If you were hurt in a car accident caused by poor vehicle maintenance, you may want to speak with a personal injury attorney. A lawyer can confirm what led to your accident and determine who may be legally responsible. A Lafayette poor maintenance accident lawyer from Morris Bart can go to work for you today if we believe you have a case against the other driver or another liable party.
You can speak with a member of our car accident team serving Lafayette Parish for free today about your case. You can call us today to get started with a free case review. We accept Louisiana injury cases on contingency, so we don’t accept any money upfront from our clients. We recover compensation only if you win your case.
How Poor Maintenance Causes Car Accidents
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns motorists to follow the recommended maintenance schedule from their vehicle manufacturer to keep the car, truck, van, or SUV operating properly and avoid other consequences. They also recommend finding a trusted auto mechanic to perform the maintenance and repairs properly and help you understand what needs work to be done and why.
Failing to maintain a vehicle properly could lead to:
- Costly repairs
- Failure of important parts
- Safety features that do not work
- Vehicle systems that shut down without warning
- Traffic accidents
Too many of a vehicle’s systems are vital to its safe operation, so you should not of the car to ignore maintenance or signs of an impending problem. It is important to address Issues with brakes, tires, steering, and acceleration issues are especially significant and should be addressed immediately as soon as possible.
The owner or driver of the vehicle may be the one who failed to provide for the proper maintenance of their car, and therefore, they may be liable for the accident. In other cases, though, the neglect does not fall solely on the owner. Instead, it may also occur because of a defective part or a mechanic who did not do the work they should have done.
At the Morris Bart law office, we can investigate what may have caused your Lafayette traffic accident. Call us today to get started with your free consultation.
For a free legal consultation with a Poor Maintenance Accident lawyer serving Lafayette, call 800-537-8185
Building a Case for Negligence and Liability in a Lafayette Accident
If we work together on your case, a Lafayette poor maintenance lawyer from Morris Bart may consult accident reconstruction specialists and other experts as we investigate your case. We will take steps to demonstrate who was negligent in the accident and how this negligence caused your injuries and financial losses.
Liable parties in a poor maintenance case could include:
- The other driver who did not perform the necessary maintenance or repairs to their vehicle
- An auto shop that provided improper maintenance or repairs
- The designer, manufacturer, or distributor of a dangerous and defective vehicle part
In the event of improper maintenance or repairs performed by a mechanic or a defective part, you may be able to take legal action, no matter if the car in question was your vehicle or the vehicle of another driver.
Pursuing Compensation to Cover a Client’s Losses After a Car Accident in Lafayette, LA
When filing a lawsuit after a Lafayette collision, we will work to do both of the following:
- Hold the negligent party or parties accountable for their actions
- Recover financial losses for our clients who suffered injuries and significant monetary and intangible losses
Recoverable losses in a Lafayette poorly maintained vehicle accident case include:
- Current and future injury care
- Lost income and benefits
- Reduced earning ability
- Property losses
- Loss of services
- Pain and suffering
- Reduced quality of life
- Other non-economic losses
- Wrongful death losses (if your family member suffered fatal injuries in a Lafayette car accident)
If you faced any of the above losses, you can discuss with a lawyer how they might calculate it into your case’s value. Medical documentation of your injuries or lost income. If you medically document your injuries or can show lost income, this kind of evidence can be used to demonstrate your losses and can help your lawyer build your case.
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Proving Negligence in a Lafayette Poor Maintenance Accident Case
In every injury case, the plaintiff must show how the defendant’s reckless or careless actions caused the plaintiff’s injuries and losses. Before an injured party can collect damages in a vehicle accident that poor maintenance caused, they must prove:
- The defendant’s vehicle had an apparent mechanical flaw that caused it not to work properly.
- The defendant knew about the mechanical problem or should have reasonably known about it.
- The defendant failed to address the issue before the accident happened.
- As a result of the mechanical issue, an accident occurred, and now the plaintiff has incurred compensatory damages.
As our Lafayette poor maintenance accident lawyer reviews your collision, they can look for these elements of negligence and explain how they could affect your case’s outcome.
Time Limits for Filing an Injury Lawsuit in Louisiana
Many car accident cases in Louisiana never need to go to civil court. However, if taking the case to court becomes necessary, we will protect a client’s right to file a personal injury lawsuit in Lafayette Parish. Louisiana has one of the shortest statutes of limitations in the nation for filing personal injury cases, giving victims only one year from the accident date to file a civil suit under the La. Civ. Code Art. 3492. Parties filing a wrongful death lawsuit also have a year from the decedent’s death date to file for damages, per La. Civ. Code Art. 2315.2.
The Morris Bart law firm often pursues out-of-court settlements. We can often negotiate a fair settlement based on the evidence we gather and present to the insurance company representing the liable party. When this approach fails, such as when the insurer refuses to accept proof of negligence, we may need to name their policyholder as the defendant in a civil suit.
Talk to Our Lafayette Poor Maintenance Accident Attorney Today
A Lafayette poor maintenance accident lawyer from the Morris Bart law firm will work to understand what caused your traffic accident and who is responsible for it. We can determine whose negligence caused your collision and injuries and build a case to hold them liable. While this may be the vehicle’s driver, other potentially responsible parties exist in this type of car accident case.
We have 16 offices serving accident victims throughout Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas. If you are in the parish or nearby areas, contact our Lafayette office for a free case review. Let a member of our team review the facts of your case today.
Questions?Call 800-537-8185
to find a Morris Bart office near you.
