During the moments before an accident occurs, someone becomes negligent. In other words, he or she behaves in a careless and neglectful fashion. Thus, the person that must decide who was at fault needs to determine which of the individuals involved displayed the greatest degree of careless and neglectful behavior.
Is there a legal interpretation of negligent behavior?
Generally, it entails carrying out actions that would not be taken by a reasonable person. It could also apply to a situation in which someone had failed to perform actions that a reasonable person would have been likely to take.
Questions asked during a determination of who was at fault for given accident
When the unfortunate incident occurred, was the plaintiff in a spot that he or she should not have been? Had the plaintiff gone voluntarily into a dangerous location, one that had been marked-off, in an effort to restrict the entry of those that are not in the process of correcting the problems in that particular spot?
Had the plaintiff been careless? Had he or she failed to utilize a safety device such as a seat belt or a piece of gear, such as a helmet? A demonstration of such careless behavior can force a judge to admit that the plaintiff was at least partly to blame for his or her injuries.
Had a negligent driver been performing a job-related function at the time of the accident? If that were the case, then the driver’s employer would be the person deemed at-fault for the accidental occurrence.
Had a normally safe location become dangerous just before the plaintiff entered that same area? That tends to be the case in a great many slip and fall incidents. Hence, smart property owners try to get dangers such as a slippery floor removed as soon as possible. Otherwise, that same property owner can be held liable for any fall victim’s injuries.
Did someone get injured while using a defective product? If the user had not known about the defect, then anyone that had helped to make and distribute that specific item could be deemed at-fault for any harm done to an innocent victim, as per personal injury lawyer in Edmonton.
What happens if more than one person can be held liable for a victim’s injuries?
In that case the person that has been judged to have been most negligent must pay the compensation due the injured victim. Then the person that has made that payment needs to speak with those individuals that were at least partly responsible. Consultations that take place among such individuals are supposed to determine how the person that came forward with the compensation can be reimbursed for helping to cover the others’ expenses.