Though drivers promise to be attentive and diligent when they get their driver’s licenses, many drivers are anything but when the drive. Not surprisingly, many of these drivers experience road accidents. If you have ever been hit by a negligent driver and have sustained substantial bodily injury and/or monetary damage, you may be wondering what you can do. You can indeed hire a Personal Injury Law Firm in El Monte that will be able to craft a solid case which will help you win your settlement in court. You may want to read this article first though to gain a few pointers which you can discuss with your lawyer when working on your case.
How does California’s law define negligence?
The personal injury law considers negligence (while driving) to be intentionally driving carelessly and with the intent to harm others while doing so. Since California’s personal injury law carries the stiffest of penalties for these drivers, you can work with your lawyer to build a case that will win you a handsome monetary award in court. You may need this money to pay for substantial medical bills or to replace your totaled car.
This is the first category of negligence in California’s personal injury law. The second category applies to drivers who drive in spite of knowing that their careless driving can harm others. Most personal injury lawyers in California refer to this as ‘reckless driving.’ The third category is the least severe and carries the lightest penalties. According to this category, the driver chose to drive even though he or she knew that his or her careless driving could cause harm to other drivers on the road.
Interestingly enough, California’s personal injury law does not define negligence solely as careless actions. Drivers also act with negligence when they fail to take proper care in a situation and another person ends up injured.
How can you prove negligence in court?
Your lawyer would tell you that you can prove negligence in court by proving that all of the following four elements have been met:
● Duty
● breach
● Causation
● Damages
A driver exercises duty when he or she is a defensive driver. This person is taking care to protect other drivers from an unforeseen and unreasonable incident that reckless and negligent driving can cause. A driver engages in breach when he or she neglects his or her duty as a driver. To win a settlement, you would have to prove causation. In other words, you would have to prove that the other driver’s negligence leads to the accident which caused your suffering. Finally, you would have to prove that damages resulted. This means you would have to prove that you sustained bodily injuries and property damage because of the accident.
Negligence lawsuits are easy to win
While negligence lawsuits may seem difficult to win, a personal injury lawyer could tell you that this is far from true. You can indeed win a negligence lawsuit in court if you understand and prove the information and pointers as discussed.