Everything changes when you sustain injuries in an accident. Riding in a vehicle can be an adventurous and amusing experience until it leads to dangerous situations.
Intersection accidents can be even more tragic and may even lead to fatal injuries. One must take proper precautions while driving on the road. All drivers are required to obey traffic laws and regulations of the state in which they are operating a motor vehicle.
The driver must follow the speed limit and keep the vehicle in control. Following traffic laws is for drivers to do because many laws are created for safety purposes. Still, it has been observed that many accidents occur because of negligence and ignorance towards the traffic laws.
When a driver runs a red light, it increases the risk of fatal injuries. As a result, many individuals suffer accidents that cause physical, emotional, mental, and economic hardship. Accidents can be even more dangerous for motorcyclists.
As a motorcycle enthusiast, you may enjoy riding a motorcycle because it provides adventure and freedom to explore the roads. On the contrary, many motorcyclists ignore that bikers are at increased risk of suffering from fatal injuries and severe damages.
Determining liability in such accidents is crucial to proceeding with a claim. Here, we discuss the negligent party who may be held legally responsible for the accident and will be liable to pay you for the claim. A Philadelphia Red Light Ticket Lawyer can help you in handling these situations more efficiently and effectively.
Red light crashes are on the rise.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), in 2019, an estimated 143,000 people were injured in red light running crashes while an additional 846 were killed as a result of such accidents.
These numbers are on the rise and leading to more dangerous auto accidents. There can be several reasons behind the occurrence of these crashes at intersections. Here are some of the common reasons why these accidents occur:
- Speeding and running the red light
- Wrong turn changes
- Distracted driving
- Both drivers are trying to turn in opposite directions
- Failure of a driver to signal while taking a turn
- Malfunctioning traffic lights also increase the risks of accidents
Most of the time, these accidents are caused by the negligence of the drivers on the road. The accident may occur when the driver who is making a left-hand turn collides with another vehicle. In these accidents, the driver who should have yielded will be considered legally responsible for the accident.
Red light accidents can share fault
Responsibility can be shared among multiple drivers. At times, the accident may occur because of shared negligence by both of the drivers. This can happen if both drivers were not paying attention when the accident occurred. In these cases, shared fault may be considered when determining liability and damages.
In some states, if you are found to share more than 50% of the responsibility, you may not be entitled to recover compensation. In other states, the compensation awarded to the lesser responsible driver will be reduced by the amount of liability they share.
For instance, if you share 20% of the fault, your claim will be reduced by 20% of the overall value. You will receive 80% of the compensation for the damages you have suffered.
Red light swearing match
When both drivers are adamant that they faced a green light, this is sometimes referred to as a red light swearing match. It can create a difficult situation and may create confusion as to who shares the liability.
In these cases, the insurance agencies may even try to deny the claim because there is no clarity on who shares the fault. This can significantly impact you if you have experienced critical injuries and damages because of the accident.
Using cameras and CCTV footage to prove a swearing match case
Words alone are seldom sufficient to prove the liability of the negligent driver. You need evidence. You may struggle to find evidence that proves who ran the light in a swearing match case.
You can consider speaking with the police and legal professionals to see if there is any closed circuit television (CCTV) footage of the accident. The footage captured by CCTV may help you prove that the other person was responsible for the accident.
If both drivers acted recklessly and ran the light, both could be held liable for the accident. You can even consider taking statements of any eyewitnesses and other people around.
The problem is you will have to provide evidence if you file the case. You must provide evidence that proves your side of the story and supports the claim. If there were no eyewitnesses, the camera footage may be the only available evidence.