Determining Liability After a Car Accident

What is liability? Liability is the act of determining legal responsibility for a car accident. Insurance companies often portray that determining legal responsibility (what’s commonly called liability) for an accident is a complicated question.  Insurance companies sometimes contend liability so they can avoid upholding their obligations to compensate injured individuals.  It can be intimidating for an injured person when an insurance company refuses to pay medical bills and lost income because it denies the insured is responsible for the car accident.  But the fact is that liability is not as complicated as insurance companies would like people to think it is.

Typically, liability can be determined by asking if the car accident occurred because someone was careless – or as attorneys would say “negligent.”  If, for example, two people were in an accident and one person was less careful than the other, then that person must pay for at least some of the damages suffered by the more careful person.

Ultimately the law determines liability by requiring the injured person to prove four things:

1. The person whose actions caused the accident had the legal responsibility to avoid hurting the person who was injured.  This is called the “duty of care.”
2. The person who caused the accident failed to meet their legal responsibility (duty of care) and therefore committed a “breach of duty.”
3. The accident occurred because of that person’s breach of duty.  Referred to as “causation” (because that person’s breach causedthe accident).
4. That injuries, or “damages,” resulted from the accident.

Injuries can seriously affect your physical capabilities and appearance and beyond establishing liability, Parke Gordon Law can ensure that folks who have suffered serious physical injuries and other damages receive the just compensation they’re entitled to under the law.

Spokane, Washington Law Office

Our Spokane, Washington law office services clients in and surrounding Spokane, including for injuries and accidents in Spokane Valley and injuries and accidents in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Visit or call our Spokane office now.

Parke Gordon LLC 421 W Riverside, Suite 515 Spokane, WA 99201 Phone:(509) 482-7274 Parke Gordon