In New Mexico, a fault-based law presides over all car accident cases. This rule holds the driver or person at fault for causing the crash responsible for paying. If you wish to pursue financial compensation by filing an automobile accident lawsuit in New Mexico, you will bear the burden of proof as the plaintiff. This means you or your Albuquerque, NM auto accident attorney must prove fault.
How Is Fault for an Auto Accident Determined?
There are fault and no-fault car insurance states. The majority of states, including New Mexico, use a fault law. Under this rule, an injured crash victim must prove that another driver is at fault to receive financial compensation from that driver’s car insurance company.
Traditionally, fault for an automobile accident is determined after a comprehensive investigation. During this process, insurance companies and investigators will analyze available evidence and information to decide which driver was in the wrong.
The majority of car accidents in New Mexico are caused by human error factors, such as distraction, intoxication or traffic violations. If there is proof of careless or reckless driving, this can place fault and liability (financial responsibility) with that driver.
Proving Negligence in a Car Accident Case
Negligence is at the center of most automobile accident lawsuits in New Mexico. In personal injury law, the definition of negligence is the failure to act with proper care. If a driver or another party behaves in a way that a reasonable and prudent person would not in the same circumstances, this is negligence.
Negligence has four elements that must be proven:
- Duty of care: the accused party (defendant) had a legal obligation to act according to certain standards of care to prevent harm to the plaintiff.
- Breach of duty: the defendant violated the duty of care through an action such as speeding, texting while driving or running a red light.
- Causation: the defendant’s breach of the duty of care was the direct or proximate cause of the motor vehicle accident.
- Damages: the plaintiff suffered actual harm or compensable losses because of the car accident (e.g., bodily injuries or property damage).
You or your lawyer must demonstrate that the defendant caused the car accident with at least a 51 percent certainty. This burden of proof is known as a “preponderance of the evidence.” It is less than the burden of proof in a criminal case (“beyond a reasonable doubt”), but it still requires compelling evidence to meet.
Evidence of Fault to Collect for Your Car Accident Lawsuit
Proving fault takes strong and clear evidence. To support your claim, gather as much evidence as you can after the crash. This may include a police report, witness information, photographs of the crash scene, traffic camera footage, and records documenting your injuries and medical care.
Then, contact an attorney for professional evidence preservation and collection. A lawyer can take steps such as working with the police and hiring experts to help you prove fault. This includes accident reconstruction specialists to re-create the collision and demonstrate that the other party is at fault, as well as medical experts to help prove your injuries.
The right attorney will have strong storytelling skills to present the evidence in as convincing a way as possible to an insurance company or the courts. Meanwhile, you will have the mental peace to focus on healing from your car accident injuries.