Car accidents are the leading cause of injuries and death in the United States. Over 40,000 deaths and close to 5 million injuries were reported in 2020.
Car accidents in the country are caused by several factors. One of the most common causes of road accidents is distracted driving. The driver gets too distracted and fails to look at what is going on along the road. Distracted driving can cause a rear-end or a head-on collision, or the driver could run over a person or an animal. Drivers get distracted while eating, texting, answering a phone call, talking to passengers, or concentrating on something not on the road.
Other causes of road accidents include driving under the influence, speeding, reckless driving, inexperienced driving, and bad weather conditions.
Types of Car Accident Injuries
A car accident can make you sustain serious injuries or cause another person pain and suffering. Common car accident injuries include burns, back injuries, fractures, broken bones, scars, and bruises.
Other common injuries include head injuries, soft tissue injury, neck injury, head injury, shoulder injury, damage to the spinal cord, and internal injuries.
Victims of a car accident could also have post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries due to the severity.
It is vital to point out the person at fault during a car accident. The driver who caused the accident is liable for any damages incurred to their victims.
What Is Fault?
Being at fault during a car accident makes you a negligent driver. Negligence means that you did or failed to do something that led to another person’s harm or demise. For instance, when you speed, run a red light, fail to stop for a pedestrian, or forget to use the headlights while driving during the night, you are being negligent. You must be reasonably careful on the road to avoid hurting other people.
Most states across the country follow a “fault” system when determining who is responsible for the damages incurred during an accident. You are said to be at fault when you cause a car accident. Your insurance company will be tasked with paying for any losses from anyone harmed.
The damages that your company would have to pay for include medical bills, vehicle repairs, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Payment of such will prompt your car insurance company to increase your premium by about 41 percent.
How To Prove Fault After a Car Accident
Proving who was at fault after an accident helps distinguish between the victim and the perpetrator. It assists the insurance companies in determining who gets the payout after a car crash.
The characteristics of an at-fault driver might vary from one state to another. The methods of determining who is at fault are similar across the country. Some of the methods of determining fault include;
- The police report taken at the scene could determine who violated a traffic law and caused the accident.
- Take pictures of the damage to your motor vehicle before moving it.
- Get a detailed written description of what occurred from unbiased witnesses.
- You and the other driver could also mutually agree on who is at fault.
In some cases, such as rear-end collisions and left-turn accidents, fault automatically lands on the driver who rammed into the car. Such incidences do not require further investigation to get who is responsible for the damage.
Related Article: What you need to know about hiring auto injury lawyers
Financial Responsibilities in a Car Accident
Most states require vehicle owners to have auto liability insurance coverage. An individual or company needs to show that they can cater for any damages after an accident regardless of whether they are at fault. It is per the financial responsibility law that requires an individual or company to prove that they can deal with damages from car crashes. The law is made up of a variety of statutes that vary from state to state.
Your type of insurance cover will dictate the amount of coverage you acquire when you are at fault. Keep in mind that car insurance requirements vary by state. Contact your agent in Pennsylvania to understand the laws before filing an at-fault insurance claim.
You can use a collision insurance cover to cater for car damage after an accident. A bodily injury liability coverage will cover the medical bills that arise from other injuries such as broken ribs and chest injuries.
In some cases, the second party could have also contributed to the road accident. The contribution of the victim to the accident can affect the amount of compensation they receive. Both parties could also be considered equally at fault in some scenarios therefore no compensation is issued.
The instance of both parties having a role to play in the occurrence of an accident is known as a shared fault. An insurance company applies the rules of shared fault when making settlement offers to the accident victims.
State laws dictate the impact of shared fault on each party. Some states apply pure comparative fault rules where the at-fault party can acquire compensation from other parties involved. The percentage of the money collected should be equivalent to the other party’s share of fault. For instance, if you are 80 percent responsible for the accident, you can collect 20 percent of the damages from the other party.
Modified comparative fault involves the collection of damages from parties with up to 50 percent responsibility for the car accident. States practicing this law allow people with less than 50 percent responsibility to collect compensation from their counterparts.
Other states practice contributory negligence, where compensation is not issued to a person sharing any amount of blame for an accident.
Contact A Personal Injury Attorney in Pittsburgh
You should hire a competent personal injury attorney to take you through the process of claiming compensation for car accidents. You should also find a great law firm with a good attorney-client relationship.
Pittsburgh Medical Malpractice Attorneys is a team of experienced lawyers who have been helping locals for over 25 years. Our world-class team will take you through the entire legal process involving your claim after a car crash.
Contact us to get a free consultation and get more information concerning the financial responsibilities after a car accident. You can also visit us at our office at 7300 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15208. You can call us on (412) 291-3977 to schedule an appointment today.
