Rush Hour Accidents

You will need to establish a driver’s liability to recover damages from them. In most cases, rush hour accidents are caused by negligence, but in some cases, they result from intentional road rage. When establishing negligence, you will need to show that the other driver owed you a duty of care, breached that duty, and in breaching the duty caused your injuries. Drivers must stay careful and vigilant to changes in road conditions during rush hour, and if you can show that a driver failed to use the skill that a prudent driver would have used in the same situation, you may be able to show a breach of duty. As long as this breach was the cause of your injuries, you should be able to recover damages.

In some cases, drivers are more than negligent, such as by tailgating, weaving through traffic, or speeding. Generally, reasonable drivers do not engage in these behaviors and will adjust to drive more defensively during rush hour and when the roads are congested. Following too closely behind someone means that you are not leaving enough space to stop when the need arises.

Sometimes, a defendant responds to a plaintiff’s complaint by claiming that the plaintiff was also negligent. There are different thresholds for comparative negligence in different states. In Tennessee, if a jury finds that you are 50% or more responsible for a rush hour accident, you will be barred from recovering damages. If you are found less than 50% responsible, you may recover damages minus an amount equal to your degree of fault.

Sometimes rush hour accidents involve the negligence of multiple at-fault drivers. Each driver is usually only responsible for damages in an amount equal to their degree of fault, but this varies depending on the state. In Tennessee, no defendant driver is held jointly liable for damages. Thus, if Driver A is 20% responsible for your damages, Driver B is 70% responsible, Driver C is 10% responsible, and the damages are $100,000, you may recover $20,000 from Driver A, $70,000 from Driver B, and $10,000 from Driver C. This rule of several liability may prove problematic, however, if it turns out that Driver B is uninsured and has no assets. In those cases, you will need to turn to your own uninsured motorist coverage.

Damages that you may be able to recover by bringing a lawsuit in Tennessee include both economic losses, such as medical bills, and non-economic or subjective damages, such as pain and suffering.