5 Factors That May Affect Your Auto Accident Injury Case

1. Your Vehicle's Mechanical Condition

A vehicle that experiences a sudden, unexpected mechanical failure can easily cause or contribute to an auto accident injury. For instance, brake failure can allow one car to ram another, while a power steering failure can make a heavy vehicle too difficult to steer, resulting in a collision with another car or solid object.

Mechanical failure due to poor vehicle maintenance may mean that the owner in question must assume liability for the consequent injuries. If your own lapses in preventative maintenance played a role, the court may reduce your claim by the percentage of your own liability, in accordance with Florida's comparative negligence rule.

2. Distracted Driving

Today's drivers find themselves vulnerable to more distractions than ever before, thanks to the proliferation of smartphones, email, and text messaging to take their minds off the road and their hands off the wheel. Noisy passengers, food or drink consumption, and other distractions can also steal concentration and contribute to accidents.

If your attorney can show that distraction on another's driver's part caused your injury, you may win at least some of the compensation you seek (bearing in mind that the comparative liability rule still applies in these situations). You may need to request the at-fault party’s phone and text records to verify that the distraction occurred at the time of the accident.

3. The Presence of Witnesses

Few elements can make a bigger impact on the outcome of a personal injury case than witness testimony. For this reason, if anyone observed your accident, you should ask these individuals for their contact information and to stay on the scene long enough to relay their observations to the police.

In addition to witnesses who can attest to what they saw and heard at the scene of the accident, your attorney may also engage professionals in specific fields who can explain difficult technical evidence and give your case more authority. Examples of expert witnesses may include doctors, mechanical engineers, and an accident reconstructionist.

4. Unavoidable Circumstances

You can't successfully sue someone for an auto accident that caused a personal injury if that person bears no responsibility for the event that triggered the accident. Certain unavoidable circumstances can lead to an auto accident in which no one holds any legal liability, with the auto insurance companies providing the sole financial compensation in limited circumstances.

Pure accidents, sometimes called acts of God, may involve health crises, such as a driver who suffers a debilitating stroke, heart attack, or fainting spell while behind the wheel. Other examples might include a swerve to avoid a person or animal running across the road, unexpected weather hazards, and natural disasters.

Keep in mind that foul weather doesn't necessarily remove the burden of liability in an auto accident injury case. If the weather forecast predicted icy or stormy weather and the other driver ventured out on the road anyway, that driver might still face liability to any resulting loss of vehicular control.

5. Your Claim Filing Window

No matter how powerful and well-documented an auto accident injury case you may have, that case will never go to court if you neglect some simple but critical administrative steps. For instance, you must file your claim in accordance with the State of Florida's rules and regulations.

In most cases, Florida law requires individuals who wish to pursue personal injury cases (including auto accident injury cases) to file a claim against the at-fault party within four years from the date of the accident. Additionally, you may be entitled to certain befefits with your own insurance company. In the event a dispute arises between you and your own insurance company you have tive years to file your claim against them. If you fail to file your claim within that four or five-year window, the court has every right to reject your case.

If you believe you deserve financial compensation for an auto accident injury, get the expert advice, support, and representation you need from Jeeves Law Group. Our skilled attorneys can evaluate all the factors that may play a role in your case and help you pursue that case as effectively as possible. Contact our firm today for a free case evaluation.