Liability for a car accident can result in the payment of significant damages for the party that is found liable for the accident. For that reason, it is helpful to be familiar with possible defenses to liability for a car accident or truck accident which may leave the party found liable paying medical expenses, lost wages and other damages.
Defense options for car or truck accident claims can include:
- Comparative negligence – if the alleged victim was partly to blame for the accident, or even mostly to blame for the accident, it may be able to apportion that fault so that damages are paid according to each party’s negligence.
- Assumption of risk – the assumption of risk defense may come up in certain situations including if the alleged victims identifies and understands the risks associated with a particular situation and proceeds voluntarily to expose themselves to the risk of harm. This may apply to passengers in car accidents in some situations and a variety of other situations as well.
- There was no negligence – for there to be liability for negligence, the party at fault must have owed a duty to the alleged victim, failed to exercise reasonable care and violated that duty, that the injury to the alleged victim was foreseeable as a result and that the alleged victim was damaged. If any one of these elements is missing, there may be no negligence.
- No serious injury was suffered – in some circumstances, the alleged victim may have not suffered a serious injury which can impact the liability of the other party.
- Employment relationship – if an employee is the driver alleged to have committed negligence, if there is not employment relationship or the employee was operating out of the scope of their employment relationship, there may be no liability.
There are a variety of different defense options when a claim for negligence has been brought following a car accident. The best option depends on the situation which is why it is helpful to be familiar with each.