Crystal Rae
As you prepare yourself in advance, in the event that you are faced with needing to file an automobile accident claim, or as you hire a car accident injury lawyer Kansas City, Mo recommends, there are basic terminologies you should familiarize yourself with.
Knowing some of these legal terms is a step towards understanding a number of the actions you and your legal team will be taking, and what you can expect as a response from the respondent/s. Check out https://learntodrivedrivingschool.com.au/ should you be inetrested a in safe driving source.
Basic Automobile Accident Terminology
1. Negligence Per Se
There are various categories of legal terminologies that describe various actions by a victim and offender, or a claimant and respondent. One of them is called “negligence per se”, and this has to do with failure to act on specific statutes. It is also a violation of the same.
A simple example of this is when a driver breaks a traffic law like driving through a red light, driving on the wrong lane, doing a U-turn in a no-U-turn zone, etc. These are apparent violations of the law and will be treated as such. Negligence per se almost always guarantees that the claimant wins and receives compensation according to the claim, or one as close to it as possible.
2. Comparative Negligence Or Contributory Negligence
This is more complicated than the first with regards to justifying who was more in the right, and who shall take the majority of the brunt of the claim. Or if escalated, the prosecution.
Comparative negligence, frequently referred to as contributory negligence or “joint fault” points to how both parties are at fault, in the context of the automobile accident. In such claims, the sole value that the claimant puts forward may be reduced as fault-apportioning will transpire. Therefore, the value of the claim will be modified as well and can be disbursed to the claimant and respondent, accordingly.
3. 50/50 Insurance Claim Or Split Liability Agreement.
Many use this term interchangeably with “joint fault”. Only, a 50/50 insurance claim solely describes the insurance pact itself. It is a kind of claim wherein the claimant and the respondent agree to carry out 50% responsibility for the accident, each. Against this background, your claim may be divided this way.
You are to receive as close to 50% of what you estimate your claim is worth. AND the respondent will cover the other equal half of it.
4. Claimant And Plaintiff
A claimant is a person who files a claim against another. Speaking within the bounds of a car accident, this may refer to the victim rather than the proprietor. However, if both are found to have contributory actions which have to lead to the accident in the first place, a claimant is the first of the two who brings his or her claim forward.
Although generally used interchangeably, a “plaintiff” differs from a “claimant” in that the first is applicable to whosoever has brought the claim to a lawsuit. For car accident cases, this transpires when the respondent fails to agree to the terms indicated in the claim.
5. Respondent And Defendant
A respondent or defendant is the person who receives the claim and is accused of wrongdoing. In plainer terms, it is the legally accepted word for describing the proprietor of the accident.
A respondent is that whom the claim is submitted to and against, and is being held responsible for the casualties and coverage whether of personal injury and/or property.
