Motor Vehicle Accidents

Overview

Motor vehicle accidents are the cause of hundreds of thousands of injuries and deaths each year. These accidents involve cars, trucks, common carriers, motorcycles, and pedestrians. Basic negligence laws apply except when a common carrier injures a passenger.

The Law Controlling Motor Vehicle Accidents

The judge will instruct the jury that "a person must use reasonable care in driving a vehicle. Drivers must keep a lookout for pedestrians, obstacles, and other vehicles. They must also control the speed and  movement of their vehicles. The failure to use reasonable care in driving a vehicle is negligence". CACI 700 (CACI are the approved jury instructions from the Judicial Council of California. Jury instructions are read to the jury by the judge and establish the law the jury must follow in deciding the case. A partner of Cheong, Denove, Rowell & Bennett has been formally recognized as one of the attorneys who assisted the task force in the preparation of these jury instructions.) For related information go to Negligence Law.

Client's vehicle after rollover, caused by impact from tractor trailer. Click to Enlarge

Common Carriers

Some motor vehicle accidents involve buses, taxis and limousines. These vehicles when engaged in the business of transporting passengers or property are referred to as common carriers. Under negligence law a defendant driver must reasonable care to prevent injury to others. If the defendant driver is acting as a common carrier, he must use the utmost care and the vigilance of a very cautious person. In fact, the common carrier must do all that human care, vigilance and foresight reasonably can do under the circumstances to avoid harm to its passengers or property. CACI 902. To learn more about the special duties imposed upon common carriers go to Actions Against Common Carriers.

Pedestrians Motor vehicle accidents that involve pedestrians can cause significant injury or death. The law requires that both the driver of a motor vehicle and a pedestrian to exercise reasonable care. However, the duty to use reasonable care does not require the same amount of caution from drivers and pedestrians.  Drivers must use more care than pedestrians. CACI 710

The driver of a motor vehicle shall yield the right of way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection. The driver approaching a pedestrian within any marked or unmarked crosswalk must exercise all due care and reduce the speed of the vehicle or take any other action as necessary to safeguard the safety of the pedestrian. However, the pedestrian may not suddenly leave the curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle that is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard.  California Vehicle Code Section § 21950

Right of Way

Many motor vehicle accidents involve two or more persons claiming that they had the right-of-way and therefore the other driver must be at fault. When the law requires a driver or pedestrian to "yield the right-of-way" to another vehicle or pedestrian this means that the person must let the other person go first. A person who has the right-of-way may intentionally waive it, or may act in such a manner to indicate to another that he or she intends to waive the right-of-way. If a driver or pedestrian reasonably believes that the other person has given up the right-of-way, then he or she may go first.

Speed

Many people assume that if the other driver was exceeding the speed limit and a collision occurs, that driver is necessarily at fault. This is not always the case. The jury is instructed that a person must drive at a reasonable speed. Whether a particular speed is reasonable depends on the circumstances such as traffic, weather, visibility and road conditions. Drivers must not drive so fast that they create a danger to people or property. CACI 706

The speed limit is a factor to consider whether or not a driver was negligent. A driver is not necessarily negligent just because he or she was driving faster than the speed limit. However, a driver may be negligent even if he or she was driving at or below the speed limit. CACI 707

The exception to this rule is if the driver exceeds the maximum speed limit. Vehicle Code Section § 22349(a) sets the general maximum speed limit at 65 miles per hour; section 22349(b) sets the basic maximum for two-lane, undivided highways at 55 miles per hour; section 22356 sets the maximum speed limit at 70 miles per hour at selected locations. If a driver violates the maximum speed limit the judge can instruct the jury that they can presume the driver was negligent unless they find that the violation was excused. CACI 418

Dangerous Road Conditions

The road can be the sole cause of a contributing cause of a motor vehicle accident When an accident is caused by a dangerous road condition, the city, county or state may be liable for a person's injuries. A "dangerous condition" is a condition of public property that creates a substantial risk of injury to persons using the property with reasonable care and a reasonably foreseeable manner. To learn more about this go to Dangerous Condition of Public Property.

Defective Vehicle A single car accident is often caused by the defective design or manufacture of a vehicle or its component parts. Defective tires that detread can result in a car leaving the roadway. Rollover accidents can be caused by a defective design resulting in loss of stability.

Braking Collision at 35mph Braking Collision at 42mph Accident reconstructions used during direct examination of the expert witness. Click each image to Enlarge

Defective car parts can also result in increased injury or death from an accident that should have cause only minor or moderate injury. Defective seats, seat belts, seat belt latching devices, air bags, door latches, glass and strength and welding defects (crashworthiness) can cause devastating injuries. When this occurs the manufacturer and the seller of the defective vehicle are liable. For more information go to Products Liability. The Use of Experts in Motor Vehicle  Accident Cases   Some motor vehicle accident cases do not require the use of an expert witness to establish liability. Other cases depend on expert testimony. The most frequently used experts in these types of cases are accident reconstructionists. An accident   reconstructionist can be used to determine speed, location and movement of vehicles and pedestrians. An accident reconstructionist might also be able to determine whether one of the parties had the ability to see a potential hazard and had time to react to it. Demonstrative evidence is often used to assist the jury in visualizing and understanding accident reconstruction testimony.

Liability of Owners of Motor Vehicles

The owner of a motor vehicle is responsible for the injury and damage caused by the negligence of the person the owner allows to drive his or her vehicle. The law limits the owner’s liability to $15,000 for personal injury of one person, and $30,000 for the death or injury to more than one person, and $5,000 for property damage. The owner will be held responsible for the full amount of the damages if the defendant gave a minor (a person under the age of 18) permission to operate a vehicle and the minor was negligent.

A defendant is also responsible for the full amount of the damages if the plaintiff was harmed because he or she negligently permitted a driver to use the vehicle. To prevail on this theory, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant knew, or should have known, that the driver was incompetent or unfit to drive the vehicle. This is referred to as "negligent entrustment."

Conclusion

Proving liability and obtaining just compensation for injuries sustained and damages caused in a motor vehicle accident is not as easy as it may seem. The attorneys at Cheong, Denove, Rowell & Bennett have authored numerous articles and have lectured extensively to other attorneys on motor vehicle accident cases and trial practice.

Cheong, Denove, Rowell & Bennett has the extensive resources to handle the most complex legal matters, yet is small enough to offer individualized service to our client's personal injury and wrongful death cases as a result of motor vehicle accidents. At Cheong, Denove, Rowell & Bennett we believe the more you know, the better choice you will make. Contact Us

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