Do You have a Legal Damage Claim as a Result of Your Automobile Accident?

Auto accidents are a common occurrence. How do we know whether or not we have a valid personal injury case against a negligent driver who should reimburse us for our injuries? Most of the time, an accident victim has a legal right to collect money for his injuries by proving the four elements of an auto accident claim in court. Since all defendants are innocent until proven guilty, the burden to you, the injured plaintiff, is to prove you are owed these damages by the defendants, who only have to deny and disprove your claim. More on this website

There are four elements to proving negligent injuries against a defendant, and you must clearly demonstrate your charges are true within these elements. They are presented sequentially and build on the previous evidence. These elements are duty, breach, causation, and damages. Below, we’ll briefly discuss each of these four elements so that you can better understand what it will take to prove that you’re entitled to be compensated for the full amount of your legal damages.

Duty
The route to a successful car accident claim begins with your attorney proving that the defendant owed you a duty of care. We all have a duty of care to avoid causing injury to another person. This duty of care is defined by whether a reasonable person, under the same circumstances, could have anticipated that their action or inaction would have caused injury to another person. Sometimes a duty of care is clear. One example of the legal duty required in all drivers is: At a red light, you must stop because a reasonable person in the same circumstances could see that not stopping at the red light could cause an injury. However, at other times the duty can be more difficult to identify because it can depend on mitigating or unforeseen circumstances surrounding the accident itself.

Breach
The next step is proving that the defendant breached the duty of care that is owed to you. To prove this, you have to show that the defendant acted unreasonably under the circumstances clearly. To prove that the defendant breached a duty of care, you and your car accident attorney must present solid evidence to show exactly what the other driver did or did not do to cause the accident. A jury will hear this evidence and the other facts of the case to decide whether the defendant’s actions were or were not appropriate under the circumstances. Some examples of behavior that might be considered unreasonable include driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, rolling through stop signs or driving without headlights in the dark. Of course, these examples depend on the circumstances surrounding the car wreck. If you can prove that the other driver acted unreasonably under the circumstances, you have shown the jury that the defendant breached his duty of care. Next, move on to proving the driver’s negligence.

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Causation
Once you show that the defendant breached their duty of care, you must prove causation. This means that the breach by the defendant was the direct cause of the accident that produced your injuries. The best route is proving negligence. Many times, to avoid liability for your injuries, the defendant’s lawyer will work to shift the responsibility of the accident to someone else. The defense will try to blame another driver, a pedestrian, or even you to get out of paying for your damages. They might claim “unforeseeable circumstances,” such as a homeless person stepping in their path and forcing them to hit you, their toddler threw a bottle of apple juice at them which caused the accident or their headlights suddenly stopping working because of a blown a fuse. Maybe it happened, maybe it didn’t. If the defendant can convince the jury that unforeseen events or a third party caused the accident, he will probably not have to compensate you for your damages. To prove causation (negligence), your evidence must clearly show that the careless driver responsible for the accident and your injuries is liable for legal damages. And this often involves disproving their explanations, no matter how illogical or ridiculous they might appear.

Damages
Now that you’ve proven the negligent defendant caused the breach of the duty of care he owed you while he was behind the wheel and is the cause of your car wreck injuries, it’s now time to hand him or her the bill in court in the form of damages. “Damages” are the total amount the defendant owes you for your injuries. They can include every penny of your current and future medical expenses, current and future lost wages due to disability from the accident, your pain and suffering and property damage as a result of the negligent accident. You will need to prove to the jury that the injuries the defendant caused are fair and specific. In order to prove the damages you sustained, you have to show the court evidence of your losses as a result of the injuries caused by the defendant.

While you and your accident attorney are busy coming up with the right damage amount, the defendants are also working on the very same task, totaling up their anticipated losses from a guilty verdict. Damage amounts are usually the most contentious issue in a car accident case. Defendants calculate how much they think they owe accident victims just in case the jury finds them guilty. And they often claim that they owe you much less than you’re asking. They will try to justify their position by accusing you of asking for an excessive amount. They’ll also probably accuse you of filing a frivolous lawsuit, which is a pretty popular claim with defendants and their attorneys. Nevertheless, you must clearly show the jury that your requested damage amount is realistic and proportional to the true harm done to you and any passengers in your vehicle. This is usually the last stand a negligent defendant makes. So, finish your case strongly and clearly and account for your losses and the sum total of your damages.

Determining the full amount of damages is as important as the other three burdens of proof since you have only one shot to receive damages from any single negligent defendant. There are no do-overs. Computing damages is quite a chore without a personal injury attorney who knows the value of your losses and how to calculate them effectively. How do you put a price tag on an intangible loss such as pain and suffering or that of your child if one was injured? In calculating the loss of earning capacity if you are disabled, how do you account for hypothetical raises and promotions you would have earned had you continued to work, or gotten a promotion, or were hired away by another company at double your current salary? How can you figure out how much all of your medical bills will amount to if your treatment is not yet complete, and your doctor can’t tell how long it will last? The lawyers at our Law Offices know how to account for and calculate every one of your damages, and make certain that you recover as much as possible for your injuries.

The time after a car accident is often stressful and confusing to the victims. Don’t add to the stress and confusion by letting an inexperienced attorney handle your case or represent yourself when you are clearly unqualified to look out for your or your family’s best interests. We are uniquely qualified and fully prepared to get you the best results possible. If you or someone you know were injured in a car accident, contact an attorney at our Law Offices today at 1(800) 862-1260 (toll-free) for a free consultation and find out how we can help you.