When someone is involved in a car accident, the single most important question may be who caused it. In most cases, unskilled or careless driving is the cause of accidents. However, there are situations where unexpected causes of accidents may change the litigation and flow of the lawsuit.
Recently, according to governmental organization statistics, about 80% of accidents occurred due to lack of focus from drivers while driving. For instance, car accidents happen when drivers are looking for their bag in the passenger seat, or missing the traffic signal or not seeing other cars because of a crying baby in the back seat. There are even situations where female drivers get into car accidents while trying to apply make-up while driving. In recent statistics, it showed that the biggest cause of car accidents was using a cellular device while driving. It is obvious that the negligent driver caused the accident and has full responsibility for the damages. For such reasons, New York and New Jersey prohibits the use of cellular phones while driving. New York even designated zones on the highway to allow drivers to send text messages.
It may be obvious that the driver who was texting is fully responsible for the damages, however, in a legal perspective the driver might be able to share that responsibility with the individual they were texting. Recently, New Jersey’s appellate court decided that a person who sends a message to the driver while he was driving is not necessarily liable for the driver’s negligent act. But the court stated there is still possibility that the sender is liable for the act by stating the sender’s duty to not text if he or she was aware that the receiver was driving. This vehicle accident case may be a new and developmental experience for lawyers.
Although it may not be common, another factor that cannot be passed up are the road conditions. In a case that an accident occurred due to poor road conditions, many drivers blame that for their negligent driving. In fact, the government has a duty to keep the roads safe to drive, thus, the government is likely to be liable for the cause of an accident. Things such as pot holes, the lack of proper construction signs, or broken traffic signals can be a liability. An attorney taking an automobile accident case should consider these factors that the drivers have not even thought of.
In a situation in which the accident was caused due to the car’s defectiveness, the car company or the company selling the defective car parts would be liable. One lawsuit will be against the other driver and his/her insurance company and the other will be against the seller or manufacturer of the defective car, thus, it is important to be aware and set strategies for each lawsuit.
Depending on the causes of the accident, the direction and focus of the lawsuit will be different even in similar accident cases. Being caught up in the moment of the accident, the anxiety of it may result in missing of small details that may work in favor of the case.
If you have any questions relating to car accidents or want additional legal information, feel free to contact us at mail@songlawfirm.com. We will reflect upon those questions and answer them in our next column.