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Auto Accidents Legal Issues Information
Car accidents often carry legal consequences in proportion to
the severity of the accident. Nearly all common law jurisdictions impose some
kind of requirement that parties involved in a collision (even with only
stationary property) must stop at the scene, and exchange insurance or
identification information or summon the police. Failing to obey this
requirement is the crime of hit and run.
Parties involved in an accident may face criminal liability, civil liability, or
both. Usually, the state starts a prosecution only if someone is severely
injured or killed, or if one of the drivers involved was clearly intoxicated or
otherwise impaired at the time the accident occurred. Charges might include
driving under the influence of alcohol, assault with a deadly weapon,
manslaughter, or murder; penalties range from fines to jail time to prison time
to death.
As for civil liability, automobile accident personal injury lawsuits have become
the most common type of tort. Because these cases have been litigated often in
the developed First World nations, the legal questions usually have been
answered in prior judgments. So, the courts most usually decide solely the
factual questions of who is at fault, and how much they (or their insurer) must
pay out in damages to the injured plaintiff.
Another element of civil liability involves the administrative fines or license
suspension/revocation that may be imposed by a civil authority when a driver has
violated the rules of the road and thus the terms of a driver's license. Such
complaint may be filed by a police officer or sometimes by other witnesses of an
incident.
For more free legal information on Auto Accident Laws, please use the
links below:
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