This is how to prove someone’s fault in personal injury accidents

This is how to prove someone’s fault in personal injury accidents

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Proving someone’s guilt in personal injury accidents can be difficult, and it is a situation where several factors can affect the case’s outcome.

The damage done to you can be severe, but the court must be particular that whoever will pay for those damages is getting a fair trial.

In the next lines, we will discuss about the factors and procedures for proving the fault of a person or group in personal injury accidents.

How to prove fault in personal injury accidents?

Whether talking about an accident or direct personal injury, the way to prove the fault is virtually the same. The point is to determine which person or people were negligent.

And this is where things start to get complicated. To determine which person or people were negligent, many different factors must be considered. Let’s discuss them.

What factors are important in trial?

There are several determining factors at play on a personal injury trial. However, many of them may not be apparent at trial.

The context of the accident or personal injury may be absent due to its complexity. A judge cannot rely solely on a single testimony to decide.

The judge and the attorneys need evidence from truthful and reliable sources. As the affected person, you must have a repertoire of evidence to achieve the best resolution of the case.

Below, we will discuss some essential personal injury accident trial elements. To have all these tools at hand, it is best to have a personal injury attorney on your side.

The witnesses 

Witnesses can help determine who is legally at fault for the personal injury, and they can provide details that are impossible to obtain in any other way.

They are crucial because of their invaluable contribution to any case and they are valuable pieces that the judge will use to make the final decision.

Policial evidence

If the police intervened at the time of the damage to your person, they should have collected some evidence. If not, they can also serve as witnesses.

However, in the vast majority of cases, especially in the case of accidents, the police should have some evidence of what happened. 

Police evidence, because it is reliable, can be instrumental in any trial. It is a valuable asset in your favor if you are the injured party.

The police report

A police report can significantly help as it has essential information about the facts that took place, and it can help construct the scene where the injury took place. Details, such as the time of the incident and the exact location, are always relevant.

Photographs

Although the police usually take images at the scene, those taken by other people are just as valid. 

Especially in accidents, images from any source will be considered to reconstruct the scene.

However, in cases of personal injury, certain types of images can also help in the resolution of the issue, for example:

• Images of the site: the scene where the events occurred is crucial and facilitates the recreation of the facts.
• Images of the elements at the scene: many features within the background can be decisive for the case’s decision.
• Images of tools: damaged tools can prove someone’s guilt or innocence.
• Images of instruments: damaged instruments (such as hospital instruments) or machines can prove someone’s guilt or innocence.
• Images of wounds: wounds related to the case help to commensurate the damage received.
• Images of damage to public or private property: if the damage was not personal, images of the damage help commensurate the damage done.
• Images of the event: if you can have pictures of how the events occurred or after the event, they will be of great help.
• Videos of the act: a video of the action is a valuable tool for determining the case’s resolution.

Photographs and videos can often be decisive factors in determining the case’s resolution. Therefore, having them is of great importance.

Expert testimony

In some cases, the opinion or testimony of experts, witnesses or not, can significantly help determine causation and fault. 

For example, in cases where a mechanic has been injured, another expert on the subject talks about the facts, the actions taken, and the steps that should have been taken.

This testimony can clarify who made a mistake or was negligent, how and on whom the blame should lie.

Visible damage

Visible and measurable damage is vital evidence in any personal injury or accident case. Images can be especially relevant for this.

Nonetheless, images are not everything. Police reports, medical reports, and insurance bills, among others, are valuable tools to commensurate the damage caused.

In addition, it is possible to measure how much the person or people at fault will have to pay.

Visualizing and analysis of the scene

Recreating the scene is crucial when determining fault, especially in the case of accidents or negligence. 

It has much to do with the available images, expert opinions, police reports, and witnesses. Together, they help recreate the scene under which the events occurred.

The case’s decision can be reached by recreating the scene in detail, ultimately resolving it.

Get to know the legal liability

Legal liability refers to the specification of the responsibility of each person at the scene. Although it depends on whether it was an accident or a direct personal injury, it is crucial.

The more reckless person must pay at least a portion of the damages caused to the more careful person.

It is usually measured based on the recklessness of the persons involved. It is important to mention that this “careless level” is regulated by US law.

• Suppose the injured person was in a place where they should not have been or where that person should have known about the type of activity that caused the accident; then the person who caused the accident may not be held liable. This is because the person who caused the accident did not owe a duty of care to the injured person.
• If the injured person was also reckless, the compensation they will receive might be reduced by the recklessness of the person responsible for the accident. It is called comparative negligence.
• If the person who acted negligently works for someone else, even if they are partly responsible, the employer may also be legally liable for the accident.
• Suppose the accident occurred on a dangerous property because of poor construction or maintenance. In that case, the person who owns the parcel might be liable for being reckless with the upkeep of their property, regardless of whether that person created the dangerous conditions that caused the accident or not.
• If a defective product caused the accident, those who manufactured or sold the product might be liable even if the injured person does not know which of the two agents was reckless in creating or allowing the defect or how the fault occurred.

Based on the facts and these rules, the legal liability of the persons involved in the case is determined.

Using negligence to prove fault

Negligence is a tort of wrongdoing that may be enforceable in a court of law. Sometimes, it is necessary to prove a person’s negligence to prove fault.

However, negligence does not refer to the term we use daily, and it is a legal term. That is, it is not that you have to prove someone’s negligence in the subjective sense of the word, but legally.

The legal term negligence refers to the failure of a person to show reasonable behavior or actions to prevent harm visible to other possible persons.

Proving the negligence of a person or institution requires a series of tests. That is, first and foremost, the following aspects must be considered.

The duty

Foremost, we need to talk about the basics. Before making a negligence claim, you must know if the defendant legally owed any care to the plaintiff.

Many times, people are legally obligated to take care of other people, such as when a doctor owes their patients the ability to give competent medical service. Or when there is a situation where a person must act reasonably.

For example, when a person remodels their home and owes the people around them a certain level of safety. Or when a person is driving a car and owes everyone on the street a certain level of care.

The duty, in short, refers to the reasonableness of people who may endanger others and themselves that they should not do so.

The duty breach

Next, the court must see if the defendant breached their duty by doing or failing to do something that a “reasonable and prudent person” would be deemed to do in similar circumstances.

Again, we are dealing with terms that have their legal meaning. What a “reasonable and prudent person” would do is a legal standard of liability for acts depending on the situation.

In practical terms, it must be shown that the accused person could have known that someone could have been injured because of his actions or inaction, and they did not act appropriately in that situation.

The cause

The third element to consider is whether the defendant’s negligence was, in fact, the cause of the damages to the plaintiff. In other words, what is their fault?

Many people may have been negligent at the time of the injury, but the point is whether such negligence was actually causative of the damages to the injured party.

It is essential, as it would be unfair to blame a nurse who was negligent in looking at the phone during surgery for malpractice on the part of the doctor.

In addition, we must consider those cases in which there are negligent persons, but the accident does not fall to someone’s fault.

That is, cases are recognized where, for example, there is negligence on the part of several drivers on the road, but that does not cause or aggravate a rock sliding into the affected person’s car.

The damage

Finally, the plaintiff must give an order where their damages are measurable. In addition, the court must be able to compensate such damages. In most cases, the compensation is monetary.

If more than one person is considered at fault

In cases where more than one person is involved and at fault, they must jointly cover the damages incurred.

The people who performed the reckless or negligent action must agree to pay.

The advantage is that if one person is insured to pay but not another, the first person must pay in full.

All those involved should be notified that they may have to compensate the person or people affected.

Comparative negligence

If you are somewhat at fault for what happened, either through recklessness or negligence, the court will compare to see how much both parties should be compensated.

Even if you are affected by the facts, if you are at fault, you must compensate the other person for what happened. 

The comparison is made on a percentage basis. Both parties’ degree of recklessness or negligence is measured, and a final tally is given.

Do you need an attorney? Call us!

In case of having to deal with a personal injury, Kannan Law is ready to help. We practice personal injury law and will be happy to guide you through your case. Contact us!