Traffic accidents occur every day on Kansas City roads. Understandably, the level of damage and injuries one sustains in a collision often depends on the type of accident, speed, and other circumstances. However, when car crashes cause injuries and fatalities, the negligent parties may be held accountable when the injured files a personal injury claim or the deceased’s family pursues a wrongful death case.
If you have been injured in a collision, regardless of mild or severe damage, you may qualify to be compensated for varying damages by gathering evidence to prove negligence in a claim. At Hollis Law Firm, our skilled team of personal injury lawyers understands that no two accident cases are alike. Our lawyer helps guide you through legal proceedings and may help establish liability to recover the total compensable damages you are entitled to after a car accident.
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Understanding Negligence and Liability After a Car Accident
Being injured in a car accident causes varying effects on the individuals involved. When another’s negligent act is the cause of the crash, you may wonder how negligence and liability play a role in filing a claim after a car accident.
Negligence refers to careless or reckless acts, signifying the individual failed a duty to act concerning the safety of others. In car accidents, negligence may appear as drunk driving, failing to yield to the right of way or other circumstances.
Factors That Contribute to Proving Negligence and Recovering Compensation
When filing a claim, it is essential to determine liability and prove how another person was negligent in the accident that led to harm and damages. By proving negligence, the injured may recover total compensation for varying non-economic and economic damages.
To prove negligence and recover compensatory damages, the injured party must prove the following:
- The driver had a duty to exercise reasonable care or caution on the road.
- The driver was negligent by not providing reasonable care behind the wheel of a car.
- The driver’s negligence was the cause of the accident.
- You were injured and suffered damages due to the car accident.
Kansas City uses the comparative negligence rule for personal injury and accident cases to determine liability and how much the injured may recover from compensable damage. Under this rule, the at-fault person’s negligence and the injured person’s negligence are calculated. If more than one party is at fault, the injured may only pursue compensation for the percentage of wrongdoing the other person holds in the accident.
What Do I Need to Prove Negligence After a Car Accident?
To file a claim against a driver responsible for an accident, the injured must provide proof of negligence on behalf of the driver responsible. Different factors may contribute to negligence and what is necessary to prove another person is at fault. Insurance companies often attempt to refute any evidence or diminish the level of injury the injured person claims against a driver.
After an accident, taking these steps may help you prove negligence:
Make a Police Report for the Accident
Calling emergency services and reporting an accident helps add evidence to your claim. With a firsthand account of the accident and law enforcement’s investigation, your claim may benefit from having a police report recorded. Seeking necessary medical help after a car collision also helps you treat and record accident-related injuries.
Exchange Information With All Drivers Involved in the Car Crash
To prove negligence in an accident, knowing all the parties involved and who is at fault is essential. If you can, exchanging information with those involved helps you file a claim against the driver and hold their insurance accountable. Additionally, a police report may record the information of those involved to record the events accurately.
Gather Images, Video, or Surveillance Footage of the Accident
Gathering pictures, videos, and nearby surveillance footage helps you prove negligence because it helps re-create the scene and proves how an accident occurred. Collisions sometimes cause cars to shift, roll over, and appear damaged. Visual evidence adds substantial weight to the evidence in a case and limits any error in proving a cause.
Speak With Nearby Witnesses and Gather Information
Similar to visual evidence, nearby witnesses can significantly help a case. If people near the scene witnessed the collision and what honestly occurred, their testimony helps establish liability. If an injured driver can speak with nearby witnesses and ensure their contact information is recorded, it may help the case significantly.
Retain Legal Counsel From a Skilled Personal Injury Attorney
Collecting evidence and seeking legal counsel from an attorney at Hollis Law Firm may help you understand your rights as the injured and navigate your case in the right direction. Depending on your case’s severity of injury and damage, we understand that gathering evidence and help on your own can be very challenging. You may benefit from our services with a professional legal team and aggressive defense for your rights as the injured seeking compensation for eligible damages.
Our seasoned attorney seeks to provide exceptional legal aid and may help you gather evidence to support your claim. We also work to ensure you are not misguided by the negligent party’s representatives or fall into their strategies of discrediting a claim.
Our Kansas City Personal Injury Lawyers at Hollis Law Firm May Help Gather Evidence After a Car Accident
You may have questions and concerns if you are going through challenges and life changes following a car accident. At Hollis Law Firm, we aim to provide our clients with continual legal counsel, resources, and skilled representation. Proving negligence and determining liability after a car accident case may be complex depending on the circumstances of your case.
Choosing to handle a case independently, you may forgo the advantageous knowledge, negotiation skills, and other legal skills that our injury attorney may provide for your case. You don’t have to handle a car accident claim and case proceedings alone. To schedule a case review and put your best foot forward in any case, complete a contact form or give us a call at (800) 701-3672.
