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 ensure 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 experiencing any physical pain, 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 factors that come into play in a car accident, and the main question is whether the injured person contributed to the collision: was the crash partially their fault, and who was more at fault? This is where comparative fault comes into play. The City of Chattanooga and the State of Tennessee follow a modified comparative fault system. 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 their percentage of fault.
If a collision is partially the victim’s fault, they may still be able to recover money to cover part of their losses. For 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 while 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 insurance companies will treat them fairly. Even if someone is a good person, has never had a claim before, and is 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 evidence changes, cars get fixed, evidence disappears, and witnesses need to be interviewed while their memories are still fresh.
If the evidence hurts the insurance company, 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 ensure that the police officers’ opinions help them as much as possible. The insurance company will also employ strategies to minimize the claim or to prove that it was the injured pers
