After you’ve been involved in a California car accident, you must be able to prove negligence of the other party in order to have a valid California car accident claim. There are 5 elements of negligence that you and your San Diego car crash lawyer will have to prove to improve chances of obtaining compensation from your California car accident claim.

Five Elements of Negligence

The 5 elements of negligence are: 

  • Duty: The court will decide if the defendant had a duty to act in a certain manner that could have prevented your California car accident. Obeying posted speed limits and using turn signals are examples of a defendant’s duty.
  • Breach of Duty: If the defendant failed to abide by the duty owed to the plaintiff, the defendant could be held liable for a California car accident. For example, if your California car accident resulted because the defendant was speeding, this will serve as proof that the defendant breached his or her duty.
  • Cause in Fact: This is essentially the legal cause of your accident. If the defendant was speeding and hit you because he or she was not able to brake in time to avoid a crash, cause in fact can be established.
  • Proximate Cause: This is the sequence of events that led to your injury. Without proximate cause, you would not have injuries or a valid California car accident claim.
  • Damages: The plaintiff must show documented physical injuries to recover damages. To help your California car accident claim, you should take pictures of your injuries and property damage and keep all medical appointments and receipts. 

When negligence can be proven, your chances of collecting compensation are still 50/50. After you’ve proven that the defendant caused your California car accident, it comes down to your percentage of fault in the car accident to determine the worth of your California car accident claim.

California distributes compensation for injuries based on its pure comparative negligence system. You’ll be compensated based on your total percentage of fault. Even if you’re 97% at fault, you’ll still be compensated for the 3% that you weren’t.

Contact a San Diego car crash lawyer to help protect your California car accident claim. A San Diego car crash lawyer is familiar with the process in filing a California car accident claim under California’s negligence laws and will work to fight for the compensation you deserve.

Help After a California Car Accident

When the unthinkable happens and you or a loved one is injured in a California car accident know that you don’t have to face this challenge alone. The San Diego car crash lawyer at the law offices of Keith J. Stone are here to provide all of the information you need about California injury law so you can make informed choices about your California car accident claim. We even offer a FREE auto accident guide for Southern California residents. If you’re looking for personalized care and attention at this vulnerable time, contact our offices today – 1-619-531-2022 or toll-free at 1-888-59-HELP-NOW.

The San Diego-based Office of attorney Keith J. Stone serves the following areas in Southern California: