Have you recently been in a car accident? If you have, you’re certainly not alone. The National Highway Traffic Administration reports there were more than 5.6 million car crashes in the United States – giving rise to many personal injury suits. Read on to learn more about your legal rights following a car crash:
Your Rights in a Car Crash
If you’ve been injured because of a car crash that was not your fault, then it’s possible you have a legal case. Legal actions following car crashes are related to what is known as negligence. If someone who is operating a car fails to do so under the law of negligence, which basically says that person must drive the car with “reasonable care,” then that person may legally have to pay for the damages resulting to the person they hurt and his or her car.
How an Attorney Can Help
In many cases of negligence, it pays to have an expert on your side. The injured party must prove that the other driver acted with negligence, and an attorney can help you navigate this. Your attorney will go about gathering evidence that supports your case, including interviewing all parties and witnesses – as well as studying the nuance of the law to determine which party violated state and federal laws.
What to Do When Others Are Liable
There are some situations in which the driver involved in a car crash is not to blame. There can be outside forces that work together to cause a car crash. For example, there have been times with a traffic signal is faulty, delivering mixed signals to both drivers. It isn’t the drivers’ faults that they crashed. The traffic signal is at fault. The same applies to poorly constructed roadways or other defects in highway terrain.
Sometimes one of the driver’s cars is the problem. There are cases in which an accident occurs because of a poorly designed car that fails. In these cases, the manufacturer may be held accountable for the failed design of the car or the part that contributed to the failing of the car and the resulting crash.
In both of these scenarios, your attorney can help build your case based upon the current evidence and past cases in which outside forces contributed to a car crash.
Did You Know?
You probably can envision some of the violations that may result in negligent ruling – such as running a red light or not signaling when making a turn. But did you also know that someone can be found negligent for driving below the speed limit, passing on a shoulder or not paying attention to road conditions?
One of the more serious violations in a negligent ruling is if the driver has been operating a car under the influence of alcohol or drugs. You may not know that the owner of a bar who served an intoxicated driver the alcohol also could be held liable in a suit. In the United States, someone dies in a car crash because alcohol was involved about every hour. With more than 1 million drivers and passengers injured just last year, something has to change. And that’s why a personal injury suit can be so rewarding and important. These nuances are some of the things you may not be thinking about at first – and that’s why an attorney can help do this work for you.
We Can Help
Do you believe you have been wrongfully hurt via a car crash? Do you think an outside force or the other driver may be to blame? Let us take a look at your case for free and determine whether justice can be served. We have years of experience in the personal injury legal field. In cases of personal injury, there is a lot of suffering both to you and to others – and our goal is to make sure you recover and are taken care of in the midst of your suffering. Call us today for your free consultation. We are ready and happy to help!
