4 Errors That Can Boost Your Liability In An Auto Accident Case
Do you face accusations of negligence or some other kind of liability in an auto accident case? Car accidents can prove not only painful and damaging but also chaotic and confusing—making it harder to identify some of the small yet telling details that factor into liability. Here are four challenges that should prompt you to discuss your case with a car accident attorney.
1. Not Having the Right of Way
Where was your car headed, and at what rate of speed, when the accident occurred—and did you have the right of way at the time? An obvious violation of this rule can place liability for an accident entirely or almost entirely in your lap. The most flagrant example would no doubt be running right through a red light without even slowing down, since no other pedestrian or driver could reasonably be expected to react in time to prevent a crash. Another example is if an accident occurred while you were making a left turn. If you turned directly into another car that was driving straight through the intersection, you will almost certainly assume liability for the resulting crash.
Before you throw in the towel, however, you should know that certain exceptions to a right-of-way violation could reduce or even eliminate your liability. For instance, if a pedestrian jumped out into the street and you had to swerve or brake to avoid him or her, you may not be completely liable for any traffic accident or injury that results. If the traffic or crossing lights at any intersection have malfunctioned and are giving you wrong or confusing instructions, you may share liability with the city.
2. Distracted Driving
Distracted driving plays an ever-increasing role in auto accidents, thanks in part to people's dependence on their smartphones. Many cities now have laws in place that require drivers to use hands-free options for their mobile devices (if they're allowed to use those devices at all) while driving. But quite apart from any penalties attached to these laws, you can still be found liable due to any form of carelessness caused by distraction. Even if your hands stayed on the wheel at all times, the distracting nature of an intense phone conversation could cause a dangerous lapse in concentration. If you missed an important visual warning because your eyes had flicked over to your phone screen, you may have caused an accident as a result of distracted driving. But it's worth noting that if the other party was driving distracted at the same time, you may both end up sharing the liability for the accident.
3. Driving Too Close to the Other Car
One of the essential rules that you were probably taught in your driver's ed class involves maintaining a safe distance between your car and the cars surrounding it. Under normal circumstances, you have no excuse for not keeping at least 2 seconds' worth of stopping distance between you and the car in front of you. If you're dealing with wet roads, ice, or low visibility, you're supposed to increase that safety buffer to at least 6 seconds. If the car in front of you suddenly slams the brakes and you haven't allowed for sufficient reaction time or distance, you're at least partially liable for the resulting accident. The only reliable exceptions to this situation are those in which the other driver also showed negligence. For instance, you may not be to blame for hitting a car you couldn't see due to that car's malfunctioning tail lights.
4. Not Collecting Evidence in Your Favor
In these days of onboard cameras and intersection surveillance, it's easier than ever for other parties to gather evidence of your liability in a car accident. Have you taken the same measures to record any conflicting or mitigating details that your car accident lawyer could use in your favor? No matter how responsible you might feel for the accident, you absolutely must take pictures of the accident site and collect witnesses' contact information for your car accident attorney. If you failed to take pictures or video, find out whether others on the scene had their phone cameras going. There may be some nugget of gold in there that reveals that you shouldn't be held totally liable after all. If you fail to talk to witnesses at all, the weight of testimony against you could seal your fate in the case.
Accidents happen, but that doesn't mean that you have to bear the stiffest possible sentence in an auto accident case. Talk to your car accident attorney about these and other factors that affect your case.
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