A Maryland Car Accident Lawyer Discusses Proving Negligence in Maryland Car Accident Cases

Car accidents can result in injuries that change the course of your life forever. While some are unavoidable, many collisions occur due to the other driver’s negligence. You may be able to hold them accountable for your losses by pursuing a personal injury case against them. If you have been hurt in a motor vehicle collision, you might be entitled to monetary compensation. Getting the outcome you deserve requires strong evidence of negligence. There are four elements to prove, and failing to establish even one of them can bring your case to a disappointing end. Let a Maryland car accident lawyer from our team help you get the outcome you deserve.

Establishing the Duty of Care

The first element of negligence requires your Maryland car accident lawyer to establish a duty of care. If the party that injured you does not owe you a duty, they are not on the hook for your damages after an accident.

In some types of cases—particularly premises liability claims—this element can be hotly contested. That is rarely the case when it comes to motor vehicle accidents. Drivers have a duty to operate their car in a safe manner. They owe this obligation to everyone they share the road with, such as other drivers, motorcycles, bus passengers, and even pedestrians.

Proving the Duty of Care was Breached

Once your attorney establishes that the duty of care exists, the next step is to prove that the other driver violated it. This can happen in a variety of ways. In general, a person breaches their duty when careless, reckless, or intentional behavior results in a vehicle crash.

In the context of a car accident, breaching the duty owed to a fellow motorist can occur in many ways. Usually, it is related to some kind of driver error. Motorists traveling at unsafe speeds frequently cannot react quickly to changing road conditions. Distracted or impaired motorists also might lack the reaction time needed to maneuver out of the way of a crash.

Finding the Causal Link

The third element is commonly known as causation. This ties the injuries you received in the accident to the defendant’s breached duty of care. The law requires causation to ensure that a party is not obligated to pay for damages they did not cause.

Consider the following example. You sprain your ankle in a fall due to your own carelessness and are forced to miss work. The next day, you are hurt in an accident with a drunk driver and forced to be treated at the emergency room. You have a viable case for your medical damages but not your lost wages since there isn’t a causal link between the two.

Defendants will often allege that an injury preceded the accident. However, pre-existing injuries could still result in a viable case for compensation if they were worsened in the crash.

Establishing Your Compensable Damages

The final element of your car accident injury case is damages. Even if you can meet the other elements of negligence, you will have to show that you suffered compensable damages in order to recover a monetary award.

There are two broad categories of damages: economic and non-economic. Economic damages are objective and can be measured down to the dollar. They represent your out-of-pocket expenses following a crash. When you recover this type of compensation, it returns you to the position you were in before the injury.

Non-economic damages are not as easy to measure. These subjective losses include things like loss of consortium or pain and suffering. Even though there is no way to put a set value on your claim, you could still be entitled to a monetary award if your Maryland car accident lawyer can show a jury how your quality of life was impacted by your pain.

Talk to a Maryland Car Accident Lawyer About Your Legal Options

Some of these elements are easier to prove than others should your case go to trial. Establishing a duty of care might be straightforward, but many lawsuits center on whether that duty was breached. It can also be tricky to link your losses to the accident or prove exactly what your claim is worth.

You never have to navigate this process on your own. With the right legal team, you could recoup your losses and move forward with getting your life back. Contact Timothy A. Dachille and Associates for a free consultation with a Maryland car accident lawyer today.