The Four Elements of a Successful Auto Accident Injury Insurance Claim or Lawsuit

Many times, UI/UIM claims ultimately end up being civil court cases, though the route can be quite circuitous. We’re taking a moment to share a brief overview of what it takes to win any personal injury lawsuit. There are four elements to proving injuries against a defendant. You must clearly demonstrate your charges are true and appropriate. They are duty, breach, causation, and damages. Below, we’ll briefly discuss each of these four elements so that you will have a better idea of what it will take to prove that you’re entitled to be compensated for your injuries.

Duty: The first charge your un/underinsured auto accident attorney will make is establishing that the defendant owed you a duty of care. The defendant must exercise a certain level of caution to prevent you from getting hurt while you drove down the street, safely minding your own business. Texas Civil Codes and Procedures set the standard of the duty of care that a person or organization owes to another. Duty depends on the circumstances of the situation in-question that are considered within the relationship of the parties involved.

Breach: The next step is proving that the duty was breached. Usually, plaintiffs and their attorneys must clearly show that the defendant drove in a way that a reasonable person would not have driven. Proving that the defendant breached his duty of care is typically done when you and your attorney present evidence to remove any doubt about what the defendant did or failed to do that caused the car wreck. Offenses such as speeding recklessly, driving at night without headlights on, running through red lights, driving while intoxicated, and more can constitute a breach of the defendant’s duty of care, even if they may not have been legally charged for these offenses in criminal court.

Causation: You must now clearly demonstrate that the defendant breached his duty of care to you through some form of negligence. But the defendant will deny causation (a term used in proving a breach of duty). Often he will argue “unforeseeable circumstances” such as other drivers, pedestrians, or even you were the actual cause of the wreck, This is the defendant’s last stand if he or she hopes to wiggle out of being held liable for your damages. So how do you disprove the defense? It’s up to you and your auto accident lawyer to prove your accident claim, or the defendant is off the hook. It’s essential to have sufficient evidence produced by your attorney’s investigation of the accident to disprove any defense that is thrown at you.

Damages: The final “leg” is proving your damages and asking for just compensation; the specific amount of money you are entitled to collect from the defendant for your legal damages. Damages are the actual sum of money the defendant owes you for medical bills, pain and suffering present lost wages, and the loss of future earning capacity if you are disabled. Also, the repair or replacement bills for your auto and items of worth destroyed in the wreck. To prove what you’re entitled to collect, you’ll need to calculate what you’re owed and provide evidence of your injuries and losses to support your damage claim.

Determining the full amount of damages is as crucial as the other three burdens of proof because the amount of damages can be relative and open to defendant interpretation. Computing every single loss can be challenging unless you have an experienced uninsured/underinsured car accident attorney who knows the value of your losses from auto accidents and how to calculate them effectively. The personal injury lawyers at our Texas Law Firm know how to account for and calculate every one of your accident claim damages, and make doubly-certain that you recover as much as possible for your injuries.

The auto accident lawyers at our Law Firm have effectively handled car accident litigation for decades. We’ve won favorable verdicts and settlements against nearly every major auto insurer in the state. Insurance companies recognize our name. The reputation that precedes us is beneficial in securing special attention to our client’s claims from these insurers. Our goal is to make sure that you recover as much as possible from your injuries and make this sometimes complicated legal process as easy as possible for you.

Put our years of experience to work for you. Know your rights, how to proceed with your claim, and how much compensation you can secure from your auto injury case. Call our Law Firm now at 1(800) 862-1260 (toll-free) for a free consultation and find out how we can help you recover the full fair value of the damages you have suffered through the negligence of another driver.