Road Rage: Seeking Justice With Criminal and Civil Law

With more drivers on the road and more stressors affecting all of them, road rage is a growing problem in many areas. If you are the victim of road rage, what can you do to get justice? How might criminal charges for the perpetrator affect you? And what will you have to prove in court? Here are some answers to your questions about this dangerous personal injury issue. 

Is Road Rage a Crime?

Road rage is not by itself a criminal act. A person can get mad and even act somewhat aggressively without it reaching criminal proportions. However, their actions during the incident can rise to a crime — or even multiple criminal acts which may be charged separately. 

What Can a Person Be Charged With?

Any number of infractions, misdemeanors, and felony charges are all available to law enforcement depending on the specifics. The driver may be charged with aggressive or reckless driving. If they strike another vehicle or individual, they may be charged with battery. And using their vehicle to hit others could even be construed as using a deadly weapon.

Even if the enraged driver doesn't actually physically strike someone, they may be guilty of assault. Perhaps they made menacing moves with their car or threatened you with violence at a stop light. If you honestly believed that they could follow through with their threats and had the ability to do so, prosecutors may pursue assault charges. 

Can You Still Sue the Person?

Criminal law and civil law are different things, and cases can exist alongside each other or completely independently. So, yes, you can sue the other driver regardless of what law enforcement decides to do. That lawsuit would generally allege what's known as a tort, Torts are acts or omissions which cause harm to another, and they can be intentional or negligent. 

If prosecutors decline to charge the person with a crime, a personal injury lawsuit may be your only path to get compensation for any injuries, mental anguish, or property damage you experienced. Even if there is a criminal case, that trial is about protecting society at large rather than making an individual victim whole. There may be little or no restitution available, so you may need to sue for compensation. 

It's important to note, though, that your civil lawsuit may need to wait until the criminal case is concluded. This is often done to protect the criminal defendant's constitutional rights. 

What If the Person Isn't Convicted?

Ideally, you would have a criminal conviction to show your personal injury trial jury. However, this doesn't always happen. In many cases, this is because the burden of proof differs between civil and criminal courts. A jury in criminal court must find the defendant to be guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, which is a high bar to reach.

The good news is that they can still be found liable in civil court. Civil court issues jury guidelines such as 'by clear and convincing evidence' or that something is 'more likely than not'. So you can reach this lower standard even with the same evidence and a similar strategy. 

What Must You Prove in Court?

Even with lower standards for finding a person liable for road rage, the burden of proof is still on you as the plaintiff. In general, a personal injury plaintiff must prove four key elements of a tort. 

The first is that the person had a duty of care toward you. Drivers generally have a strong duty of care to avoid causing harm to others. This makes sense because they operate a potentially dangerous vehicle in a very public setting. 

Second, you demonstrate that they breached that duty. With a road rage case, this breach can come from reckless driving which put you in harm's way, threatening behavior, striking you with a vehicle, or physically assaulting you during an altercation they began. 

The third element is to show that harm resulted from that breach. Although this case may fall under the personal injury category, that harm doesn't necessarily have to include physical injury. You may suffer property damage to your car or other belongings, mental health issues such as PTSD, or financial harm from lost wages or bills. You must, though, link this harm to the road rage incident. 

Finally, the plaintiff calculates the financial value of that harm. Calculations vary, and you may use both tangible financial losses and those which are less tangible (such as pain and suffering). 

Where Should You Start?

No matter what kind of road rage incident you were a victim of, the best place to learn about your options is to meet with a qualified personal injury attorney. Jeeves Law Group, P.A. is ready to help. We specialize in helping Florida victims get the compensation they need and deserve. Call today to make an appointment or get answers to your questions.