In the movies, car crashes are often over the top, and filled with drama and suspense. In the daily lives of Baltimore residents, however, a collision often occurs for the most basic and ordinary reasons, such as an inattentive truck driver who strikes another vehicle. In either case, individuals can be left with serious injuries, and left looking for relief after the incident.
For instance, a box truck driver was killed recently after he rear-ended a tractor-trailer. The tractor-trailer was stopped in traffic at the time of the truck accident, when the man in the box truck hit it from behind. As a result, the driver of the tractor-trailer was taken to the hospital to treat his injuries, while the driver of the box truck was pronounced dead at the scene.
Rear-end accidents are a very common type of accident. Moreover, there are established rules that may determine if negligence was involved in these types of accidents.
Typically, the driver who hits another vehicle from behind is at fault. This is true even where the vehicle in front was stopped at the time of the crash; the rules of the road dictate that individuals driving behind another person should leave enough room to enable them to stop.
Nonetheless, there may be different circumstances that can change the results in a personal injury lawsuit. For example, if the person who was driving ahead had brake lights out at the time they were rear-ended, this could lead to a finding of contributory negligence. This means that both drivers are assessed some percentage of fault for the accident.
In turn, these circumstances can change not only who may be negligent, but what the person's damages might be. Accordingly, individuals should consult a qualified attorney to determine what the circumstances of their particular accident may be, and how it may affect the issues of liability and damages.
