Car Accident Law

Car accidents can be terrifying experiences. They often involve injuries and damage to your vehicle. The legal system can help you determine who’s at fault for a traffic accident and who needs to pay the associated bills.

Automobile accidents account for the majority of personal injury claims in the U.S. This isn’t surprising, given the millions of car crashes that occur throughout the country each year, ranging from minor fender benders to fatal accidents.

Common Car Accident Injuries

Most people experience significant property damage after a car crash. For example, if you’re in a rear-end collision, you may need a new bumper. If someone hits you head-on, it may destroy your vehicle.

Regardless of the cosmetic damage to your car, the more serious concern is your physical injuries. Car accident victims can suffer severe injuries. However, the most devastating accidents may involve motorcycles and tractor-trailers.

The most common auto accident injuries include:

• Head and back injuries: Traumatic brain injuries (TBI), concussions, spinal cord injuries, and herniated discs are common.

• Neck and chest injuries: You may suffer whiplash, bruised ribs, chest contusions, and other related injuries.

• Broken bones: Injuries to arms, legs, feet, and hands are pretty common, particularly for motorcyclists.

• Emotional distress: Even a minor accident can have a severe impact on your mental health.

In the best case, your insurance will cover most of the costs you incur after an accident. But it’s not uncommon to sue the other driver for damages. Your damages will depend on the nature and extent of your injuries.

How a Car Accident Case Works

Car accident law is a combination of traffic and personal injury law. You can hire a car accident lawyer to negotiate with the other drivers to determine who should pay for the damage. If necessary, the attorney will help you file a lawsuit.

The court will piece together what happened using various types of evidence. This can include:

• Police reports

• Photos

• Testimony from witnesses at the scene of the accident

The court will then apply local traffic laws and legal concepts to determine who caused the accident. The at-fault driver usually has to compensate the other party for:

• Medical bills and other medical expenses

• Property damage

• Lost wages

• Pain and suffering

This can be a complex calculation. Sometimes, both drivers are at fault. Each state has slightly different rules for situations where more than one person is responsible for an accident. Some states require one party to pay all the bills. Others allow the two parties to split the bills according to how much each party is to blame.

The Role of Auto Insurance

Fortunately, most people don’t pay out of pocket for all the damages stemming from a collision. Automobile insurance policies often cover repairs for at least some of the damage or replacement costs for all or some of the vehicles involved.

Car insurance may also cover some medical expenses. Insurance companies may also pay for a lawyer if necessary. But you don’t usually get to choose your own attorney. State laws vary widely on the extent and types of insurance required to drive a vehicle.

If you’re lucky, the insurance company will pay your claim without issue. Despite what many people think, insurance companies pay most legitimate car accident claims. There are times, however, when the insurance adjuster denies your claim. This can be frustrating and nerve-wracking.

While you’re waiting for your insurance check, the bills pile up. Learning that the insurance carrier has denied your claim means you’ll wait even longer for your money. This is when you should consult a personal injury lawyer who works on car accident cases.

The insurance carrier may deny your accident claim for several reasons. Some of these include:

• The policy is invalid, or the insurance company canceled it for nonpayment

• The insurance adjuster believes you caused the crash

• The insurance company doesn’t believe your injuries are legitimate

• You have an unfavorable history of filing auto accident claims

• You didn’t file your claim in a timely fashion

Regardless of the reason, you have the right to appeal your claim. The problem is that the same person who initially denied your claim may be the one who handles the appeal. If the amount of compensation you demand is low, your appeal may be successful. If it’s bigger, the insurance adjuster may delay payment, hoping they can settle for less later.

You May Have To Sue the Other Driver

If the insurance company refuses to pay your claim, you may have to file a personal injury lawsuit against the other driver in order to recover your costs. Most states don’t allow accident victims to sue an insurance company directly, unless they act in bad faith. This means you must usually pursue the driver directly in court.

Once you file your lawsuit, your attorney must prove your case. In most car accident cases, your attorney must prove that the other driver was negligent. There are some cases in which the driver was drunk or driving recklessly. You’ll succeed in your claim if you can prove either of these things.

To prove negligence, your auto accident attorney must demonstrate the following four things:

• The driver owed you a duty of care: The first thing you must prove in a negligence case is that the other driver owed you a duty of reasonable care. They must behave the way another driver would have, given the circumstances. With a car accident claim, it isn’t hard to prove this. All drivers owe other motorists a duty of care. At a minimum, drivers must follow the rules of the road and all traffic laws.

• The defendant breached their duty of care: You must show that the driver did something to breach their duty of reasonable care. For example, if the other driver ran a red light immediately before the crash, they would have violated this duty. The same is true if they were speeding during the collision.

• You suffered an injury: It’s not enough that you were in an accident. Your attorney must prove that you suffered an injury. This includes financial losses, physical injuries, and mental anguish.

• The defendant’s behavior caused your injuries: You must show that the defendant’s breach of duty caused your injuries. For example, if someone were suffering from an illness and died a few weeks after a car accident, it would be harder to prove that the crash alone caused their injuries. The defendant will argue that the illness caused the death, not their negligent behavior. Of course, the plaintiff can still argue that the accident made their illness worse.

You’ll probably win your case if you can demonstrate these four things. But usually, it doesn’t get to this point. Very few personal injury cases actually go to trial. It’s in most parties’ best interest to settle out of court to minimize costs.

Determining Who’s at Fault

The laws on who’s at fault for motor vehicle crashes vary depending on the types of vehicles involved. Most states give more protection to pedestrians and bicyclists since they’re more vulnerable to severe injuries from a collision.

Similarly, motorcyclists may sustain more serious injuries than motorists in an accident. But motorcyclists must follow slightly different traffic rules since they can be faster and more agile than automobiles.

Truck drivers are usually professionally trained and certified. They must drive more carefully than most other drivers. Determining who pays for the damage after a truck collision is slightly more complicated than other kinds of accidents. This is because trucks are often commercially owned. That means liability may rest not only on the driver but also on the truck’s owner.

Negligence and Motor Vehicle Accidents

As with other types of accidents, figuring out who is at fault in a traffic accident is a matter of deciding who was negligent. In many cases, your instincts will tell you that a driver, cyclist, or pedestrian acted carelessly, but not which rule or rules that person violated.

Courts look to a number of factors in determining whether a driver was negligent. Some of these factors include, but aren’t limited to, the following:

• Disobeying traffic signs or signals

• Failing to signal while turning

• Driving above or below the posted speed limit

• Disregarding weather or traffic conditions

• Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol

• Reckless driving

An attorney will look to a number of sources to help you determine who was at fault for your accident, such as police reports, state traffic laws, and witnesses.

Accidents Not Caused by the Drivers Involved

In certain cases, accidents are caused by factors unrelated to the conduct of any particular driver. For example, an automobile accident may occur due to a defect in someone’s automobile. In such a case, an automobile manufacturer or supplier may be responsible for injuries caused by a defect in the automobile under the law of product liability.

A product liability suit is a lawsuit brought against the seller of a product for selling a defective product that caused physical injury to a consumer or user. If a manufacturer of a product creates a defective product – either in designing, manufacturing, or labeling the product – the manufacturer is liable for any injuries the product causes, regardless of whether the manufacturer was negligent.

Other external factors can contribute to an accident as well, such as:

• Poorly maintained roads

• Malfunctioning traffic control signals

• Construction

• Improper signage or lighting

• Poorly placed trees or utility poles

In cases such as this, government entities may be potential defendants. Special rules apply to claims and lawsuits brought against governmental bodies, however, and proper legal advice is critical to preserving and winning such claims.

Damages for Car Accident Injury Claims

If you’re the injured party in a car crash, you may have a claim for damages. Your attorney must first prove your claim. If they’re able to do that, they’ll make a demand for damages.

You can demand several types of damages in your car accident claim. These include:

• Medical bills and future medical expenses

• Loss of consortium (family member relations)

• Lost wages and lost future income

• Pain and suffering/emotional distress

• Disfigurement

• Punitive damages

The court may hold the at-fault driver liable for initial medical expenses and future medical bills. Your attorney must prove what these future expenses will be. You can also demand damages for pain and suffering. These are damages for any mental and physical anguish you experience after the accident.

While you can demand punitive damages, the courts rarely award them. They reserve punitive damages for cases where they want to punish the defendant. If you expect to collect punitive damages, your personal injury lawyer must prove that the defendant acted intentionally or recklessly.

How Long Do I Have to File a Car Accident Lawsuit?

You must file your claim as soon as possible after the accident. You only have a specific amount of time to file suit against the other driver. This is because of the statute of limitations. Every state has rules dictating how long an injured person has to file a civil action. If you miss this deadline, the judge will dismiss your claim.

There are very few exceptions to this rule. The only time a judge will consider extending the statute of limitations period is in the following situations:

• The victim is under the age of 18

• The courts have declared either party mentally incompetent

• The other driver uses fraud to evade service

Barring these conditions, you must file your lawsuit in time. This is why you don’t want to wait until the last minute to hire an attorney. They’ll need several months to prepare your case and work on negotiating a settlement.

If you’re within this statute of limitations period, you may be able to pursue additional damages above what your insurance company offers. Always get legal advice from a personal injury lawyer to determine your options.

A Car Accident Lawyer Can Help

You don’t have to hire an auto accident lawyer. You have every right to handle your claim yourself. However, there are advantages to having an attorney-client relationship. Not only do they know the law, but they also know how to fight the big insurance companies.

Once the insurance company learns you hired a lawyer, they may take your claim more seriously. They’ll also be more likely to settle your claim. Nobody wants to go to trial on an accident claim. Unless your claim is for hundreds of thousands of dollars, there’s a good chance it will settle.

Some of the benefits of hiring an attorney include:

• The insurance adjuster may take your claim more seriously

• Your attorney knows how to negotiate with the insurance company

• You’ll be at a legal disadvantage if you don’t have a lawyer who knows the law

• Your personal injury attorney knows which insurance carriers and cases are more likely to settle

The judge won’t go easy on you just because you represent yourself. An attorney will fight to get you the financial compensation you deserve. They’ll ensure the insurance company (or driver) covers your economic and non-economic damages. In the worst case, they can file a civil lawsuit against the other driver if necessary.

Reach out to a local car accident attorney for help with your car accident claim. An auto accident attorney can help you understand your insurance coverage and offer legal advice. It’s important to know your legal rights after a car accident, especially if you suffered significant damages.