In Charlottesville and in all places in Virginia, the ultimate way to determine who is at fault for the accident is for the case to go to a jury. The jury can hear what the evidence is, and they can decide which driver involved in a car crash is responsible. The answer is that in almost every case, the vehicle rear-ending another vehicle is responsible for the collision.
If you have been involved in a rear-end car crash caused by someone else, you may be owed monetary compensation for the damage they caused such as medical bills, lost wages, vehicle repair costs, and pain and suffering where applicable. Proving another driver’s liability in Charlottesville rear-end car accident cases may be difficult, but by working with The Warren Firm could help you hold the other driver responsible for the harm they caused.
Negligence is just a failure to use ordinary care that is expected of every driver for the safety of others on the road. Contributory negligence doctrine means that if a plaintiff is even slightly responsible for causing the accident that led to their damages, they may be completely barred from any financial recovery. However, in rear-end car accident cases, as long as the stationary or front driver is lawfully stopped, then contributory negligence will not generally be an issue. In almost every situation though, the driver at the rear will be found liable for causing the crash.
A Charlottesville attorney could use a number of methods and tools to establish liability in a Charlottesville rear-end collision case. Everything begins with establishing what happened from the plaintiff’s point of view. After an attorney understands what happened, they could start to collect testimony from other witnesses such as passengers, pedestrian bystanders, and other people on the road. Additional tools that are often used include photographs of the scene of the accident and police reports.
Photographs were taken at the injured party’s vehicle that was rear-ended are helpful to show the size of the impact. If there is a lot of property damage, insurance companies and juries will generally have an easier time understanding the size and power of the impact. It can be more difficult to prove liability in cases where the photographs do not show much property damage in a rear-ending case.
In those situations, insurance companies often argue that there is little property damage, and then use that perception to minimize the plaintiff’s injuries. However, the amount of property damage does not directly correlate to the injuries that someone can have when they are rear-ended.
Rear-end accidents are one of the few times that insurance companies do not fight liability as much because it is fairly clear that the rear vehicle has liability in most Charlottesville rear-end car accident cases. As long as the front driver was legally stopped on the road or was otherwise driving in a lawful and safe manner, they will likely be successful in making a personal injury claim. To get started on your case, schedule a consultation now.
