Auto accident claims are one of the leading sources of personal injury cases in the United States legal system.
Roughly half of all car accidents result in claims and a considerable number of those become lawsuits.
With over 300 million cars on the road and six million accidents a year, auto accident claims tallied up
to 3.3 million last year.
The vast majority of injuries in auto accidents are head and neck injuries, and they're as expensive (or more) as the vehicular damage claims.
While more than 85% of all car accident injuries are conducive to therapy and treatment, they still alter the victims' lives considerably.
In any accident with even minor injuries, medical professionals should be consulted ASAP!
The main legal principle governing fault in car accidents is negligence.
Negligence works on the presumption that all motor vehicle operators are taking due caution while driving and have awareness of laws needed for public safety. If not, the driver is said to be negligent. The majority of car accident cases are ruled against the negligent driver.
That being said, some auto accident claims are ruled to be joint fault accidents, and even the not-at-fault driver can be held liable for anything said or done after the accident has occurred.
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If you're involved in a car accident, remember the following:
- 1) Only give general information – your driver's license information, your insurance agent contact, and anything required by a law enforcement or medical professional to ensure that the situation is safe.
- 2) Do not confront the other party of the accident in an emotional or hostile fashion. Even if you aren't at fault, you can still prejudice any auto accident claim by your actions AFTER the accident.
To prove fault in an auto accident claim, the plaintiff has to show that their damages were the result of the other driver's negligence. This can make auto injury claims tricky in cases where an accident is ruled to have multiple causative factors. (If police were called and a car accident report was made it will likely carry a lot of weight in settlement negotiations.)
A good predictor of negligent driving is prior driving history – drivers who have records of moving violations, running traffic lights, and failing to signal have a lot of prejudicial weight against them.
Drivers under the influence of alcohol or other drugs that can impair awareness, reaction time, or judgment are usually found to be at fault in a car accident lawsuit.
A very small number of auto accident claims are ruled to be no-fault claims. These occur when the cause of the accident is ruled to be a structural fault in the road, automobile, or manufacturer. These types of car accidents often get aggregated into class action lawsuits.
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The stories and situations mentioned on this blog are for informational purposes only. The Burnett Law Firm does not claim to represent any party referenced in this post. This blog exists to raise public awareness of the very real dangers we face every day and to serve as a central location where information and opinions can be exchanged with regard to the way that the situations mentioned on this site are impacted by existing legal statutes.
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