today to get started.
