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Who is at Fault in Most Car Accidents

The determination of fault in an car accident has been increasingly difficult and there is a burdenof proof to establish the person's to be liable for the monetary damages or injuries. This fact issolely the result of legislative lobbying over the years by auto insurance companies, who haveactually devised and promoted different alternative ways to the "common law" concept thatpersons who are to blame will pay for the damages. Under such legislation, the common lawrecovery for damages has been totally or partially abolished.

Note: It is always important to consult with an auto accident attorney in dc for expert legal advice.Most injury attorneys work on a "contingency basis" which means that if they don't win your case,you pay nothing.

In its place is what's called a "statutory reapportionment" of liability for the payment of damages.This arrangement does not mean that there is a statutory re-defining of the actual "fault" per se. It

simply implies that a lot of states have actually reapportioned the liability for fault, at least forpurposes of car accident liability insurance.

In all states, people who fall short to maintain their liability insurance and cause crashes they maybe personally sued, and their assets seized to satisfy any kind of legal judgment against them.

Common Law

In its purest form, "fault" for causing an accident is either made by statute or defined by commonlaw. Common law acknowledges 4 basic levels of who's at fault based on...

-negligence.-recklessness or wanton conduct.-intentional misconduct.-strict liability (irrespective of fault).

Negligence generally implies careless or inadvertent conduct that leads to harm or damage topeople and property. It is a recurring factor in most of auto crashes.

It includes both active and passive kinds of fault. That is to say, failing or omitting to do something(e.g., yielding a right-of-way) maycause liability just as actively doing something wrong (e.g., running a red light). Careless or legallyknow as "wanton conduct" generally refers to a unyielding disregard for harm may result and/or adisregard for the safety and welfare of others.

Strict liability may be enforced, even in the absence of fault, for crashes involving particular faultyproducts and equipment or additional hazardous activities (such as the transporting of explosivechemicals).

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Under common law, people who have actually caused an car accident have actually committed a"tort," which is a wrong against another and generally not constituting a criminal offense.

Those who have actually committed torts are referred to as "tortfeasors" under the law. Many autoinsurance policies remain to use the word "tortfeasor" to describe people who are at the very leastpartially orresponsible for the accident.

There is rarely a question of fault when the "tortfeasor" has taken part in the intentional orcareless misconduct, such as driving under the influence. However when it involves somethingless than intentional misconduct, e.g., general negligence, establishing fault for an automobileaccident becomes a little more complex.

Furthermore, it is often the case when more than one driver or person is negligent and/or hasplayed a role inadvertently in the resulting of the accident. When there are multiple tortfeasors

associated with the accident, state laws dictate who must pay for both damage to property andinjuries to the people in the vehicles.

Motor Vehicle Statutory Violations.

Every state has passed multiple laws which dictate the manner where drivers must operate theirautomobiles on public roadways. Many of these laws are actually codified variations of thecommon law, while others are the result of legislative initiatives.

The important point to remember is that a violation of any of these laws generally creates apresumption of negligence as a matter of law. Therefore, "fault" in an accident may be established

just by citing a statute that has been violated. A tortfeasor who is assumed to have actuallycaused an accident because of a statutory violation must bear the burden of responsibility, in anykind of legal dispute, of proving that she or he was not negligent, or that his or her negligence wasnot the proximate cause in the accident.

The simplest way to apply the concept of "proximate cause" to an car accident is to ask whether itwould be true that, "If it weren't for my actions that the accident would not have actually occurred.

Hope you learned something from this article. More about liability in car accidents and thecompensation you would be entitled to...my latest blog post