Identifying Fault And Liability After Traffic Accidents

According to the latest statistics done by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are approximately 30,000 deaths every year caused by car accidents. From this number, 2,400 traffic-related deaths were reported from Florida, making it the third-highest state in the United States for fatal traffic accidents. Most of these accidents are caused by pure negligence, and it’s in such instances where you acquire the services of an auto attorney in Sarasota.

Every driver is expected to obey state traffic regulations. But what happens when a traffic accident occurs out of sheer recklessness and negligence? How do all the parties involved identify fault and liability in such cases, especially if you live in Florida?
Well, here’s everything you need to know about identifying fault and liability after traffic accidents in Florida.

Ways To Prove Fault And Liability After A Car Accident Occurs

Even when the cause of the accident seems pretty apparent to all the parties involved, fault still needs to be proved, and doing so can be rather tricky. However, to establish liability, the first step is collecting evidence that the other party wasn’t following traffic laws.
You will take most of the evidence you need for your case directly from the car accident scene. But, you will still have some groundwork to cover and pieces of evidence to gather, and they include:

Photos

With technology having improved quite significantly over the years, it has become a tool you can use in your favor to determine fault. With your smartphone, you can take photos of car accident scenes. Remember, a picture is worth more than a thousand words.

Photographs are the simplest way to represent any car accident scene fully. They help provide you and your lawyer with an accurate record of all the physical evidence present. They also prove to be quite valuable in helping piece together significant pieces of evidence that a traffic accident occurred.

It doesn’t matter if anyone can describe the car accident scene down to the letter; with a photo, you can tell the same story, as it allows you to freeze time and record all the evidence present. But, for the pictures you take to be used to your advantage, you need to capture the correct information.

Therefore, ensure that the pictures you take include skid marks, traffic signs, obstructions, debris, and any objects present on the road. Also, make sure you capture the position of all the vehicles involved in the crash and the damages present.

You can easily show a judge and jury all the damages and injuries you sustained from the accident by capturing every detail.

Police Reports

Most car accidents often have emergency responders and police on the scene. And if that happens, you will be required to fill out official reports about the crash. The police reports you fill out will also contain the police officer’s notes and observations of the collision. So, how can a police report help you prove liability?

Police officers note down different factors that may have led to an accident like:

• Visibility conditions
• Weather conditions
• Speeding
• Roadway conditions
• Driver impairment

The report may also include notes on how the other party may have acted negligently before the accident occurred. It may also include who is to blame for the car accident.

Documents

The documents you present may prove to be quite effective in helping to prove fault. The documents you need to provide include:

• Medical records
• Medicines
• Treatment
• Medical bills

You should also provide evidence of towing records and bills from body shops and mechanics. Each of these documents will help provide sufficient proof that you were the victim.

Statements

Another way you can identify fault after a traffic accident is using witness statements. They help fill in the missing details from all the parties involved in the crash. People who saw the car accident happen can offer you valuable insight into exactly what happened.
Statements from the accident witnesses can help support you in the following ways:

Showing Your Innocence

Witness statements can help eliminate or reduce any doubts that the crash was partially your fault. Most insurance companies try to push the blame of the accident on the victim to avoid paying for compensation.

You can quickly discredit the other parties’ version of the accident with a witness statement. It will also help you highlight inconsistencies in their accounts, which helps ensure that it isn’t your story against the at-fault driver.

Preserving Facts

The witness statements you obtain can help you preserve the facts of the accident. Most witnesses may have recorded videos or taken photos of the accident. You can use the information obtained to identify who is at fault and hold the insurance company accountable.

Type of Crash

The type of crash you are involved in can help prove who is at fault. For example, if your accident was a rear-end collision, the party at fault is the vehicle behind, as they didn’t give sufficient space. Also, a driver turning left in an intersection is liable for the car accident, especially if the other party was traveling straight in a different direction.

Traffic Laws

It’s also important to show that the other party’s vehicle wasn’t up to code by proving that you can undoubtedly prove that they violated the traffic laws, which ended up causing an accident.
Your primary focus should be your recovery for anyone involved in an accident. Gathering all the above evidence can be tricky, especially while still recovering from injuries. This is where having a lawyer comes in handy.

When trying to prove fault after a car accident, you need an experienced car accident lawyer. And with Hale Law, you get the exact help you need. Hale Law handles different accidents in Florida, from car accidents, pedestrian accidents, trucks, motorcycles, and bicycle accidents.
So, if you ever need help with your car accident claim, we are here to help. For more information, you can visit our website https://halelaw.com/sarasota-personal-injury-attorney/car-accidents/.

Hale Law, 2803 Fruitville Road Suite 240 Sarasota FL 34237, 941-735-4529

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