Minnesota Car Accident Lawyers
There is nothing more tragic than the needless loss of life, and few things cause this more frequently than car accidents. No matter how safe they make vehicles today, it is still the responsibility of the people driving to be aware that they are moving at fatal speeds. Fatal car accidents happen on the highway, at intersections, and even on normally quiet neighborhood streets. But one thing is always true: If everyone was driving the way they were supposed to, the accident wouldn’t have happened. And your friend or loved one would still be alive.
If you have lost someone in a recent car accident death, our hearts go out to you. This is one of the most painful and traumatic experiences anyone can go through and your friend’s life should not have been lost. And here at Swor and Gatto, our legal team will do everything we can to make this right. While we can’t bring your loved one back from the dead, we can help you to hold the driver responsible who caused their death.
Of course, legally, this is a more complex issue than simple cause and effect. To hold the other driver legally accountable for a car accident death, you will need to make a strong case that they were the cause of the accident. And that the death wouldn’t have occurred if not for the other driver’s actions or lack of action. For the sake of your wrongful death case, let’s take a closer look at what is considered a legal basis for responsibility for the accident that resulted in your loved one’s death.
Traffic Adherence: Who Wasn’t Obeying Traffic Laws?
The first thing that can be looked at is whether or not each vehicle was obeying the local traffic laws. Traffic laws are written to prevent accidents like the one that just occurred. The reason cars are required to stop, signal, and slow down when they are is to make sure that there is as little risk of accidents as possible. If everyone perfectly obeyed traffic laws at all times, accidents would be limited only to manufacturing flaws and road conditions.
In this case, the police, insurance, and our legal team will take a close look at how the accident played out. If the other driver turned when they should have yielded, was parked in a safety lane, or ran a ran a red light, they are clearly at fault and therefore responsible for the accident. Any obvious violation of traffic law or record of a less-obvious violation will show that the other driver was not obeying the rules meant to keep drivers and passengers safe.
Distracted Driving: Texting Behind the Wheel
In the last 20 years since cellphones become commonplace, new laws have been required to make sure that everyone drives safely. Currently, 16 states and several territories ban any hand-held use of phones behind the wheel. 47 states and DC prohibit text messaging behind the wheel, and 38 states prohibit cellphone use or text messaging for young or probationary drivers. Violation of these laws is called Distracted Driving.
Here in Minnesota, text messaging while driving is illegal, as is any phone use by teens with driving permits and school bus drivers. This means that if the other driver was texting, or was underaged and using a phone at all, they were legally driving distracted and this likely contributed to their carelessness in the accident that resulted in your loved one’s death. Text messaging can be proven simply by checking timestamps on texts sent, which can be checked through the phone company even if the other driver quickly deleted their own records of texts.
Driving While Intoxicated: Driver was Drunk or On Drugs
Another inarguable sign of fault in a car accident death is if the other driver was somehow intoxicated. And in this case, they were not pulled over and stopped in time to prevent the accident. When the law and insurance companies assess fault, an intoxicated driver is always assumed to be the primary cause. Whether the other driver was drunk, taking illegal drugs, or even driving on legally prescribed medication, they should know better than to operate a vehicle with anything less than perfect mental clarity.
Driving requires a great deal of attention to detail and the ability to respond to the road or other drivers immediately. Being intoxicated means that the other driver may not have been able to stop soon enough to avoid hitting your car. May not have noticed that the light changed colors, or may not have seen an obstacle in the road. Or, if they did notice the circumstances that caused the crash, they weren’t physically able to respond in time.
Reckless Driving: Speedings, Rapid Lane Changes, and Traffic Law Violations
All that said, it’s an unfortunate truth that many fatal car crashes happen even when both drivers are clear-headed and paying attention to the road. In these cases, recklessness is usually the core cause of the accident. Reckless driving, essentially, is when one driver decides they own the entire road. They will go as fast as they want, change lanes without ample signaling or manners, or tailgate when they want to force other drivers to speed.
If the other driver was driving recklessly, they made a conscious decision to throw safety to the wind for their own convenience or enjoyment. They chose to betray the mutual trust of other drivers and passengers on the road and your friend may be dead because of their reckless decision.
Admission of Fault: “I’m so sorry”
It’s a strange truth that what you say right after a car accident can have a huge impact on who is found at fault. People tend to say things like “I’m so sorry” or “I never saw the other car coming” when they are shaken up after an accident. Sometimes these words are true, that they really weren’t paying attention and may have been the cause of the accident. And sometimes it’s just what people say when they’ve been through trauma.
But if the other driver admits fault in the immediate aftermath, this significantly strengthens your case in proving their fault for the circumstances that caused the tragic car accident death. Be careful not to say anything that could suggest that you were responsible and listen carefully for what the other driver says. Their post-accident utterances might contain useful grains of truth, like that they weren’t looking where they were going, or that they were in a hurry and therefore driving recklessly.
Negligence: Poor Vehicle Maintenance or Failure to Avoid the Accident
Finally, there are accidents caused by negligence. Which is something that you can prove. One form of crash-causing negligence is when a driver fails to maintain their vehicle. Not replacing headlights or tail lights, for example, can cause their car to be unsafely difficult to see in the dark. Or failing to maintain their breaks, making them unable to stop in time to prevent your accident. This is why accidents caused by vehicle failures are sometimes still considered directly the fault of the vehicle owner.
Another form of negligence would be a failure to act in the moment. Drivers are expected to be aware and able to respond to the road situation at all times. If there is a pedestrian, obeying speed limit doesn’t relieve them of their duty to stop in order not to hit someone. In essence, if the other driver could have sped up, changed lanes, stopped, or moved out of the way to prevent an accident and failed to do so, they may be at fault through negligence.
Lost Loved One In An Auto Accident? Call Swor & Gatto in St. Paul, MN
Have you lost someone recently in a tragic car accident death? If so, you don’t have to face the situation alone. When your accident was caused by another driver, you can hold them responsible for the death by working with an experienced car accident lawyer to prove that they were at fault for the accident. For more information on car accident death cases or a consultation on your unique situation, contact us today. The Swor and Gatto legal team is always ready to listen and offer sound legal advice to those who have experienced personal tragedy.