Almost everyone will experience a car accident at some point in their life. Fortunately, in most instances, said mishaps will be minor and not lead to any significant injuries or property damage.
That said, a small percentage of automobile collisions precipitate potentially serious injuries and extensive destruction. Fortunately, victims of such incidents may be entitled to compensation. However, such positive outcomes often hinge on the skills and experience of a car accident lawyer.
Personal Injury Law Overview
Civil law is the branch of jurisprudence enabling individuals to seek restitution from individuals for perceived reckless or negligible acts. One such facet is personal injury law. Automobile accidents are one of many personal injury case categories.
The Importance Of Hiring An Accident Lawyer
In the days following a traffic mishap, insurance and legal officials implore victims to seek counsel from a car accident lawyer. Said professional can perform pertinent tasks such as:
Assessing The Case’s Validity
Mere involvement in a dustup does not entitle one to compensation. A reputable accident lawyer will review the facts surrounding the case and offer a potential client an honest assessment regarding the chances of yielding a favorable outcome.
Formulating An Argument
Should the victim’s case be valid, a skilled personal injury attorney will strategize an argument by performing chores like recreating the events leading up to the incident, investigating the crime scene, reviewing incident reports authored by law enforcement agencies and traffic engineers, interviewing eyewitnesses, researching the defendant’s criminal and driving histories, and procuring the plaintiff’s medical records.
Proving Fault
Arguably, the most critical aspect of a car accident proceeding centers around proving fault. Ruling entities such as juries or judges seldom find one accident party either completely at fault or innocent. That said, the percentage of responsibility assigned to the plaintiff typically determines how much, if any, compensation said individual will receive.
Each state’s civil code governs how fault is to be determined in personal injury cases. Usually, one of three philosophies are followed, pure comparative negligence, modified comparative negligence, or contributory negligence.
Pure Comparative Negligence
This mandate enables plaintiffs to recover damages even if a judge or jury finds they were as much as 99 percent to blame.
Modified Comparative Negligence
States adhering to this legal concept allow plaintiffs to recoup compensation provided the presiding authority determines said entities were no more than 50 at fault. Those found 51 percent or more to blame are barred from recovering compensation.
Contributory Negligence
Locations following this fundamental prohibit plaintiffs from being awarded damages if they are assigned any blame whatsoever.
Personal Injury Principles
In addition to satisfactorily demonstrating fault on the defendant’s part, plaintiff and accident lawyer must also illustrate the following events occurred, the defendant’s actions were irresponsible or malfeasant, such actions resulted in the automobile mishap, the injuries incurred by the plaintiff are related to the incident and no other health problem or injury, and that associated damages are solely related to those injuries.
D.R. Patti & Associates
720 S. 7th Street, 3rd Floor Las Vegas, Nevada 89101
(702) 331-3391
