Spotsylvania County Rear End Collision Lawyer
A rear-end collision is defined by Spotsylvania law the same as all of Virginia. It is a collision that occurs when one vehicle collides the front of their vehicle with the rear of another person’s vehicle.
A Spotsylvania County rear-end collision lawyer could handle the deadlines, filing the paperwork, and making sure everything is set to go to the insurance company properly and on time. Therefore, discussing your case with a compassionate car crash attorney could be beneficial to your recovery process.
Common Causes of Rear-End Collision Scenarios
Some fact patterns surrounding rear-end collision scenarios in Spotsylvania include people not paying attention in traffic. Maybe they are texting, on the phone, playing with the radio, talking to other people in the car or are distracted by other things, and they hit the person in front of them. Bumper to bumper traffic situation do not usually create a lot of injuries.
Other rear-end accidents occur when there is some event that occurs on the road suddenly and it makes the cars brake suddenly. Even though a person is paying attention, if someone brakes in front of them quickly because there is some emergency in the road, they may still be held liable if they collide with the back of another car. They need to be ready to put on the brakes in the event of an emergency.
How is Fault Assigned in Rear-End Accident Claims?
The assumption that the car behind is always at fault in a rear-end collision holds true for every jurisdiction. However, there are ways for the person behind to get out of the lawsuit.
If an emergency event occurs on the highway where a reasonable person would not be able to break in time to stop for the vehicle in front of them, they might be able to avoid being held negligent and responsible for the person who is hit.
It is presumed that the person behind is going to be responsible for the injuries for the person in a crash. They have the final ability to avoid the collision because the person in front is not able to do anything to avoid the collision. The person behind has all the power.
Role of Contributory Negligence in a Bumper to Bumper Crash
The role of contributory negligence in rear-end accident cases in Spotsylvania is that any driver that is one percent negligent or more may not collect from a personal injury lawsuit for that collision. This is because Virginia is a contributory negligent state.
If the person in the car in front is backing up while the person behind is going forward, they might be able to say that the person in front was negligent for reversing into the car behind it.
If that person is found to be even one person negligent, they would be barred from recovering even though they were driving the vehicle in front.
Common Tools Used to Establish Liability
Some of the methods and tools a Spotsylvania County rear-end collision lawyer would use to establish liability in Spotsylvania rear-end collision cases include having the plaintiff identify the car that they were driving, the location of the vehicle when the accident took place, and that they saw the other vehicle hit them and are able to identify the make or model of that vehicle.
Another way would be if that person was able to identify who was driving the other vehicle that day. Some other tools include using a police report that has the information of both drivers and using the testimony of the officer who took the police report.
Having the officer testify at trial would be helpful to prove liability. For the most part, when insurance companies try to fight liability for rear-end collision, it is not successful. They are forcing the plaintiff to prove their case, which is fair and legal, but easy to prove.
Importance of Contacting an Attorney
Some reasons why it is important to contact a lawyer soon after a car accident–rather than waiting–include getting the help they need to prove the pain and suffering that they go through. The sooner a person contacts a lawyer the sooner they could start working on their case, getting their medical bills and records, and preparing for the case against the tortfeasor’s insurance company.
Because Virginia has shorter statutes of limitations than Maryland or DC., the injured party may not be able to recover at all in court. A Spotsylvania County rear-end collision lawyer would know that the statute of limitations is usually two years after the date of the accident. Someone with experience in negotiating with insurance companies could add value to the case and get the person more money than they would have been able to get if they had handled it on their own.