How Is Liability Established After a Car Accident?

Car Accident Factors and Potentially Liable Parties

It’s easy to assume that most other drivers on the road operate private vehicles. This, however, isn’t always the case. Before you can assign liability for your car accident, you need to understand what parties may have contributed to your losses.

Looking at Other Drivers

Private motorists can fall victim to roadway negligence for a variety of reasons. It’s easier than ever, for example, to drive while distracted, be it by a phone or by food in the car. Private motorists can also speed, ignore road signs, or give way to their frustration when driving from Point A to Point B.

If you think a non-commercial driver influenced your car accident, you can name that party in your civil complaint. In turn, you can negotiate with that individual for an applicable accident settlement. Alternatively, that individual may have to secure representation of their own to fight back against your claim in civil court.

Assessing Corporate Influence

Should you get into an accident with a commercial driver, the nature of liability in your accident changes. Specifically, there are circumstances in which a driver’s employer may be responsible for your roadway losses.

Corporations only take on the blame for their drivers’ accidents if said driver was on duty when an accident occurred. The at-fault driver must also be a full employee under a corporation’s supervision. Lyft and Uber, for example, only award protections to drivers with passengers or who are using their apps at the time an accident occurs.

If the driver in question operates as an independent contractor through a broader company, then they’re obligated to protect themselves in civil court. That said, a company may attempt to misclassify its employees as independent contractors if it wants to avoid liability for your losses. Fortunately, our attorneys can assess a person’s role within their company as needed.

Determining the Role of Faulty Products

There’s always a chance that the vehicle involved in your car accident was, in fact, the accident’s source. Manufacturers who don’t adequately test their vehicles prior to their release can be held liable for any accidents those cars get into on the road.

Even mechanics who fail to perform essential care checks on certain vehicles can bear the blame for your accident. You can collaborate with one of our car accident attorneys to research unaddressed recalls or cases involving similar vehicles for signs of product liability.

Contacting Related Third-Parties

Government officials and construction crews can also bear the blame for your car accident. Government officials who fail to maintain the roads in your city can meet you in civil court. Similarly, construction crews who don’t mark off their work areas or fail to direct you around dangerous conditions may be responsible for your losses.