The moments after a car accident can be incredibly confusing, disorienting and traumatizing. Your immediate focus is likely to be on treating injuries, ensuring everyone’s safety and assessing the damage to vehicles.
In the days following the accident, you might start to concentrate on holding the other driver accountable, if you feel they were responsible for the accident. This is especially true if you find the costs of the accident are starting to quickly add up.
What is negligence?
Personal injury actions are based on the legal concept of negligence. You must prove that the other driver was negligent to recover compensation.
Negligence means establishing that the other driver failed in their legal duty to drive safely and reasonably and that failure caused your accident. You must also prove damages.
Damages are the amount of losses you suffer because of the accident. They can include medical expenses, lost wages and compensation for pain and suffering.
Gathering evidence
The right evidence is key to proving negligence. You should always contact the police and obtain a copy of the police report after a car accident. Take photographs of the accident scene.
Talk to witnesses. Remember that witnesses can include not only individuals who were at the scene, but owners of nearby homes or businesses who may have surveillance cameras that recorded the accident.
Be prepared for the other driver to defend themselves by claiming that your negligence was the cause of the accident. Tennessee law follows a modified comparative negligence rule.
How modified comparative negligence works
Under this rule, a court apportions negligence among the parties’ using percentages. If you are found to be more than 50% at fault, you cannot recover any compensation at all.
If you are found to be less than 50% at fault, your compensation will be reduced in proportion to your percentage of negligence. This is why putting on the strongest possible evidence is crucial to getting the compensation you deserve after an accident.