Determining Who Caused Your Car Accident

Atlanta is a bustling commercial center and the congestion on its roadways reflects it. Unfortunately, this means that car accidents have become an increasingly common occurrence on the city’s roads. If you are unlucky enough to be involved in such a collision, you won’t be able to take any legal action without first determining who caused the crash. Figuring this out can be a difficult process, so we’ve included some information to help give you a better idea of what you’re facing.

Why is Determining Fault Important?

The person who is found to be legally at fault for an accident will be the one who can be held financially liable for the victim’s damages. This is why it’s so important for those who plan to take legal action after a crash to work with an experienced legal team to discover who caused the accident. Without this evidence, an injured party’s claim will simply not be strong enough to succeed.

What Does it Mean to be At Fault for an Accident?

Being declared at fault for a car crash means that a person’s actions (or inaction) either directly or indirectly caused the accident. Fault for an accident also makes a person responsible for any resulting damages, whether physical or emotional that other accident victims experienced. Fault is typically assessed in the form of a percentage. Someone who was totally at fault for an accident, for instance, would be deemed 100 percent at fault, while someone who only contributed to the crash in a minor way could be held ten percent liable for an accident.

Why Do Degrees of Percentages Matter?

The degree of fault that a person is assigned after a crash is important, as it is this number that will largely dictate how much he or she can recover in damages. This is because Georgia adheres to a comparative negligence standard, which states that plaintiffs, while not being automatically barred from recovery if they contribute to their injuries, will have their damages reduced in proportion to their degree of fault. If, for instance, an injured party is found to be ten percent at fault for her accident and she also suffered $100,000 in damages, then she can expect her award to be reduced by ten percent for a total of $90,000. It’s important to note, however, that under Georgia’s modified standard, a plaintiff who is deemed to be 50 percent or more at fault for an accident will be barred from recovery.

The Legal Representation You Deserve

To determine fault for a car accident, an injured party will need to compile a lot of evidence, including photographs from the scene of the accident, the police report, eyewitness testimony, and even video footage from nearby security or traffic cameras. The stronger the evidence of fault for an accident, the more likely a claimant will be to file a successful claim and receive an award of damages. To start building your own car accident case, contact the dedicated Savannah car accident lawyers at Shiver Hamilton Campbell today. Call us at 404-593-0020 to get started.

Sources:

law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2010/title-51/chapter-12/article-2/51-12-33

forbes.com/advisor/car-insurance/what-to-do-after-accident/