The most common car accident in Chattanooga is probably a rear-end collision. Often, a driver is going too fast or not paying close attention to the vehicles in front of them and something goes wrong. There are a lot of accidents involving people on their phones as well. The consequences of a car crash can be life-changing for the victims. Car accident claims in Chattanooga, and throughout Tennessee, have a statute of limitations of only one year which is why it is vital to get in touch with an accident attorney who can help. An experienced car crash lawyer will know how to prove negligence in Chattanooga car accidents and can use their knowledge and experience to fight for a positive outcome for you.

Steps Following an Accident

First of all, if someone has been involved in a car accident, they should contact the authorities and make sure a police report is filed, and that all official steps are complied with. Next, an individual involved in an accident should notify their own insurance company, and make sure that claims get opened on a timely basis. Most importantly, the accident victim should seek medical treatment if they are having any medical issues at all. If they are having any pain of a physical nature, they need to be seen by a medical professional as quickly as possible. Lastly, the accident victim should contact an experienced attorney.

Is Chattanooga a Contributory or Comparative Negligence Jurisdiction?

There are a lot of things that come into play in a car accident, and the main question is if the injured person contributed to the collision: was the crash partially the fault of each of them and who was more at fault? This is where comparative fault comes into play. The City of Chattanooga and the State of Tennessee are modified comparative fault jurisdictions. That means that negligence in Chattanooga car accidents can also be partially attributed to the victim. More specifically, if the collision is partially the fault of driver number one and partially the fault of driver number two, then driver number two has to pay a percentage of the damages based on the percentage of driver number two’s fault.

If a collision is partially the victim’s fault, they may still be able to recover money to cover part of their losses. As an example, if driver number two is 75% at fault and driver number one is 25% at fault, then driver number two has to pay 75% of the losses that driver number one suffered. If somebody rear-ends a person who slowed down or stopped very quickly when there was no good reason to, comparative fault would apply in that situation. If a person gets rear-ended when they are turning into a driveway or a parking lot but did not have their turn signal on, that could also constitute comparative fault.

Insurance in Car Accident Cases

Car accident cases in Chattanooga are not easy to resolve and they are strongly contested by insurance companies. Insurance companies fight as hard as they can to minimize every single claim that happens in Chattanooga. Many people assume that the insurance companies will treat them fairly. Even if someone is a good person, and has never had a claim before, not interested in suing anybody, the insurance company may try to take advantage of the plaintiff. It is important to contact an attorney early on because of evidence changes, cars get fixed, evidence disappears, witnesses will need to be interviewed while their memories are still fresh.

If the evidence hurts the insurance company, then they do not preserve that evidence. But if they find evidence that hurts the injured person, they preserve that evidence. The insurance company will talk to the police officers on the scene, trying to make sure the police officers’ opinion helps them as much as they can. The insurance company will also employ strategies to minimize the claim or to prove that it was the injured person’s fault, when in fact it was not their fault.

Reasons to Contact a Lawyer

The most important reason to contact a car accident lawyer in Chattanooga is to preserve evidence which changes very quickly, e.g., cars get repaired, things on the street get wiped away, are replaced by something else, or get cleaned up, and memories fade. It can be hard to find witnesses after a period of time, or they do not remember, so it is imperative to record all evidence very quickly. Your lawyer can answer any questions you may have about negligence in Chattanooga car accidents and can work determinedly to try and establish the other driver’s liability. Contact an attorney that can advocate for you.