Auto Accident: Who To Blame?

When there is a car accident, it is important to find out who is at fault. Well, finding out who is at fault is not very difficulty. However, the process does entail a lot of discovery and preparation. Thus, accident investigations are meant to tease out the facts as well as understand any negligence that could be present. Negligence on a certain driver’s part is usually translated to fault.

Unless you reside in a no-fault state, the burden of pointing out the negligent party lies on the insurance company. This must be established before the insurance company pays for any damage as may be covered under the car policy. This means the insurance companies have to use the four elements of negligence: duty, breach, causation and damages. For a party to be considered the one at fault, these elements must be present.

Here are the usual steps taken by an insurance company and its client to determine auto fault:

1. Review the driver duty. Any person behind the wheel has driver duties. This applies to anyone, even if the person is under-aged or does not have a license. The law places affirmative duties to each driver involved in the accident. Typically, the duties are “look out, avoidance, and obey the rules of the road”.

2. Find out whether the driver violated any of the duties. This step includes the interviews with both drivers. The aim of the interviews is to establish whether the drivers followed the rules of the road and paid attention to the situation. 

3. Figure out of the drivers attempted to avoid getting into the car accident. As such, the driver must have attempted to avoid the accident. Although the other car might be in the wrong, the other driver has no right to hit his car.

4. Find out if both drivers know and understand “the rules of the road”. Both drivers have to be in complete compliance with the traffic rules in effect on the road where the accident took place. This is important as traffic codes vary from place to place. 

5. Single out the duties that the driver may have violated. The duties violated should be laid out and the most substantial should be picked. The same holds true even if the driver is alone at the time of the accident. 

6. Establish a cause and effect relationship between the damage done and the breached duty.

7. Figure out the amount of damages. Damages may take the form of injuries to persons and damage to property. The party not at fault should hold proof that the car accident led to the injury he is claiming. 

Therefore, a personal injury lawyer in the Bronx should understand the injury claim in Washington Heights or in whichever place the car accident claim is in New York if the same lawyer wants to establish the party at fault. Additionally, an expert vehicle accident lawyer in Upper Manhattan should carefully study the duties that were violated before attempting to defend a client. So, if you need help or you simply want more information about auto fault legal help, you may want to visit NYC accident attorney blogs that can offer great insights into the subject.

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