Who’s at Fault for My Accident?

One of the key issues in any personal injury case is determining who was at fault for the accident, which involves both negligence and liability. Liability is most often assigned to the person or party whose negligence caused the accident. However, there may be more than one party that is liable for the accident.

Proving Negligence

In personal injury cases, a party is typically liable for an accident if they failed to use reasonable caution and their carelessness caused another person to suffer harm. In order to prove that the other party, also known as the “defendant”, was negligent, your claim or lawsuit must show the following:

• The defendant owed you a duty of care.
• The defendant breached the duty of care through their actions or lack of action.
• You were injured because the defendant breached the duty of care owed to you.
• You suffered quantifiable losses because of the defendant’s actions.

Determining Liability

Determining who is liable for the accident can sometimes be complicated, but an accident case will usually depend upon the answers for the following questions:

• Should the victim have known better? If the victim was hurt while at a location they should not have been at, such as a restricted or off-limits area, the negligent party may not be liable.
• Is the victim partially at fault? If the victim also acted carelessly, they can still hold the other party liable for their injuries, but the compensation they could recover may be reduced.
• Does the defendant’s employer share responsibility? If the defendant was on the job when the victim was injured, their employer could also be held liable. For example, the employer could be liable if their employee was improperly trained or if they hired a person who was known to be reckless or careless.
• Was the accident caused by a negligent property owner? If the victim’s injury was caused by a dangerous condition on another person’s property, the property owner could be held liable under premises liability law. The victim could hold the property owner responsible if they can prove that the owner knew of the dangerous condition but did not fix it, or that they should have been aware of the dangerous condition.

Proving fault in an accident can be difficult in some cases, but an experienced lawyer can determine your options and help you seek full compensation for your injuries. If you need help proving fault for a personal injury case in the Las Vegas area, get in touch with the experienced team at De Castroverde Law Group today!