When filing a claim for damages, you must be able to examine every aspect of your case to secure the compensation owed to you. However, to effectively do so, you will have to retain the services of an attorney who knows and understands the factors the impact liability in Charleston pedestrian accidents. To learn more about how a lawyer could help, schedule a consultation today.
Speed of a Vehicle
The speed of a vehicle may determine whether a case has aggravating factors. For example, if a vehicle is traveling well above the speed limit in a neighborhood and the driver strikes an unsuspecting person, the jury may find the at-fault party liable without a doubt.
The conditions of the road and its surroundings will also be taken into consideration when casting judgment on the speed of a person’s vehicle. For example, if it is raining or snowing and the driver does not slow down given the weather conditions, the court will take that into account in their decision. In addition, if the area the driver is traveling through is known to experience heavy foot traffic, and the driver does not slow down or yield, they would most likely be found liable for damages in the event of an accident.
Distracted Driving
When a person gets behind the wheel of a vehicle, they have a duty to everyone on the road to drive in a safe and responsible manner. However, this duty is immediately breached when a person begins to use their phone or turn their focus away from the road. If a cellphone is the cause of a person’s distraction, the plaintiff may try to obtain the driver’s cellphone records to prove liability. If the court is presented with such evidence regarding the lack of focus and attention to the driver’s surroundings, the driver will most likely have to pay for the victim’s monetary damages.
Distracted Pedestrians
If the defense knows that they will be found liable for an accident, they will try to investigate ways to have the victim share some form of responsibility as well. The ways in which a pedestrian could be found partially liable include whether they were under the influence of alcohol or drugs, were looking at their phone and not paying attention to where they were going, and whether they walked into the road or intersection when they were not supposed to. A person’s level of fault would be dictated on how egregious the jury perceives the victim’s actions to be in the moments leading up to the accident.
Traffic Violations
Anytime there is an injury case where a driver committed some type of error in the lead up to an accident, one of the main elements the court will look at is whether any traffic laws were violated. For example, if the accident occurred in an intersection and a driver did not stop at a stop sign, traffic light, or did not yield to a pedestrian who had the right of way, the at-fault driver will most likely be held liable for damages.
Get in Touch with an Experienced Attorney
When filing a claim for damages, individuals must be able to prove negligence against the at-fault party. However, to do so, the plaintiff must work with an attorney who has experience handling these types of cases. Schedule a consultation to begin discussing the factors that impact liability in Charleston pedestrian accidents. Doing so could have a positive impact on your claim.
