Auto negligence is an important concept in many — if not most — motor vehicle accident claims. It deals with two key issues that must be proven in order for you to recover compensation for your injuries: the issues of liability and damages.
What is Auto Negligence?
Simply put, auto negligence is a claim to establish liability by another party for causing or contributing to the cause of a motor vehicle accident. Negligence requires proof of a breach of the duty of reasonable care, which means showing that the responsible party did not act as a reasonable person would have acted under the circumstances.
Failing to stop, speeding, or driving recklessly in disregard of the law are all examples of auto negligence, but negligence also requires proof of causation — that the party’s actions directly caused the victim’s damages, which include personal injuries and other financial losses suffered as a result of the crash.
How is Liability Proven in an Auto Negligence Case?
In order to prove liability by the other party, you need to prove that they owed you a duty of reasonable care. This is essentially the duty to drive and use the roads safely. You need to prove that they breached their duty to you by in fact causing the accident and that as a result of the breach, you suffered damages. You will also need to prove proximate cause: that the party responsible should have foreseen the potentially harmful effects of their actions.
Generally speaking, drivers and anyone else using the road have a responsibility to make sure their actions do not place others in danger or cause harm. There are many examples where that responsibility may be breached, such as not obeying traffic signs or signals, ignoring the rules of the road, driving distracted, or even driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
It is important to note that under some circumstances, multiple parties may be liable for auto negligence. For example, it’s possible that two or more drivers both drive negligently, converging to cause an accident and cause harm to a third party who is not at fault. It is also possible that both the driver and their employer may be liable for damages caused to a third party, such as during a truck accident.
In some circumstances, even the victim of the accident may be partially at fault. Under the law of contributory negligence, in those cases, the victim may still recover compensation for their injuries, but they may be limited by the percentage of liability that can be attributed to the victim’s actions. For example, if the other driver is mainly responsible for the accident because they were ignoring road signs, but the victim is partly responsible because they were going slightly over the speed limit, then the victim’s partial liability may result in a reduction of damages.
How are Damages Proven in an Auto Negligence Case?
There are several types of damages — both out-of-pocket costs and general damages — that you may seek in an auto negligence case. The following are just some examples:
- Bills for medical treatments and imaging
- Invoices for any hospital stays
- Invoices for doctor and specialist visits
- The cost of prescription medications
- Wages or income you’ve lost as a result of not being able to work
- Your pain and suffering
- Your mental anguish and psychological trauma
- The loss of activities you can no longer enjoy
- The decline in your quality of life, generally
To prove your damages, you will need to carefully assess and ascertain the full value of the financial losses you have incurred. You will need to maintain meticulous records, including any bills or invoices you receive that show the extent of your financial losses. You’ll need to keep employment records that show loss of income, as well.
You should also keep a journal of your symptoms, noting your pain levels, adjustments to your daily life, and activities in which you are no longer able to partake as a result of your injuries. An experienced lawyer can be invaluable in this step, as they will understand the various types of damages available and help secure the evidence needed to prove them.
How Can Derek Wilson Personal Injury Law Help After an Auto Accident?
A knowledgeable auto negligence lawyer can be invaluable to your car accident claim. Insurance companies seek to minimize payout and keep costs as low as possible, and they often have significant financial and legal resources on their side.
We can help even out the playing field. Derek Wilson Personal Injury Law will negotiate with the insurance company and the parties responsible, handling all communications and striving for a fair and reasonable offer of settlement. We will file your claim in the appropriate court, preserve important evidence, and prepare a strong case to present on your behalf.
At Derek Wilson Personal Injury Law, we have decades of experience working on personal injury accident claims and pride ourselves on doing our best for our clients. We have handled numerous claims involving motor vehicle accidents, and we work hard to secure a fair and reasonable settlement or judgment for our clients. For a free consultation with Ontario auto negligence lawyer Derek Wilson, call us at 855-769-0418 or fill out an online request form.
