Car accidents can result in a wide variety of injuries. Sometimes victims walk away unscathed, with minor vehicle damage to repair. Other times, truly catastrophic injuries can occur that can change a person’s life forever. The situation is infinitely worse when the accident was totally avoidable and was caused by the reckless or careless action of another driver. If this happened to you, you may be wondering how you will be able to prove in court that the other driver was negligent.
Definition of negligence
Negligence in the context of a car accident is when a driver fails to fulfill their duty to drive safely that they have towards other drivers, and someone suffers an injury as a result. It is the legal principle that allows the victim of the negligence to recover money damages in order to help them pay for medical costs, automobile repair and more.
If you bring a lawsuit for negligence against the driver that caused your accident, your attorney will present evidence to try to prove that the driver’s actions met the four elements of negligence, which are:
- That the other driver owed you and other drivers on the road a duty to drive safely and carefully
- That the driver breached that duty by driving in an unsafe manner
- That you suffered a physical injury, damage to your vehicle, or both
- That the driver’s unsafe driving was the cause of your physical and economic injuries
If your attorney can prove these four elements, then you stand a good chance of winning a negligence suit against the other driver.
If you have suffered a major car accident, you are probably worried about paying medical bills, repairing your car and healing from your injuries. A negligence lawsuit against the responsible party can be a great way of recovering some of those costs so that you can worry less and focus more on healing.