When Failing to Render Aid Could be Considered Negligence

Being involved in a car accident is a horrific thing. Even driving past one can be traumatic to witness. Imagine how bad it becomes, however, if you weren’t even at fault for the accident, but you still get hit with a claim of negligence, all because you didn’t stop to help someone else.

Sometimes, a simple failure to stop and help someone else could be deemed negligence. Learn when failing to render aid could be considered negligence after a car wreck, and how a car accident attorney can be your best hope for compensation.

A Duty of Care

Almost every personal injury case involves a concept of negligence at its core. Negligence essentially means that the person responsible either failed to behave in a responsible manner, or behaved in a manner that was so irresponsible that no reasonable person would act that way.

We all have a basic duty of care towards each other, and that’s the basis for negligence. When someone fails at that basic duty of care, and someone else gets hurt as a direct or proximate cause of that failure, that’s negligence. But when does stopping to help someone qualify?

When Failing to Render Aid Counts

In California, every driver has a responsibility to stop at the scene of a crash in which they are involved, to identify themselves to others involved, and to render any necessary aid to those in need of medical attention, or at least to call for medical help if needed. This is why it’s always a good idea to call first responders any time you’re in an accident.

Consider this extreme example: you’re in an accident, and you notice the other driver is unconscious. You can’t identify yourself to them, and there doesn’t seem to be anyone else around. You decide you’re in a hurry and they don’t look like they’re that badly hurt, or the damage that bad, so you simply go home.

Later, you find out that the driver died and someone has filed a lawsuit against you claiming that if you’d acted properly, the person wouldn’t have died.

Will I Be Held Accountable for the Other Driver’s Injury?

In general, you won’t be held accountable for the injuries and losses suffered by another driver because you failed to call for help. The law is in place to encourage people to act responsibly, but the law also understands that every situation is unique and that accidents can get very complicated very fast. The injured party would have to be able to prove that your failure to act was the direct cause of their injuries.

Call a Car Accident Attorney

Circumstances like this, however, are why it’s so important to call on the services of a qualified car accident attorney for help. An attorney can not only give you the best shot at collecting compensation for the injuries you’ve suffered, but can protect you against frivolous retaliation by the other driver. If you’re in the San Francisco region and need help, give Gruber Law Group a call today for a free consultation regarding your case.