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Home » Consumer Information » Personal Injury

Proof of Liability

If you are hurt in an accident, it's natural to say that the person or business that caused the accident should compensate you for your injuries. But before jumping the gun, you must decipher who is legally liable.

The notion of liability is based on the ideal that accidents occur as a result of someone's negligence. In turn, if two people are involved in an accident, the one who exhibited the most amount of negligence should pay for some fraction of the damages incurred by the other person.

For almost every single accident, legal liability is determined by this rule of negligence in combination with at least one of the following principles:

  • If the victim was somewhere that was "off limits" or obviously posed a threat, the person being blamed for the accident may not be responsible because they did not have a duty to go out of their way to protect that person.
  • If the victim was also negligent, the amount of compensation they receive may decrease if it can be proven that their carelessness contributed to the final outcome. This is called comparative negligence.
  • If a careless person causes an accident while under someone else's supervision, the employer be legally accountable too.
  • If an accident occurs on someone's property that is dangerous due to poor construction or upkeep, the property owner is responsible for insufficient maintenance habits, even if they directly caused the perilous conditions or not.
  • If an accident is caused by a defective good, the product manufacturer and seller are equally liable regardless of whether the victim is aware of who created the defect.

Multiple people at fault

When more than one person is liable for an accident, typically the law upholds the fact that each party guilty of negligence should provide compensation for your damages. The parties must then decide amongst themselves if any single group is overly responsible for the accident. If so, that particular party could wind up reimbursing all the rest.

The ability to collect from every liable party gives the claimant a couple important advantages. For example, if one party is insured and one is not, you are allowed to file a claim against the insured party for the entire amount being sought. If both defendants have insurance, you still have to choose one insurance company to settle with. First, take into consideration those people who you believe are responsible, and inform all of them that you are contemplating filing a damages claim. After a personal injury attorney further examines the case and discovers more about how the events of the accident unfolded or which insurance company appears to be taking the blame, you can then narrow your target down to one and file a claim against them.

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