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The Basics of Auto Injury Lawsuits and What Makes Yours a Success

We’ve all been (or will be) in a car accident someday. But how do we know whether we have a successful personal injury case against a defendant who should reimburse us for our injuries? An accident victim usually has a legal right to collect money for his injuries by proving the four elements of a car accident claim in court. In the US, all defendants are innocent until proven guilty. So the burden to you, the injured plaintiff, is to prove the defendants owe you these damages. All they have to do is deny your claim. If your evidence doesn’t prove their guilt, then they win, and you don’t collect. But before you walk down the road of civil litigation, a lot of investigative work goes into a successful auto injury lawsuit, which we’ll discuss in a bit. Don’t expect us to file your lawsuit a week after the meeting. More on this webpage

There are four elements to proving injuries against a defendant, and you must clearly demonstrate your charges are true. They are duty, breach, causation, and damages. Below is a brief overview of these four elements so that you will have a better idea of what it will take to prove that you’re entitled to compensation for your injuries. More on this webpage

Duty of Care

The first element in your successful burden of proof chain clearly illustrates that the defendant owed you a duty of care to exercise an acceptable level of caution to ensure you will not be harmed. Texas Civil Codes and Procedures (the rules that govern civil lawsuits in our state) establish the level of the duty of care that a person or organization owes to another. The duty depends on circumstances and the relative relationship of the parties involved at the time the accident occurs. Proving the defendant in your case owed you at least some duty of care will probably be reasonably uncomplicated. All drivers owe each other the elemental duty to drive as a reasonable person would keep others safe. Unless there are unusual circumstances, the chances are that a general “reasonable person standard” applies to the defendant (or defendants) in your case.

The Defendant’s Breach of Duty

Once you have successfully proven that the defendant in your case owed you a duty of care, the next step is proving that he or she violated that duty. In most auto accident injury cases, plaintiffs and their attorney must clearly show that the defendant drove in a way that a reasonable person would not have driven. The defendant may be able to prove that he or she has been a safe driver for many years by showing a driving record of no tickets since the Reagan Administration. That doesn’t matter if you can prove that the defendant in your case drove unreasonably only for the moments immediately leading up to your car wreck. Then, he or she can be held legally responsible for any consequences that resulted from his or her negligent actions that caused you harm.

Proving that the defendant breached the duty of care is typically one when you and your attorney present evidence to remove any doubt about what the defendant did (or failed to do) that caused the car wreck. The jurors in your case will consider your breach evidence and other evidence that clearly illustrates the defendant’s actions or intent at the time of the wreck. Then during their deliberations, they will rule whether the defendant behaved reasonably or unreasonably. Offenses such as speeding recklessly, driving at night without headlights, running through red lights, driving while intoxicated, and more can constitute a breach of the defendant’s duty of care, even if they may not have been criminally charged for these offenses. Some defendant actions might also support charges of willful intent to breach that duty, strengthening your case.

Causation of Defendant’s Breach of Duty

Once you have proven the elements of duty and breach, you must then demonstrate that the defendant breached his duty of care through negligence. But only showing that this person might have been negligent isn’t always enough to win your charges that the defendant is responsible for your auto wreck. When a defendant is compelled to deny causation, he often argues “unforeseeable circumstances,” such as other drivers, pedestrians, or even your actions caused the wreck. Their actions can be the last stand for an accident defendant to wiggle out of being judged liable for your injuries and other damages. Expect them to claim anything from a pedestrian who stepped in his way and forced him to hit your vehicle, to their toddler throwing a bottle of apple juice at the driver to swear that he saw an alive-and-well Elvis driving a classic Cadillac convertible. Maybe it happened; perhaps it didn’t. But how do you disprove the defense? It’s up to you and your lawyer to counter every claim of defense, or the defendant wins because your level of proof doesn’t convince the jury that his or her negligence is enough to be held liable for your damages. It’s important to have sufficient evidence to prove any defense that is thrown at you, and that it was the defendant’s inappropriate conduct that caused you harm. The best way to have the best evidence is with the help of an experienced accident attorney.

Damages

Once you have successfully proven the above three elements of your injury case, then you’re entering the home stretch of your lawsuit against the defendant.

It’s time to prove the amount of damages you are entitled to collect from the defendant (or defendants) and hand them the bill. The term “damages” isn’t limited to just your injuries and the bills that need to be paid. It’s a broader term that refers to the entire monetary value of your injury case (the total sum of money) you’ll recover from the defendant when the jury (or judge) rules in your favor. Damages also include physical pain, suffering and psychological scars arising from your injury, presently lost wages due to your inability to work. Damages can also include loss of future earning capacity if your injury leads any period of disability and repair or replacement bills to your auto and any items of worth that were destroyed in the wreck. To prove what you’re entitled to collect, you and your auto accident attorney with our Law Firm will need to calculate what you’re owed and provide evidence of the extent of your injuries and losses to support your calculations.

While you and your attorney are assembling your demand packet (which is a detailed accounting of your full damage amount), the defendants are also working on the same task. Their amount will certainly lower than yours because they want to pay as little as possible after the verdict. Damage amounts are almost always the most contentious issue in a car accident case. Defendants (and their insurance companies and lawyers) calculate how much they think they owe accident victims just in case the jury finds that the defendant was responsible for the wreck. They typically argue that they owe you much less than your claim. Often they’ll accuse you of asking for a handout or claim your requested amount is far higher than traditional payouts in similar cases. They might accuse you of bringing a frivolous lawsuit against them. You must clearly show the jury that the damage amount is realistic and proportional to the harm the defendant has done to you and any of your vehicle’s passengers at the time of the accident. Passengers also have a right to file a claim against the defendants. Claiming your damages are unreasonable is usually the last gasp of a desperate, guilty defendant. So you must finish your case strongly with clear evidence that illustrates your losses and substantiates the total of your damages.

Determining the full amount of damages is as crucial as the other three burdens of proof since you can only receive fair compensatory damages from any negligent defendant. Computing every single loss can be challenging unless you have an experienced Texas auto accident attorney who knows the value of personal injury losses and how to calculate them effectively so the court will see them as reasonable. How do you put a price tag on an intangible loss such as pain and suffering or that of your child? In calculating the loss of earning capacity, how do you account for hypothetical raises and promotions you would have received had you continued to work, or gotten a promotion, or been hired away by another company at double your current salary? How can you figure out how much all of your medical bills will amount to if your treatment is not yet complete and your doctor can’t tell how long it will last? The auto injury attorneys at our Texas Law Firm know how to account for and calculate every one of your damages, and make sure that you will recover as much as reasonably possible for your injuries.

The auto accident lawyers at our Texas Law Firm have effectively handled car accident litigation for over 30 years. We’ve won favorable verdicts and settlements against nearly every major auto insurer in the state. Insurance companies recognize our name. The reputation that precedes us is beneficial in securing special attention to our clients’ claims from these insurers. Our goal is to make sure that you recover as much as possible for your injuries and make this sometimes complicated legal process as easy as possible for you.

Put our years of experience to work for you. Know your rights, how to proceed with your claim, and how much compensation you can secure from your auto injury case. Call our Law Firm now at 1(800) 862-1260 (toll-free) for a free consultation and find out how we can help you recover the full fair value of the damages you have suffered through the negligence of another driver.

The Basics of Auto Injury Lawsuits and What Makes Yours a Success

About the Author: Stephen Duggan

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The Basics of Auto Injury Lawsuits and What Makes Yours a Success