Massachusetts Personal Injury Library
Elements of Negligence in a Massachusetts Car Accident
Common Questions After Your Car Accident
These are some of the most common questions after a Boston car accident, particularly in regards to negligence.
- Did I sustain any injuries?
- What are my damages?
- Who is liable?
If you have been seriously injured in an auto accident, you will want these questions answered quickly. Establishing liability in a car accident case is the first important step towards seeking compensation for your medical bills and other related accident expenses.
Establishing Liability in a Negligence Case
Establishing negligence means that you have the ability to hold someone else legally accountable for the injuries they caused you. In order to receive compensation for your accident injuries, it is your duty to show that the other individual or entity is at fault. Basically, in your negligence case, you must prove that the other party is liable or responsible for any harm caused to you because of the accident.
Legal liability in Massachusetts is dependent on a number of elements in a negligence case. For the most part, you and your Massachusetts personal injury attorney must look at all the facts involved in your accident. Massachusetts operates under comparative negligence, meaning you will need to prove that the other party was more than 51% responsible for the damage and injuries resulting from your crash in order to seek compensation.
If both you and the other person involved acted carelessly, then comparative negligence will be used to determine the amount of liability in the accident. You may each be responsible for a portion of the damages.
Elements of a Negligence Case
There are five different elements of negligence:
- Duty: Where a judge determines that the defendant owes a duty of care to the plaintiff if there is a recognizable relationship between the two. For example, when you drive a car you have a duty to the other vehicles on the road to drive safely and follow all traffic laws.
- Breach of Duty: Where a Judge or jury decides that the defendant has not fulfilled the duty owed to the plaintiff. If a driver acted recklessly by excessively speeding or driving under the influence (OUI), they breached their duty to safely share the road.
- Cause in Fact: Also called a “but-for causation” where the plaintiff proves that the injuries were caused “but for” the actions of the defendant and nothing else. In other words, you wouldn’t be injured if the other vehicle did not crash into you.
- Proximate Cause: A defendant can only be liable for the harm that the defendant could have anticipated in the negligence case. Since drivers are aware that driving recklessly is a risky behavior, they are aware that driving that way can cause accidents and serious injuries.
- Damages: The plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant’s negligence caused damages such as personal injury or property damages. This means you’ll need to provide evidence that your injuries were a direct result of the accident that was caused by the other party.
Contact Tom Kiley, an experienced Massachusetts accident attorney at 1-888-208-1695, to set up a FREE consultation of your case. Filing a personal injury lawsuit may help you recover compensation for physical and emotional trauma, loss of wages, medical bills, and other damages in a negligence case.
