A car accident can inflict significant physical and emotional harm on a victim. Montana residents who have suffered losses as a result of vehicle crashes might understand how to go about getting compensation for their accident-related damages. Recovering damages after a crash can often require the injured party to initiate a civil lawsuit based on negligence and demonstrate that the responsible party acted unreasonably when the accident occurred.
When determining if a party was negligent, a court will often employ the reasonable person standard to evaluate if the individual accused of causing the accident was negligent. The "reasonable person" for this test is not an actual person, but rather a legal ideal. Generally, when applying this standard, a court will determine if the allegedly responsible party acted as a reasonably prudent person would, given the circumstances.
For example, if a car accident occurred during a heavy rainstorm, a court may look at a variety of factors to determine the allegedly responsible driver's reasonableness. In the given scenario a court may determine that given the heavy rain and impaired road conditions, a reasonable person would have slowed down and used his lights and windshield wipers. If the allegedly responsible driver did not act in accordance with that evaluation of reasonableness, the court may find that he was a negligent driver.
As every case is different, readers of this personal injury law blog are reminded to speak with their lawyers about their specific car accident cases. Reasonableness cannot be given a set definition and the facts of each case will require courts to employ different analyses to determine negligence and responsibility for the purposes of recovering damages.
If you, or a loved one, have been injured in an accident due to someone's negligent behavior our attorneys can help. Call Edwards & Culver today at (406) 215-4735 to learn more about your legal options. Contact our personal injury lawyers in Billings today to schedule a free consultation!
