How a Car Accident Case Works

Car accident law is a combination of traffic and personal injury law. Someone who is injured in an auto accident can hire an attorney who will negotiate with the other drivers to determine who should pay for the damage, and if necessary, the attorney will file a lawsuit. The courts will piece together exactly what happened using police reports, photos, and other evidence, and then use the local traffic laws as well as legal concepts such as to determine who caused the accident. Whoever is at fault usually has to compensate the other party for medical and property expenses, as well as for harm such as lost wages and pain and suffering.

However, this is not always a simple calculation, since sometimes both drivers are at fault. Each state has slightly different rules for situations in which there is more than one person responsible for the crash. Some states require that one party pays all the bills, whereas others allow the two parties to split the bills according to the amount each party is to blame.