In this important video, attorney Gary Martin Hays explains the three things an injured victim must prove in a car wreck claim.
Question: When you meet with our clients regarding their personal injury claim, you always discuss with them the 3 elements we must prove in their case. Can you share those 3 elements with our viewers?
Gary:
That’s a great question, and this is something you should know if you were involved in a car accident.
#1: We must prove the Defendant was negligent in causing the wreck.
We have the burden of showing the Defendant was to blame for the collision.
For example:
Our client is sitting at a red traffic signal waiting for it to turn green when the driver of another vehicle isn’t paying attention and slams into the rear of the car.
In this example, the Defendant is at fault for causing the wreck.
However, this can become more difficult in other cases.
For example:
Two cars collide in an intersection and both claim they had a green traffic signal for their direction of travel.
If there are no witnesses to the wreck, nor any other evidence to support a claim the other driver ran the light (such as a video camera that filmed the intersection at the time of the wreck), it becomes a swearing contest on who was to blame for the wreck.
#2: We must prove the Defendant’s negligence caused your injuries.
For example:
The client that is rear-ended at the traffic light because the Defendant wasn’t paying attention. The heavy, high speed collision forces the car that is rear-ended into the back of another vehicle, causing the air bags to deploy. Our client’s nose is broken from the air bag explosion, and his arm is broken when it impacts the dash.
These injuries are easy to prove because they were immediate, and the damage to the car supports the claim that the defendant’s negligence caused the injuries.
But what happens if there is just a bumper scratch when Defendant’s car barely impacts your car? In that scenario, the defendant’s insurance company will have a hard time accepting your claims that your back was severely injured because there is little physical evidence to support it.
#3: We must prove the damages you sustained due to the wreck.
Damages may include the following:
* Ambulance bill
* Emergency room bill
* Radiology
* Other medical bills:
* Physical therapy
* MRI, CT Scans
* Specialists, such as orthopedic surgeons or neurosurgeons
* Lost Wages
* Pain & Suffering
* Scarring & Disfigurement
We work with our clients from the very beginning of the claim to make sure we can prove these three elements in their case.
Our goal is to make sure the doctors do all they can do to accurately diagnose your injuries, treat you so you can get better, and then maximize your financial recovery.
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