A car accident is one of the worst ordeals you’ll ever have to deal with. Even if you didn’t sustain any serious injuries or injuries at all, dealing with insurance companies and the other people involved can be tedious to no end. One of the hardest parts, however, is proving fault in an accident.
If you want to make a claim to get compensated for an accident that wasn’t your fault, you have to prove that it wasn’t your fault. There are a lot of factors to consider in this endeavor, so it’s best to be prepared. Learn everything you need to know about proving fault in an accident.
Who’s Legally Liable?
Legal liability for an accident predominately abides by a simple rule of thumb. If one person was more careless than the other in an accident, the more careless person has to pay. The amount of damages compensated by the more careless person varies from case to case, but that’s the general idea.
Several other factors come into play as well when determining legal liability. Fault can be directed towards parties who weren’t directly involved in the accident such as an employer whose employee crashed while making a work call or a property owner whose poorly constructed property caused an accident.
Liability Among Multiple Parties
In some cases, there are more than two parties involved in an accident. Even if multiple parties are at fault, you can only receive compensation from one should your claim be successful. While this may seem like a downside at first, there are actually a few advantages when multiple people are at fault.
Typically, you’re entitled compensation for the entire cost of your injuries when there’s more than one liable party. The responsible parties can decide among themselves which one should compensate you but remember you can only collect from one. However, you now have options. If one of the responsible parties doesn’t have insurance, you can always turn to the person that does to ensure you get what you’re owed.
What if You’re Careless?
Even if you were careless leading up to your accident, you may still be entitled to benefits. All that matters is whether or not the other party in the accident was more careless than you. If you’re able to prove that, the damages they have to pay to you will represent the percentage of liability they’re responsible for.
Imagine you’re going slightly over the speed limit in a residential neighborhood and a kid chases a ball that rolled in front of you causing you to slam the brakes. The driver following you isn’t able to stop in time and hits you. While they should have maintained a safe distance, you still should have been going slow enough to stop without slamming your brakes since you were in a residential neighborhood. While that won’t ruin your claim, you probably will only get a percentage of your medical bills covered by the other driver.
Alabama Personal Injury Lawyer
Proving fault in an accident is incredibly tough especially considering all the factors that go into determining how much you’ll be compensated. If you want results you can count on, you’ll need a dependable personal injury lawyer. Andy Citrin Personal Injury Attorneys is happy to help. Our experienced professionals have a nearly 30-year long history of successes all across Alabama. Contact us today for a free consultation. Remember, if we don’t win, you don’t owe us a thing.
Andy is the owner and CEO of Citrin Law Firm, P.C. He founded the firm in 1995 with the goal of helping injured people put their lives back together. His passion for protecting injured people has only grown since he opened the doors of Andy Citrin Injury Attorneys, and he has a history of winning numerous multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements for his clients.