Reasons Why You Could Have an Injury Liability Claim in a Car Wreck
It’s virtually inevitable that most of us will probably be involved in a car accident on some unfortunate day. How can we tell whether or not we have a successful personal injury case against a negligent driver who should reimburse us for our injuries? Most of the time, a car wreck victim has a legal right to collect money for injuries by proving the four elements of an accident claim in court. Because all defendants are innocent until proven guilty, the burden to you, the injured plaintiff, is to prove the defendants in any insurance claim or civil lawsuit owe you these damages. All the defendants must do is deny your claim and tell you to “prove it.” Then, if your evidence isn’t strong enough to do that, they win, and you don’t collect. More on this website
There are four elements to proving injuries against a defendant. You must clearly and in succession demonstrate each of your charges is true. They are duty, breach, causation, and damages. Below is a brief discussion of each of these four elements. They should give you a clearer idea of what it will take to prove that you’re entitled to compensation for your injuries.
Defendants Owe You a Duty of Care
You begin by clearly establishing the duty of care that the defendant owed you because we are all required to exercise an acceptable level of caution to ensure we do not harm others. Texas Civil Law establishes the various levels surrounding the duty of care that a person or organization owes to another. This depends on the circumstances of the accident and the relationship of the parties involved at the time the wreck or accident occurs. Proving the defendant in your case owed you at least some duty of care will probably be pretty simple since virtually all drivers in Texas owe each other the duty to drive as a reasonable person would keep others safe. Unless there are unusual circumstances, the chances are that a general “reasonable person standard” applies to the defendant (or defendants) in your case. Though some personal injury cases can have duties of care that may be open to a certain amount of interpretation, auto accidents usually have a clear-cut duty of care which falls somewhere in the middle of the road on the duty of care grid.
For any questions, feel free to call the Carabin Shaw Law Firm in San Antonio
Proving that the Defendant Breached Duty of Care
In the next step, you (and your local car wreck attorney) must establish how the defendant breached that duty. In most personal injury cases surrounding auto accidents, plaintiffs and their attorneys must clearly show that the defendant drove in a way that a reasonable person would not have driven at the time of the wreck. Suppose your defendant drove unreasonably only for the moments immediately following your car’s wreck. In that case, he or she can be held legally responsible for any consequences that resulted from those negligent actions that seriously injured you. Proving the defendant breached the duty of care is typically one where you and your attorney present evidence to the court to remove any doubt about what the defendant did (or failed to do) that caused the car wreck. Now, suppose your case goes to trial. In that case, the jurors will consider your breach of duty evidence and additional evidence that clearly illustrates the defendant’s actions or intent at the time of the wreck. Then during their deliberations, they will rule the defendant behaved either reasonably or unreasonably. Inattentive behavior, like talking or texting on a mobile device, or offenses such as speeding recklessly, driving at night without headlights, running through red lights, driving while intoxicated, and more, can constitute a legitimate breach of the defendant’s duty of care. The defendant may not have been legally charged for these offenses in criminal court. Even if they evade moving violation charges in criminal court, avoiding a guilty verdict for the same behavior in civil court is altogether different. Some defendants’ actions might even support charges of willful intent to their breach of duty, which usually fortifies your case.
