The term “car accident negligence” is a specific legal term used to describe who may be at fault in a car accident or collision. It’s a term that is often Googled since there are different forms of negligence and how it may affect your insurance claim.
The truth is that negligence is a tricky subject, and we will help you to understand how it applies to laws and courts within this article.
If you have been caught in a car accident that was not your fault, our sympathy is with you. The shock and frustration that come with suffering injury or damages from someone else’s carelessness may feel overwhelming.
A list of subtopics and summaries about this article are provided below, however, most people will consult an attorney to determine if negligence may be a factor in their case.
What is Car Accident Negligence?
What is Considered Reasonable Care?
Proving Negligence in a Car Accident
We hope you find this article helpful. We understand that when you go to great lengths to follow traffic laws and be a responsible driver, you naturally assume that others on the road are doing the same. However, it only takes one individual’s irresponsibility to render your caution useless. If you would like to learn more about what you can do to protect your claim, call the attorneys at The Flood Law Firm today.
A failure to behave with the level of care that someone of ordinary prudence would have exercised under the same circumstances. The behavior usually consists of actions, but can also consist of omissions when there is some duty to act (e.g., a duty to help victims of one’s previous conduct).
Negligence is a legal term that is common to personal injury or wrongful death cases. At its most basic level, negligence involves the following:
Defining what a reasonable person may have done to prevent an accident is key to determining negligence. The theory of negligence is that even though a person may have unintentionally caused a collision, the person’s carelessness may have caused injury to someone else’s health or property.
4 Common Examples of Negligent Driving
In the following two scenarios, each driver may be guilty of negligence.
Negligence is the cause of a traffic collision in 90% of the cases we handle. A driver is speeding, texting, using their iPhone, or worse they are under the influence, and those of us who are obeying the laws often are hurt, and we are the victims. That is where our legal team comes in, and we aggressively represent our clients to the fullest extent of the law. – Chris Flood, Partner
Negligence is not entirely clear-cut as it is. Multiple drivers involved in one accident may each have acted with a certain amount of negligence. In these cases, the court will examine comparative or contributory negligence on the part of each driver and determine who was most at fault. The state of Connecticut no longer uses contributory negligence. Instead, Connecticut employs a modified comparative negligence law. The two types of negligence are discussed below:
As indicated above, Connecticut employs a modified comparative negligence law. This means that a plaintiff in a car accident lawsuit is entitled to financial compensation only if he or she is found less than 51% at fault in the accident. If a plaintiff played a big part in the car accident, his/her financial damages are decreased proportionately.
4 Common Examples of Plaintiff Negligence
Road rage provides a perfect example of when comparative or contributory negligence comes into play. Many traffic courts have encountered a case where a driver was annoyed by a tailgater and decided to slam on their brakes, resulting in a rear-end collision.
In Connecticut, even though the tailgater may be considered the instigator of the problem, the driver who hit their brakes may be considered partially at fault. It would be up to the court to determine if there was comparative negligence and to also determine the percentage of liability (or fault) applied to each person in the car accident.
Reasonable care while driving a car means the driver acts cautiously, not recklessly nor breaking the law, as with speeding. To drive with reasonable care in the case where a heavy downpour of rain affects driving conditions, a driver is expected to reduce his/her driving speed substantially below the speed limit.
Other examples of failure to exercise reasonable care include the following:
There are circumstances where the failure to exercise reasonable care involves a driver technically following the law. If a driver follows the speed limit of 55 miles per hour but the visibility is poor due to fog or the road is iced over, reasonable care would constitute driving at a reduced speed.
Weather in Connecticut often influences driving conditions and at times, going the speed limit could be considered reckless. A driver is likely to be found guilty of negligence in an inclement weather situation if he/she may cause a car crash.
Less commonly, another instance where a driver is expected to exercise reasonable care concerns the driver’s medical history. If a driver has a medical history that suggests it may be unsafe for them to drive or fails to take a prescription or other medical precautions needed before getting behind the wheel, they may also be found guilty of negligence.
When you sue for negligence in a car accident case, there are four elements that most often must be proved for you to receive compensation:
In addition to proving your case, the amount of compensation awarded in a negligence car accident depends largely on proving that liability, or fault, lies with the other driver. In Connecticut, if a plaintiff played a part in the car wreck, his/her financial damages are decreased proportionately.
When you are the victim, you are trying to get your life back to normal. Make sure you protect your rights to fair compensation for recovery. Review our checklist on what to do if you’ve been in a car or truck accident.
Your life should not have to go “on hold” because of someone else’s irresponsible driving. If you have suffered injury from a car accident, you may be entitled to financial compensation to cover your medical bills, vehicle repairs, and the wages you have lost while taking time off work to recover.
Let our experienced car accident attorneys fight for your right to justice. Call the office of The Flood Law Firm for a free, no-obligation consultation about your legal options.