Car Accident Negligence Claims
Car accidents often result from someone's negligence or carelessness, leading to serious or catastrophic injuries. Vehicles are powerful and can cause significant harm to individuals. While rare, some crashes do result from intentional acts or recklessness.
When a lawsuit is filed after a car wreck in Cincinnati due to passenger or driver injuries, it typically alleges the tort of negligence. Negligence is comprised of four key elements:
- Duty
- Breach
- Causation
- Damages
Let's examine these elements more closely in the context of a car crash.
Understanding the Duty of Care
In Cincinnati, drivers owe each other a duty of reasonable care. This means everyone is expected to follow traffic laws and drive as a reasonably prudent person would. This duty extends to pedestrians and bicyclists as well.
Failing to drive reasonably constitutes a breach of this duty.
What Constitutes a Breach?
A "breach" of the duty of reasonable care simply means a person failed in their obligation. This can manifest in various ways, such as:
- Running a red light or stop sign
- Failing to yield
- Crossing a double yellow line
- Rear-ending the car in front (i.e., failure to maintain an assured clear distance ahead)
Establishing Causation of Harm
The third element of a negligence action is "causation" of damages. The injured party must prove that the breach or failure directly caused their harm. Sometimes this is straightforward, while other times it is more complex.
Sometimes this is very straight forward, other times it is not so simple.
For example, if an Ohio drunk driver going 50 mph blows through a stop sign and "t-bones" a van, seriously injuring its occupants with lacerations, broken bones, and herniated discs, it's clear the drunk driver caused the harm. However, consider a scenario where a drunk driver traveling at 10 mph merely scrapes the back of a van, causing it to shake. If an occupant later experiences neck pain after having two previous neck surgeries a year prior, proving the drunk driver caused that specific neck pain becomes more difficult, though not impossible.
Proving Damages from Accidents
Finally, those injured in Cincinnati accidents must prove damages. This means demonstrating that they were harmed in the crash. In the first example above, proving harm with broken bones and cuts would be simple.
However, in the second example, proving the harm to the individual's neck would be more challenging, as much of the harm could be "pre-existing."
Schedule a Free Consultation
If you would like to schedule a free consultation to discuss your negligence claim please use the form to the right or call 513-737-5180.
McKenzie & Snyder LLP practices injury law in Cincinnati, Colerain, Northside, College Hill, Finneytown, Forest Park, Hamilton, Fairfield, West Chester, Arlington Heights, Mt. Healthy, Oxford, Dayton, Middletown and Ohio.
Call (513) 737-5180 today for a free consultation regarding your auto injury case. McKenzie & Snyder LLP has been practicing personal injury law for over 25 years.
