Being involved in a car accident is far from the ideal situation, and in many cases it can result in injuries due to the impact. While there are cases in which "freak accidents" occur in which there is no one at fault for the accident, in many situations these accidents are caused by negligent or otherwise careless, drivers. One of the most difficult aspects of the accident following your injury, has to deal with the process of proving fault or "negligence" for the driver responsible. Negligence is defined as being a person who fails to do what is right (or legal in this case) and therefore places others at risk because of their lack of following their duty.
Whether you were recently involved in a car or motorcycle accident, proving fault is a huge part of the legal process to make sure that you receive both the compensation and damage coverage that you deserve from the accident. When you are involved in a car accident that resulted in any form of injury, be sure to contact a personal injury or car accident attorney in your area as soon as possible. They will be able to walk you through every step of the process, helping you fight for what is rightfully yours.
When trying to address or prove the negligence of another driver, there are a few factors you want to take into consideration. First off, after any car accident filing a police report is crucial. Especially in the event that there is an injury, you want to make sure you get your local law enforcement or highway patrol officer to the scene to document what occurred and get official reports from everyone involved. A police report is going to be helpful when seeing to prove negligence, as the police report can't change stories down the road.
The police report will also acknowledge if there was someone breaking the law while in the accident. For example, if a driver was texting and the accident occurred as a direct result of them running the red light, the police report will take note of that and handle the subsequent traffic violations, etc. These reports are critical for proving negligence. Another important factor to consider when trying determining fault is simply whether or not the other driver(s) involved were abiding by the rules of the road. Was the a construction sign warning people to slow down in the area, or did they fail to give the right of way before making a left turn? These small details can play a huge role, so take close note of these many factors.
There is a category called "no fault liability" and essentially this means that there are certain traffic accidents that occur that can basically not be your fault, no matter what. 99% of these types of car accidents are the fault of the other driver and therefore it can be safe to assume that the instance companies won't try to prove otherwise. For example, if you are on the freeway and you are rear ended, in almost all cases it is the driver in the back's fault. No matter the reasoning for your car stopping, the driver will have to assume liability because they were likely too close to your car in front of them, or they were otherwise not assessing the road before them properly.
It is important to know that there are events for which you can lose the ability to fight for compensation for the accident. Perhaps your tail lights were out and the car behind you had no idea you were slamming on your breaks, this would be called "comparative negligence" meaning that you share some of the fault for the accident. Also, if the car behind you forced you to slam into another vehicle, you may face responsibility for that car ahead of you. These specific details can be worked through with your car accident attorney who specifically understands your unique circumstance.
Lastly, left turn accidents are quite common so it is important to realize the various causes and who is liable for what. In the majority of left turn accidents the car turning is usually considered to be at fault because it was their responsibility to yield the turn. However there are a couple exceptions that can prove the fault to actually lie with the driver going straight. For example if they went through a red light and hit you or if they were speeding which caused them to crash into you. Overall, when seeking to prove liability or fault with an accident, in most cases a quick observation of the damages on the car can often point you in the right direction for who is responsible.