If you have been injured in a car accident, you may wonder how you will be able to handle the expenses related to your injury or how to make up for lost wages when you cannot work. You may think that your actions contributed somewhat to the accident, but feel that the other driver was more at-fault and believe that you deserve compensation for their negligence in order to get your life back on track.
All drivers have a duty of care, which is an obligation to avoid injuring someone or placing them in a dangerous situation. The ‘duty’ of all drivers is to obey the rules of the road and to exercise common sense. A car accident involving another vehicle, a pedestrian or a bicyclist that results from a breach of this duty will typically result in a finding of negligence.
Determining whether someone has breached their duty of care when driving is fairly straight-forward. If there are speed limits posted, then exceeding that limit is a violation of the established rules of the road. If the roads are icy and a motorist does not adjust his or her driving for the potentially dangerous conditions, that runs counter to how a ‘reasonable person would act’ showing a lack of common sense.
Sometimes accidents result when both parties failed to uphold their duty of care to some degree. Did driving at a high rate of speed on a crowded city street cause the motorist to strike the pedestrian or was the pedestrian at fault for jay-walking? Did running the red light cause the accident at an intersection or was the other motorist turning left to clear an intersection after they, too, had a red light? Sometimes determining causation is not ‘all-or-nothing’ but a calculation of how each person’s negligence contributed to an accident, and therefore how much each person should be liable for resulting injuries or damages.
When we talk about damages, we are referring to a monetary figure to compensate an accident victim for physical and emotional injuries, property damage, and often times lost income. If a motorist breaches their duty of care they, along with their insurance carrier, will be responsible for the injuries, pain and suffering and lost wages of the injured party to the extent that their actions caused the accident. If the negligent motorist was driving in a work capacity when the accident occurred, a third party may also be subject to consequences.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, you may be entitled to financial compensation for your medical expenses, income loss, pain and suffering, and other damages. If the injury resulted in death at the hands of a negligent driver, you may file a wrongful death claim on behalf of your family member. Contact the personal injury law offices of McDonald, Woodward & Carlson for help with an injury accident.