That question reflects the thinking of all those involved in assessing the causes for a given motor vehicle accident. Each of them is asking questions like this: Which drivers behaved in a careless and neglectful manner? Who demonstrated an unacceptable level of negligence?
After a serious accident, the drivers and perhaps some passengers must deal with painful, maybe catastrophic injuries. The injured victims have a right to file a personal injury claim. Still, their chances for winning a sizeable award depends on their ability to place all of the blame on another party.
What happens when 2 or more parties share the blame?
Insurance companies study the facts to see who has caused a given accident. In addition, the adjuster will examine each of the factors that might have aggravated the injuries suffered by any of the victims. Sometimes, a victim’s foolish actions can aggravate that same victim’s injury.
Sometimes, too, more than one driver might have committed an act that aided occurrence of a collision. If the blame gets shared, then the court apportions the liability. In other words, it splits the award between the various victims.
What evidence guides the apportionment of liability?
The location and degree of damage to the involved vehicles might indicate the need to apportion liability. On the other hand, the extent and nature of any victim’s injuries could also push the court to apportion blame/liability. At such a time, even an injured victim might get charged with contributory negligence?
How could an innocent victim be negligent? Recall the process mentioned above: The insurance company and the court will check to see if a victim’s actions aggravated his or her injury. For example, an investigation of the collision might uncover the fact that an injured driver or passenger failed to wear a seat belt. That foolish act qualifies as contributory negligence.
Do not think that only a driver or passenger could be held partly to blame for a given injury. Some personal injury lawyers in Medicine Hat are of the view that even a pedestrian hit by a motor vehicle might get a reduced award, if he or she had acted foolishly. Maybe that pedestrian was texting while crossing the street. Perhaps that walker wore dark-colored clothes.
Legally, the courts cannot fine anyone for their choice of attire. Yet it is now possible to purchase safety vests, which make a walker more visible. Maybe in the future the safety vest will play a role similar to the one now assumed by the seat belt.
Still, traffic authorities would not want to run after any pedestrian that did not wear such a vest. Well, there are some glowing alternative items. Walkers can find such safety gear online.