Car Accident Claims

Here’s a short guide to help you understand the comparative and contributory negligence systems.

When you’re the victim of a car accident, you most likely will want to seek compensation from the at-fault driver to cover your medical bills, pay for damages, or even account for lost wages if you are unable to work at this time.

However, the state in which you file the claim or the lawsuit can have a lot to say about the outcome. If you’re in this situation, you will benefit greatly by reaching out to an experienced St. Louis car accident lawyer for further assistance.

Here’s a short guide to help you understand the comparative and contributory negligence systems.

Proving Negligence and Fault

In an accident, one party is typically held responsible for the collision, which essentially means you are trying to show another driver was negligent and cause the incident. For instance, if the other driver was using their smartphone, they may be held liable for the accident.

However, in some cases matters aren’t that straightforward. Sometimes, more parties are to blame for the collision, and when that happens, the comparative and contributory systems intervene.

What Is Contributory Negligence?

According to this system, if a driver was negligent and contributed to the accident, then that driver cannot hold a different party involved in the collision as responsible. In states that follow this rule, even if you are only partly to blame for the accident, you cannot recover any compensation from other parties.

What Is Comparative Negligence?

This system is not as strict as the previous one. Essentially, each party is assigned a certain percentage of blame for the incident. There are two categories for this system:

1. Pure Comparative Fault

Each party can recover damages equal to the amount of fault of the other party. If you are found 10% to blame for the crash, you can get up to 90% in damages. However, it also means the party with more responsibility can sue you as well, even if they’ll only be allowed 10% of the total amount.

2. Modified Comparative

With this system, which is also the one used in the state of Missouri, you can collect damages from the other party as long as your own negligence was found under 50%. In these states, the party found mostly responsible cannot collect any damages from the other parties involved.

However, even if you live in Missouri, there is still a chance you’ll have to face a different negligence system. For instance, if the accident took place in a different state that follows another type of negligence system, then you’ll likely have to follow the laws in the state where the collision occurred, and the one in Missouri.

Why Speak With a Lawyer After a Car Accident?

If you’ve been involved in a St. Louis car accident, it’s crucial to speak with an attorney who understands the law and is familiar with the court system. 

As we’ve discussed, negligence comes in many forms in car accidents. In St. Louis, law firms handle violations of the rules of the road that have resulted in a car accident. Most of the “rules of the road,” as we call them, are based upon laws or statutes. If you violate a law or a statute and cause an accident, the injured party in the car accident has a cause of action for Negligence Per Se. Under the Doctrine of Negligence Per Se, a violation of a statute or traffic ordinance resulting in an auto accident is generally considered a form of negligence and a violation of a vehicle operator’s duty of care. An attorney presenting a car accident case must still submit on:

• Causation
• Damages, in addition to having provided proof regarding the Negligence Per Se of the defendant driver causing the car crash.

Defendant drivers and their attorneys in a Negligence Per Se cause of action can submit defenses such as:

• Plaintiff’s failure to stop, swerve, slacken speed or sound the horn
• Plaintiff’s failure to keep a careful look out
• Plaintiff’s failure to mitigate or minimize their injury by refusing medical treatment
• Defendant has a reasonable excuse for the violation of the law or ordinance.

Among many other reasons, this is why it is essential to speak with an experienced injury attorney as soon as possible. At The Hoffmann Law Firm, we can evaluate your case free of charge and help you understand what your rights are after a car accident.

Pictures are often the most telling piece of evidence you can collect after a car accident.

A car accident is a traumatic event that brings along some moments of utter chaos. It is completely understandable that during those times you may be confused and not know what to do.

The first thing you should do is call the authorities, and if you are hurt, get medical treatment for your injuries. However, if your injuries aren’t too bad, you should also consider gathering as much evidence as possible. This evidence, particularly photographs, can prove to be extrememly valuable later on.

Why You Should Take Photos

Photos are often the most telling piece of evidence you can collect. Whether you’re filling an insurance claim, or even plan to sue the other driver, photo evidence is generally considered incontestable in Missouri courts.

However, you should make sure the photos you take are of high quality and contain the important elements of the accident.

How to Take Them

Photos from the car accident scene are only relevant if they can accurately reflect the incident, and not just regarding the damages it produced. You should also take pictures of the surroundings, as some elements there may prove to be the cause of the accident.

Here are some tips to follow:

1. General Shots of the Scene – These photos are about showing the scene as a whole, so you don’t have to worry about details. Make sure to take them from different angles to get in as much as you can.

2.  Photograph all the vehicles involved in the crash, at different angles, focusing on their damage.

3. The traffic light and sign shots near the scene.

4. Take photos of the sky, snow, rain, or other weather conditions. Even if the weather wasn’t to blame for the accident, a picture of a clear blue sky will prevent the other driver from claiming so to try and avoid paying damages.

5. Look for any damaged objects nearby, like street signs, garbage cans, or trees.

6. Get the license plates and insurance card of all the vehicles involved.

7. Look for debris, skid marks, or other elements on the road caused by the crash.

8. Photographs the people involved in the accident, like the driver and passenger, as well as witnesses, policy officer, EMTs or any other people at the scene. This can help you later on to identify people.

9. Document any damage or injury you’ve sustained as a result of the accident. If you can, photographs the visually evident injuries right on-site.

Here are four crucial tips that will help you obtain useful photos after a car accident.

You likely already understand the importance of taking photos after a car accident. Not only will your insurance company want this documentation, but it will also help you and your St. Louis auto accident lawyer in a potential personal injury case. Of course, the pictures have to meet a few requirements if you want them to be useful to you. In this article, we will present four tips for taking photos after a car accident.

How Pictures Strengthen Your Case

If another driver or third party admits to being at fault for the crash, then much of your work is already taken care of. Unfortunately, this case is somewhat rare, as drivers often have a different perspective or choose to outright lie about what happened in the collision. What pictures can do is break you out of this gridlock by confirming that your story is correct.

The Camera in Your Pocket

A couple of decades ago, obtaining photos after a crash was nearly impossible, unless you just so happened to carry around a camera on a regular basis. As a result, those involved in car accidents would instead either skip this task or let the police take care of it. In the modern world, almost every one of us has a powerful camera in our pockets. Even those without smartphones will likely have a photo that is capable of taking pictures.

The 4 Tips You Need to Know About

Now, onto the four crucial tips that will help you obtain useful photos.

Capture the Damage – First, you’ll want to take pictures of every car involved. The reason is that property damage will play a role in your eventual compensation, so it is important to get an accurate idea of it. Next, snap a photo of any visible injuries you sustained, as those can prove the legitimacy of your medical expenses.

Don’t Forget About the Surrounding Scene – One mistake that many drivers make is not taking photos beyond themselves and their cars. What they should do instead is get pictures of the surrounding area. A few typical examples are skid marks on the ground, traffic signs in the area, and the weather.

Obtain Many Angles and Distances – You never know what your lawyer or accident reconstructionist will want later on in your case. For this reason, your best bet is taking photos at many angles and distances. While they might all look the same to you, they could be very different in the eyes of an expert.

Store Photos Securely – Lastly, make sure you don’t lose your photos. The best way to avoid this trap is storing them on a cloud-based platform.

Phone records can help your auto accident attorney prove that the other driver was using their cell phone at the time of your car accident.

The most dreaded result for you and your St. Louis auto accident attorney is to be locked in a “he said, she said” personal injury case. The reason is that these situations rarely yield favorable results unless new evidence comes to light. One example of further proof is cell phone records, which can indicate driver distraction at the time of the accident. This new information can turn the tides of your claim, so pursuing it is worth your consideration.

Fault

The critical factor in personal injury cases is fault. As a result, what you need to do is assess the conditions surrounding your accident. That can mean liability for you, the other driver, a third party, or a combination of the three. Once you calculate rough percentages for each party’s fault, you can craft a strategy for obtaining compensation. The reason that this concept is relevant to the current discussion is that you can argue that texting or talking on the phone is a negligent behavior and that one party could be liable for engaging in it.

Dangerous Phone Use Behaviors

The three most dangerous behaviors people engage in with their phones are talking, texting, and internet browsing. Each of them generally takes people’s attention off the road and their hands off the wheel. The results can be disastrous, as distracted driving is one of the top causes of accidents and fatalities across the country.

Your Word Against Theirs

If another driver is using their phone when they hit you, you may have a case against them. Unfortunately, they might deny their usage despite you clearly seeing that they were. The result will be a “your word against theirs” situation, which rarely gets resolved. You do have one option that can prove the legitimacy of your claim, though.

Using Cell Phone Records

The best way to prove phone use is through company records. If you can get access to them, you can show that the other party was using their phone at the time of the accident, or at least just before it. This will strengthen your case and lead to a more favorable settlement. In the context of a negotiation outside of court, your lawyer will use the records as leverage to sweeten your deal. If you end up at a trial, the judge will take the data into account.

How to Obtain Them

As you might imagine, you can’t just find somebody else’s private information online. What you can do, though, is ask your lawyer to draft a subpoena. This is a legal document that is essentially a request for the data to be released. Your attorney will argue to the cell phone company that the information is needed for your case, and they will often comply.

If your request is denied or the records do not indicate wrongdoing, then you can simply move on. On the other hand, if you prove that another party was using their cell phone, that could be the break you need to shift the case in your favor.

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One of the best pieces of evidence you can collect in a car accident case is witness testimony.

That being said, they are not perfect and are frequently called into question. The primary way lawyers do so is through assessing witness credibility, which we explain below.

Why Witnesses Are so Crucial

The most powerful support you can obtain for your case is physical evidence. If you have a video or a compelling accident reconstruction, you will have an excellent shot at compensation. Unfortunately, physical evidence is sometimes hard to find. Instead, the situation becomes your word against the other drivers, with no practical way to turn the tides in your favor. This is where witnesses come in. When you find another person that tells the story of the accident precisely as you do, you can confirm your legitimacy.

How Reliable Are Witness Accounts?

As compelling as witness accounts are, they are not perfect. The reason is that people are flawed and frequently make mistakes. Your witness may have seen the accident wrong. The result is that legal professionals look at the credibility of witnesses before immediately believing their stories.

Factors That Affect Credibility

The following are some of the factors that a lawyer might look at the assess witness credibility. If that attorney argues well enough, the testimony that person gives will be less powerful.

Being Related to a Driver – The best kind of witness is one that is an impartial third party. These types of people will have less bias than somebody more involved. If your witness is a friend of yours, her testimonies will be worth much less.

Being Distracted – The best case scenario is that your witness is sitting on a park bench watching cars go by when your accident takes place. Of course, this does not usually happen. Instead, witnesses often distracted by driving, walking their dog, or taking part in some other activity.

False Memory – A witness might tell what they think is his side of the story, but is actually something they heard from another person in the aftermath of the accident.

Past Behavior – Past legal troubles can call the character of the witness into question.

Sensory Issues – A witness with poor hearing or eyesight might find that the legal system discounts her testimony.

Intoxication – Witnesses that are not sober will fare worse in the legal process.

Memory Issues – Occasionally, a witness will have a memory issue like Alzheimer’s disease. Opposing lawyers will use this information to discount that testimony.

The job of your St. Louis car accident attorney is the compile every piece of information that can help you in your case, then present it in a way that gets you the compensation you deserve. One kind of evidence that you may use is a witness testimony, but it is important to understand that, depending on the witness, credibility can be an issue. No matter what the conditions of your case might be, it is best to consult with an experienced car accident attorney as soon as possible following an accident.