Car Accidents

Common Causes of Car Accidents

In some instances, a car accident will occur for reasons beyond anyone’s control, such as inclement weather or wild animals running into traffic. Usually, however, the careless acts of one or more people will cause an accident. For example, many drivers are distracted by text messages or social media posts and take their attention away from the road, which ultimately results in a collision. Driving too fast, traveling too closely behind other motorists, and turning unsafely cause many crashes. In some instances, a driver will lack confidence due to inexperience or advanced age and will simply be unable to operate a vehicle safely. In addition to unsafe driving, crashes can also be caused by roads that are not properly designed and cars that are suffering from latent defects.

Pursuing Claims Following a Car Accident

As the root cause of most car accidents is reckless behavior, lawsuits seeking damages for the harm suffered due to a collision will usually set forth a negligence claim against the defendant. In Florida, to recover damages for negligence, a plaintiff must show that the defendant had a duty to abide by a certain standard of conduct to protect others from foreseeable risks of harm and a breach of the duty by the defendant.

The standard of conduct may be imposed by a statute, such as a traffic law, or may merely be the reasonable person standard, which is the care that an ordinary, prudent person would exercise under similar circumstances. For example, if the defendant drove twenty miles over the speed limit while it was raining and a sensible person would not do so, it may constitute a departure from the standard. After establishing duty and a breach, the plaintiff must then demonstrate causation. In other words, the plaintiff must show that they suffered quantifiable harm and that the harm is directly attributable to the defendant’s breach and that if the breach had not happened, the plaintiff would not have been hurt.

It is common for a defendant in a car accident case to attempt to avoid liability by arguing that the plaintiff caused the accident and should, therefore, not be permitted to recover compensation. Even if a judge or jury ultimately finds a plaintiff to be partially responsible for a collision, however, under Florida law, a plaintiff’s fault will merely result in a reduction of damages rather than bar the plaintiff from recovering altogether.

Speak to a Trusted Florida Car Accident Attorney

While car crashes are common, they nonetheless can shatter people’s lives, and those injured in collisions should not have to bear the burden of the losses they suffered due to other parties’ negligence. If you were injured in a car accident, the trusted personal injury attorneys of Winegar Law, P.A. can help you seek the full amount of damages recoverable under the law, and we will advocate aggressively on your behalf to help you pursue a just result. We regularly represent parties in car accident lawsuits in West Palm Beach, Miami, and other cities in Florida. We can be reached at any of our offices in West Palm Beach and Miami at (561) 717-0447 or via our online form to schedule a confidential and free meeting.