Car accidents give rise to the majority of personal injury claims in the U.S. and some accidents result in serious criminal charges. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 5,615,000 police reported car crashes in 2012,
Legal claims arising from motor vehicle accidents are typically governed by the law of negligence. Generally, people who operate automobiles must exercise “reasonable care under the circumstances.” A failure to use reasonable care is considered negligence. A person who negligently operates a vehicle may be required to pay for any damages, either to a person or property, caused by his or her negligence. The injured party, known as the plaintiff, is required to prove that the defendant was negligent, that the negligence was a proximate cause of the accident, and that the accident caused the plaintiff’s injuries.
As with other types of accidents, figuring out who is at fault in a traffic accident is a matter of deciding who was negligent. In many cases, your instincts will tell you that a driver, cyclist or pedestrian acted carelessly, but not what rule or rules that person violated. An attorney will look to a number of sources to help you determine who was at fault for your accident, such as police reports, state traffic laws, and witnesses.
Courts look to a number of factors in determining whether a driver was negligent. Some of these factors include, but aren’t limited to, the following: 1) Disobeying traffic signs or signals, 2) Failing to signal while turning, 3) Driving above or below the posted speed limit, 4) Disregarding weather or traffic conditions or 5) Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
A driver may be liable for an accident due to his or her intentional or reckless conduct. A driver who is reckless is one who drives unsafely, with clear disregard for the probability that such driving may cause an accident. The NHTSA defines aggressive driving as a progression of unlawful driving actions such as: 1) Speeding above the posted limit or driving too fast for the current conditions, 2) Improper or excessive lane changing, including failure to signal intent and failure to check that the lane change can be made safely 3) Improper passing, including failure to signal intent and use of the shoulder, median, or an emergency lane to pass.
On average, every 51 minutes, someone in the U.S. dies in an alcohol-related crash. Last year alone, over one million people were injured in alcohol-related traffic crashes. In a lawsuit arising from a drunk driving accident, in addition to the intoxicated driver’s liability for the injuries he or she caused, a bar or social host may be liable for damages if they served an obviously intoxicated guest, who then drove and caused an accident. The fact that the person who served the intoxicated driver alcohol may be held liable doesn’t relieve the intoxicated driver of liability, however. See the Dram Shop Laws article for more information about third party liability for drunk driving accidents.
If you or a loved one is in a bind as a result of criminal allegations, immediately contact a Seattle Criminal Attorney. A Criminal lawyer is not going to judge you and understands that everyone makes mistakes. Hiring a Seattle Criminal Lawyer to help can – at a minimum – reduce penalties and can help direct people on how to best deal with their criminal charge, and many times even get them dismissed. So, it should go without saying that someone cited for a misdemeanor or felony should hire a qualified Seattle Criminal Lawyer as soon as possible. Criminal charges can cause havoc on a person’s personal and professional life. Anyone charged with a crime in Washington State should immediately seek the assistance of a seasoned Seattle Criminal Lawyer. SQ Attorneys can be reached at (425) 359-3791 and/or (206) 441-0900.
