Filing a road crash injury claim against the right defendant is crucial if you want to get the rightful compensation.
An accident is an unfortunate event. While you may suffer from minor injuries and vehicle damage, there can be serious ones as well. In fact, serious injuries may have lasting implications as they may cause temporary or permanent disability. You may even lose your job and income, which can result in a financial crisis for the family. As road accidents can have such a drastic impact on your life, you definitely deserve to be compensated.
Fortunately, personal injury law comes to the rescue of the victims who get injured due to the negligence of others. However, you need to file your claim against the right defendant to ensure a favorable verdict. Before doing so, you must understand who a defendant is.
Personal injury defendants
As the name implies, a defendant in personal injury cases means the person being sued for damages, or defending against your suit. When it comes to road crashes, the negligent driver of the vehicle that caused the accident is the one who is liable. As a victim, you can sue them to claim compensation for damages and injuries. Though you sue the defendant, the claim is paid by their insurance company.
What can you do to establish the fault of the defendant?
Negligence is the foundation of personal injury cases. Simply speaking, you can file a case only when the guilty party has shown negligent or reckless behavior. Your first priority as a plaintiff should be to establish how the defendant violated the reasonable standard of care and acted in a negligent manner. This is the reason why having a car or motorcycle accident lawyer to represent your case is important. The first thing that the lawyer will do is to identify how a defendant can be held legally responsible for the victim’s injury. The defendant’s fault can be established by:
- Showing violation of a traffic law, which is mentioned in the accident police report
- By the testimony of the victim and eyewitnesses to the road crash
- By the examination of the evidence such as vehicle damage at the accident scene
Once it is established that the defendant has been negligent, you can go ahead and sue them because they are responsible for your pain and suffering.
Defendants can assert a defense as well
While the victim can sue the right defendant in an accident case, the latter can assert their defense as well. If the defendant fails to respond to a civil complaint against them, they will lose the case by default and the judgment will be in the victim’s favor. However, the defendant can present evidence to prove their innocence if they believe that they are being implicated without a good reason. In fact, they may even countersue for damages if they have been also injured in the accident and can prove that the other party was negligent.
Filing a road crash injury claim against the right defendant is crucial if you want to get the rightful compensation. What matters more is having the right lawyer who is capable of proving the negligence of the defendant and getting you a favorable verdict.
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