Negligence And The Law

Negligence. This is a word we hear all of the time but we may not know what the word means in certain situations. The dictionary defines neglect as “to pay no attention or too little attention to” a particular thing. So in the world of personal injury attorneys, negligence means someone was not operating their vehicle with the reasonable care one should use while driving. Maybe they were distracted or…well let’s face it, most multiple car accidents are caused by distracted drivers.

In 2012, there were more than 5.6 million car accidents reported to police. This is not taking into account the accidents that occurred and the police were not informed. The person who caused the accident is required to pay for damages and medical bills of the person that was injured. The injured person, known as the plaintiff, has to prove that they were injured and that the negligent person, the defendant, is responsible. This is usually when personal injury lawyers and insurance companies get involved.

If these types of cases make it to court, the courts look at determining factors that could be responsible for causing the crash. Things like weather conditions, traffic violations, whether or not drugs and/or alcohol played a factor, or whether the defendant was distracted by a cell phone. If the defendant is found guilty, the courts, along with attorneys and insurance companies then come to an agreement on damages and awards the plaintiff.

If you are in need of a personal injury lawyer because you were involved in an automobile accident, call the attorneys at Rice McGowan & Brandt today.