If you have been in a car wreck you should speak with a personal injury attorney to ensure that you understand your rights and how to recover compensation for your injuries and damages. In South Dakota, like any other state, this is important due to the laws governing liability for negligence. Just because you were in an accident, doesn’t mean that you will receive compensation. You need a skilled attorney to review your case and to analyze whether the other party was at fault.
The concept of negligence is important in any personal injury case. Proving negligence is to prove that the other party caused the accident because they failed to use reasonable care by, such as by speeding, failing to keep a proper lookout, or failing to stop or yield at an intersection. For example, when someone drives drunk, which is negligent because everyone knows that you shouldn’t drive after drinking alcohol. The same applies to texting while driving. If the other driver was texting and therefore distracted, not keeping a proper lookout, they would be negligent. The concept of negligence is fairly simple, but in some cases it is more difficult to prove, particularly if evidence is lost or not documented.
As a personal injury attorney in South Dakota, we will take the time to go over every detail of your accident starting with what you were doing before it happened, when it happened and after. We want to know the details so that we can build a case and be able to prove that the other party caused the accident. Proving, that they were negligent is necessary to hold them accountable for your damages.
In South Dakota, if you were failing to keep a proper lookout while driving (perhaps because you were texting) and the other driver ran a stop sign, you could both be considered negligent since you both failed to use reasonable care. In South Dakota, if the jury finds that you were also negligent – or “contributory negligent” – and your negligence was “more than slight” in comparison to the negligence of the other driver, you will not recover damages from the other driver. It is our job to gather evidence that confirms that your account of the facts is correct, and to demonstrate your injuries and damages. The other party and their automobile insurance company will do whatever they can to minimize both their responsibility and the amount that they have to pay to you to settle the case.
Due to negligence laws, working with a skilled and experienced personal injury attorney is important.
We invite you to schedule a consultation to discuss your case and the best way to proceed. Bring any documents, photographs, or other evidence you have so that we can review it and make the appropriate recommendations for what you should do next.
