Car Accident

Each year, thousands die because of motor vehicle crashes. Caraccidents involving the collision of two cars are the most commontype of crashes, although a large percentage of fatalities in caraccidents involve motorcyclists and pedestrians. Because of theincreasing number of property damage, personal injuries and deathsdue to car accidents, states put in place legal rules to determinewho is responsible for the damages resulting from a collision.

Car accident law consists of the principles of negligence, which isgoverned almost entirely by state law. There are differences instate laws governing claims or suits seeking damages resulting fromcar accidents, but typically victims must prove the following: (1)presence of duty of care, (2) breach of such duty, (3) the breachcaused personal injuries or property damage, and (4) and the victimincurred monetary losses.

In terms of duty, drivers are legally obligated to obey traffic rulesand drive their vehicles with reasonable standard of care, whichmeans maintaining safe speed, exercising awareness and observingtraffic signals. During litigation, the existence of duty isgenerally accepted without argument. The plaintiff, however, willneed to prove that the drive breached his or her duty. Breach of dutyis proven through direct or circumstantial evidence. Direct evidenceinclude eyewitnesses, testimony, video footages, or admission offault. Circumstantial evidence include skid marks, paint smudges, oralcohol tests.

The plaintiff must further prove that the breach of duty causedinjuries by demonstrating that the injuries are consistent with thenature of the crash and they were not pre-existing. Moreover, theplaintiff needs to prove that the injuries resulted to monetary loss.Once a jury, after trial, determines that the plaintiff has provenall four elements, the plaintiff will be entitled to compensation fordamages, which include medical expenses, pain and grief, lost wages,among others.

Car accident cases are not complex, but litigating claims for damagesarising from property damage, personal injury or death related to caraccidents is tricky and tedious, requiring plaintiffs to confer withcounsel prior to initiating any suit. For the most part of thelitigation, any act or omission by the plaintiff or defendant maylead to either a win for the plaintiff and defeat for the defendant,or defeat for the plaintiff or win for the defendant. What this meansis that, both parties to car accident litigation must beknowledgeable of how the system works, and not just what the lawprovides, in order to win the case.

For instance, car accident litigation is factual, which means,everything that happened before, during and after the accident mustput in record, and every detail must be taken note of, for theplaintiff or the defendant to build a strong case in his or herfavor. Being factual, the plaintiff or defendant must produce bothdirect and circumstantial evidence to prove their case. There arenumerous rules of evidence that must be taken into consideration sothat an evidence will not be thrown out as unacceptable, weakeningthe case. In addition to winning a case for damages, there is alsoanother complicated matter on seeking compensation from the losingparty's insurance. One is not prevented from representing himself incar accident cases. An expert attorney, however, can protect a clientfrom the opponent's tactics.

Areas of Law

Transportation Law - Legal Information and Resources

Transportation

Transportation law governs the transportation system in the United States, including motor cycles, motor vehicles, trucks, railways, helicopters, and airplanes, and the infrastructure that supports the transportation system. Transportation law governs the mode of transportation and the transportation industry. It is an area of law that encompasses numerous other areas of law, such as trade law.

Transportation law is comprised of federal and state legislation. Transportation, however, is within the authority of the U.S. Congress by virtue of its mandate to regulate interstate and foreign commerce. The U.S. Department of Transportation is the primary federal agency that sets policies the American transportation system. Rules and regulation The Federal Aviation Administration governs the aviation industry. Policies from the FAA range from protecting flyers, cargo in air crafts, air traffic, airport and air carrier maintenance, pilots' and flight attendants' labor issues, and ticketing issues. The Federal Railroad Administration governs the railway industry. In the United States, railroads are used more for transporting goods, usually gas and oil, rather than people, and the FRA issues policies that focus on the safety of railroads to avoid fatal derailments. The National Transportation Safety Board also provides guidelines and investigates mass transit accidents. States pass their own rules and regulations regarding transportation that are in line with federal rules and regulations and create administrative agencies in concerted efforts with the federal government to ensure safety in the transportation system. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration governs longshoring and maritime industry safety and health standards. Other workers' law ensure that workers in the transportation industry are granted the same benefits.

Transportation law ranges from compliance to manufacturing standards, licensing and registration vehicles, and regulation of cargo in both land and air travel. The bulk of the work of transportation law attorneys lies in making sure companies are in compliance with regulations as non-compliance will result to penalties. With respect to companies providing transportation services, they are required that their vehicles adhere to standards imposed by the law and the vehicles are well maintained so that no untowardly accidents will happen while the vehicle is in transit. Accidents relating to the transportation of goods, especially when the commodity is hazardous or dangerous, is not uncommon. An accident involving a train carrying crude oil in July 2013 wiped out a portion of a town in Quebec, killed more than 40 people, resulted to numerous lawsuits, filed by the victims against possible responsible parties, and possible responsible parties against each other and against government agencies. The fatal train derailment pushed the railway company to bankruptcy. It is this kind of situations that companies aim to avoid, such that they retain transportation law attorneys to, foremost, ensure they are in compliance with the law, and defend them at the time when accidents happen.

Transportation by land and air is the most common mode of transportation in the United States. Making sure roads are safe and companies are in compliance with the law ensures that transportation will continue to contribute to the economic development of the country.

Areas of Law