Vehicle & Motor Accidents
6. Liability for Damage
Authors: Staff Legal Eagle
Firm / Chambers:
Last updated: 28 Aug 2015
- The person who is liable for the damage is the person who was at fault. This may be one or more of the drivers.
- A driver is at fault if they do not take reasonable care when driving. Not taking reasonable care is also known as being negligent.
- A driver may be held to be negligent if they:
- drove under the influence of drugs or alcohol;
- exceeded the speed limited;
- did not obey a road sign;
- went through a red light;
- did not stop at a stop sign;
- did not keep a proper lookout; or
- was using their mobile phone while driving.
- If a driver was negligent and caused damage to another vehicle they are at fault.
- Sometimes no one is at fault in a car accident such as:
- where the driver that caused the accident had a heart attack;
- an animal ran into the path of the car; or
- the brakes failed.
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