The duty of care is a concept in civil tort law that requires that all individuals and organizations take a reasonable level of care to ensure that someone else doesn't get hurt. Given the incredible range of complexities of driving a vehicle, it's not surprising that the duty of care is an issue that underpins most arguments that auto accident attorneys make. These three examples will give you a better sense of how the duty of care might apply in your case.
Vehicle Maintenance Responsibilities
Regardless of whether a driver lives in a state that requires regular vehicle inspections, they still have a duty of care to ensure that their car is in safe operating condition when they take it out on the road. This means making a point to see that the tires are properly inflated, the brake system is working, and the mirrors are properly aligned. If there's something obviously wrong with the car, such as a massive crack in the windshield that limits the driver's view, a motorist is responsible for dealing with that as soon as possible.
Car accident attorneys and insurance claims adjusters often look at the level of maintenance a vehicle has received when figuring out how responsible a party is for an incident. Should they find, for example, that the brake pads were completely worn and needed to be replaced, they may assign greater responsibility to a driver because that motorist was less able to bring their car to a stop.
Controlling the Vehicle
There is a duty to pay attention and to keep your car under control at all times while driving. This is the main principle that's at play when auto accident attorneys pursue claims against drivers who were distracted while they were talking on their cell phone.
Making a Turn
Duty of care also extends to a driver's actions while operating their vehicle. The textbook example of this is the responsibility a motorist has to look for vehicles they might collide with before taking a left turn, especially at a stop sign. This effort is more complex than you might think, as it requires bringing the car to a halt, looking left and right and then checking for oncoming traffic before hanging the left turn. Failing to spot another car at any point in that process can lead to one of the most common types of accidents there is.
For more information, contact a law firm like Walsh & Associates, PC.
Share8 November 2018
Hello, my name is Matthew. Welcome to my site. I am here to talk to you about accident and personal injury attorneys. When I was involved in a serious accident, I had to recover for months in the hospital. My finances suffered due to mounting medical bills and lost wages. I dealt with considerable pain through every phase of the healing process. I worked with an accident and personal injury attorney to obtain compensation for the repercussions of the accident. I created this site to help others find an attorney to work with so they too could acquire compensation following an accident.