Car Accident

Each year, thousands die because of motor vehicle crashes. Caraccidents involving the collision of two cars are the most commontype of crashes, although a large percentage of fatalities in caraccidents involve motorcyclists and pedestrians. Because of theincreasing number of property damage, personal injuries and deathsdue to car accidents, states put in place legal rules to determinewho is responsible for the damages resulting from a collision.

Car accident law consists of the principles of negligence, which isgoverned almost entirely by state law. There are differences instate laws governing claims or suits seeking damages resulting fromcar accidents, but typically victims must prove the following: (1)presence of duty of care, (2) breach of such duty, (3) the breachcaused personal injuries or property damage, and (4) and the victimincurred monetary losses.

In terms of duty, drivers are legally obligated to obey traffic rulesand drive their vehicles with reasonable standard of care, whichmeans maintaining safe speed, exercising awareness and observingtraffic signals. During litigation, the existence of duty isgenerally accepted without argument. The plaintiff, however, willneed to prove that the drive breached his or her duty. Breach of dutyis proven through direct or circumstantial evidence. Direct evidenceinclude eyewitnesses, testimony, video footages, or admission offault. Circumstantial evidence include skid marks, paint smudges, oralcohol tests.

The plaintiff must further prove that the breach of duty causedinjuries by demonstrating that the injuries are consistent with thenature of the crash and they were not pre-existing. Moreover, theplaintiff needs to prove that the injuries resulted to monetary loss.Once a jury, after trial, determines that the plaintiff has provenall four elements, the plaintiff will be entitled to compensation fordamages, which include medical expenses, pain and grief, lost wages,among others.

Car accident cases are not complex, but litigating claims for damagesarising from property damage, personal injury or death related to caraccidents is tricky and tedious, requiring plaintiffs to confer withcounsel prior to initiating any suit. For the most part of thelitigation, any act or omission by the plaintiff or defendant maylead to either a win for the plaintiff and defeat for the defendant,or defeat for the plaintiff or win for the defendant. What this meansis that, both parties to car accident litigation must beknowledgeable of how the system works, and not just what the lawprovides, in order to win the case.

For instance, car accident litigation is factual, which means,everything that happened before, during and after the accident mustput in record, and every detail must be taken note of, for theplaintiff or the defendant to build a strong case in his or herfavor. Being factual, the plaintiff or defendant must produce bothdirect and circumstantial evidence to prove their case. There arenumerous rules of evidence that must be taken into consideration sothat an evidence will not be thrown out as unacceptable, weakeningthe case. In addition to winning a case for damages, there is alsoanother complicated matter on seeking compensation from the losingparty's insurance. One is not prevented from representing himself incar accident cases. An expert attorney, however, can protect a clientfrom the opponent's tactics.

Areas of Law

Aviation Law - Legal Information and Resources

Aviation Law

Aviation law governs almost all aspects of aircraft navigation, including its operation and maintenance. The law governs the transit of aircraft above states and above other governed territory, and covers passengers, cargo, and aviation facilities.

In the United States, aviation statutes and regulatory agencies were created by the federal and state governments. Although, for the most part, aviation is governed by federal law enacted by Congress by virtue of its constitutional mandate to regulate interstate and foreign commerce. The foremost federal aviation law in the United States is the Federal Aviation Act passed by Congress in 1958. This Act establishes the Federal Aviation Administration, the leading federal agency regulating aerospace activities. States can enact their own laws consistent with federal laws and can modify existing remedies under states laws, but they cannot regulate rates, routes or services of any air carrier pursuant to the Federal Aviation Act. Another foremost development in aviation law would be the passage of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001, in response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

In addition to federal and state oversight on aviation, international rules and treatises also form a crucial aspect of aviation law given the international nature of air travel. One notable international convention on aviation is the Warsaw Convention, which limits an airline's liability for accidents on inter-country flights, except when it is found that the airline committed acts of negligence. The International Civil Aviation Organization also provides rules regulating air travel and mediation procedures to resolve international aviation law disputes. In addition, international policies have been introduced through open skies agreements to liberalize international aviation rules and minimize government intervention. International aviation laws also regulate military air travel.

Aviation law encompasses almost all facets of air travel. Issues arising from aviation law, including the business aspect of operating an air carrier, require expert knowledge of counsel who can weave through the web of federal laws and regulations, international conventions and other areas of the law. One of the most common litigation area relating to aviation law arises from loss or injuries suffered by passengers caused by air craft malfunction or crashes. This area of litigation, which involves a combination of federal and tort laws, require extensive discovery and expert testimony to establish, first, the rights of passengers, second, the cause of loss or injury, and third, the extent of the air craft carrier's liability. Another common litigation relating to aviation law would be the defense of aviation professionals accused of violating Federal Aviation Regulations. These two common litigation areas may also involve insurance disputes, further complicating litigation.

In addition, other issues that could arise from aviation law would be concerning regulation of aviation practices and violations thereof. Increasingly, consumers have taken to courts alleged airlines' practices of deceiving customers with false advertising, especially on issues of "hidden" fees and charges, or airlines' conspiracy on ticket prices. These issues require, not just specialized knowledge on the law, but also smart litigation skills as consumer-plaintiffs often David in comparison to the Goliaths that are the airline companies.

Areas of Law