Rear-end accidents are among the most common car crashes, often leading to serious injuries like whiplash or soft tissue damage. When you are injured after an accident, you may wonder how you will afford to pay for your medical bills and damages to your car.
The National Safety Council attributes 29 percent of all car accidents to rear-end collisions. Some common reasons for these wrecks include:
In most San Mateo rear-end collisions, the driver who smashes into the front car is responsible. The injured driver can claim the rear driver’s insurance company because California is an at-fault state, meaning the party responsible for an accident pays for the damages, often through an insurance policy.
When the defendant was ticketed for breaking a California law, an attorney could rely on the negligence per se doctrine. Under this law, a negligent driver’s illegal activity automatically establishes the defendant had a duty to drive safely and breached that duty. While plaintiffs usually must prove negligent behavior, negligence per se allows them to use this law instead. Then, the plaintiff must only prove the defendant caused the injuries.
Plaintiffs must prove that the defendants are the proximate cause and the cause-in-fact of their injuries. The cause-in-fact demands the situation passes the ‘but for’ test—meaning that the injuries would not have occurred but for the defendant’s irresponsible acts. The defendant’s actions are the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injuries if it is reasonably foreseeable that the acts would cause the type of injuries the plaintiff incurred.
Solution Now Law Firm