How Negligence Is Established in a Car Accident

Negligence is a legal concept. It is a party’s failure to behave in a moral, legal, or professional manner that is expected. This behavior typically results in an accident and injuries. To prove negligence, a victim must establish four key criteria have been met. These four criteria are the duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages.

It’s essential to prove negligence for a successful personal injury claim after a car accident. In this article, we’ll explain how negligence is established in a car accident and show how a California car accident lawyer can prove they’ve occurred.

Duty of Care and How It Applies to Car Accidents

Duty of care refers to the responsibility that a party legally has toward someone else. Some examples of this specific to car accidents include:

• Other Drivers: Other drivers have a duty of care toward anyone else on the road. They uphold this duty by obeying traffic laws, such as going the speed limit and coming to a complete stop at crossing areas.
• Commercial Companies: Companies that have commercial vehicles on the road must also uphold their duty of care. They do so by ensuring that drivers are qualified when hired, are properly trained before going out on the road, and that company vehicles are safely maintained.
• Government Entities: Government entities have a duty of care to provide well-maintained roads.
• Auto Manufacturers: The makers of vehicles and vehicle parts have a duty of care toward consumers. They uphold this through thorough product testing, safe manufacturing processes, and recalling faulty products.

Breach of the Duty of Care

Your lawyer must prove that a party breached their duty of care through an action that a reasonable person would not have taken. Some examples of parties failing to uphold their legal obligations include:

Other Drivers

Another driver breaches their duty of care when they behave in a way that is unsafe. Some examples of negligent actions that can lead to accidents include:

• Texting or otherwise using a phone while driving
• Speeding
• Drinking or taking drugs before or while driving
• Eating while driving
• Failing to yield
• Trying to pass using the shoulder of the road
• Running a red light
• Tailgating
• Disobeying posted signs and signals

Commercial Companies

A commercial company may breach its duty of care through actions like:

• A trucking company forcing drivers to break federal regulations around hours of service
• A commercial company hiring a driver who is not licensed to operate the type of vehicle they’ll be driving
• A commercial company does not perform routine maintenance and safety checks on their vehicles

Government Entities

A government entity can fail the community they serve when they:

• Fail to fix large potholes after being notified about them
• Failing to put in necessary signage
• Failing to implement other safety measures

Auto and Car Part Manufacturers

Manufacturers can fail their customers when they:

• Have a flawed design process that leads to a dangerous final product
• Fail to safely manufacture a product leading to defects
• Do not recall a product that has been found defective or faulty
• Fail to issue proper safety warnings with a product

Causation Is the Link Between Their Actions and Your Injuries

While a breached duty of care is a serious lapse in judgment, it doesn’t always lead to an accident. Your attorney will have to prove that the party’s actions led to your injuries. To do so, they will investigate and gather evidence. Some examples of causation and evidence include:

• The liable driver runs a red light and T-bones your vehicle. Your lawyer finds an eyewitness whose testimony corroborates this.
• The at-fault driver is texting and rear-ends your car. Your lawyer obtains their phone records, which can prove they were on the phone at the time of the accident.
• The liable truck driver falls asleep at the wheel, causing a crash. Your lawyer is able to use black box data and a lack of skid marks on the road to support this claim.

Additional ways that your lawyer may investigate the accident include:

• Obtaining surveillance footage from security cameras, traffic cameras, and dashcams
• Reviewing police reports and other official documents
• Consulting with experts, such as accident reconstruction specialists who can use evidence to determine how an accident was most likely to have occurred

Damages From a Car Accident

Finally, as the last element to establish negligence in a car accident, your lawyer must also prove that you have direct losses due to the accident. They can prove this through evidence like:

• Medical records linking your physical injuries to the accident
• Photos from the accident scene showing property damage (such as to your vehicle) and any visible injuries you have
• Mechanic estimates for the cost to repair your vehicle
• Financial statements and pay stubs for the income you lost during recovery

What Happens Once Negligence Is Established?

Once you can prove negligence has occurred and all liable parties have been determined, you can file a claim against the party’s (or parties) insurance company (or companies).

However, your case will have a statutory deadline. For example, under CCP § 335.1, you typically have two years to file a personal injury lawsuit or wrongful death lawsuit in California. In Idaho, you also have two years, per Idaho Statutes § 5-219.

After this deadline passes, you may be ineligible to recover compensation. Investigating negligence can take time, so it’s vital for our legal team to get started as soon as possible after an accident.

Contact Sargent Law Firm Injury Lawyers to Get Started on Your Case

A lawyer does more than investigate and establish negligence. We are your advocates for fair compensation from the parties who have harmed you to cover medical bills and more. We will also protect your legal rights to compensation during communication with insurance companies and their legal teams. We handle the legal process from start to finish, including representing you in court if that is necessary.

At Sargent Law Firm Injury Lawyers, we have over 400 5-star reviews, and our client testimonials speak to how we go above and beyond for our clients. If you’ve been injured in a car accident and someone else was negligent, contact us today.

Our personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, so you only pay us when we recover compensation. Your initial consultation is cost- and obligation-free.