To have any chance of recovering in your car accident claim, you must be able to prove negligence on the part of the other driver or drivers involved in your accident. All drivers have certain duties to maintain reasonable standards of safety while on the road. When they fail in those duties, you may be able to prove negligence. 

The following are some elements of car accident cases that could help you to prove negligence on the part of the other driver: 

• There are laws in place requiring drivers to take reasonable care. The laws require all drivers to be careful when encountering others on the road, including both people in other vehicles and pedestrians. This is commonly referred to as “the duty of reasonable care.”
• The defendant failed to take proper care on the road. If you can prove the defendant violated his or her duty of reasonable care, then you can prove that he or she was negligent. The law begs the question of what a reasonable, careful person would have done in the same situation as the defendant. Common ways that defendants fail in their duty of reasonable care include watching for pedestrians at crosswalks, stopping at red lights or maintaining a safe distance behind other vehicles on the road.
• The defendant’s negligence directly caused the injuries to the plaintiff. It’s not just enough to prove that the defendant was negligent — you need to be able to prove that that negligence was the cause of your injuries. For example, if you had a pre-existing condition, you could not base a lawsuit on that condition after being in an accident.
• The plaintiff suffered some type of loss. You can receive compensation for lost wages, injuries, pain and suffering or property damage in a car accident claim. If there aren’t any provable injuries or monetary losses, you cannot recover. 

For more information about proving negligence after a car accident, speak with the southern Maryland personal injury attorneys at Mudd, Mudd & Fitzgerald, P.A.