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Can a Crash Victim’s Poor Driving Record Affect an Injury Claim?

Posted on behalf of Arnold Law Firm in
Background check documentThe driving records of all parties involved in a car accident may be relevant to the victim’s claim for compensation. This information may help or hurt your claim, or it may be irrelevant and part of the liable insurance company’s attempts to deny or undervalue your claim. Our knowledgeable auto collision lawyers in Sacramento are prepared to help you through the legal process after a car crash. We can determine if the at-fault driver’s driving record may strengthen your case. We also know how to deal with the insurance company’s attempts to use your driving record against you to deny or undervalue your claim, even though past accidents or traffic tickets may be irrelevant. Below, we discuss how both your driving record and the negligent driver’s record may affect the outcome of your claim.

Can Your Poor Driving Record Affect Your Claim?

Whether a bad driving record helps or hurts your claim depends on whose record is filled with blemishes and how the accident occurred. If you are the one with a dozen speeding tickets or other traffic violations, the insurance company is likely to use it against you. They may say this is evidence of a pattern of negligent driving behavior and helps show you are at least partially at fault for the crash. They may have a point if your speeding played a role in the crash. However, if the other driver was speeding and this was the main cause of the accident, it may be much more difficult for insurers to use your old speeding tickets against you. On the other hand, the at-fault driver’s record may paint him or her in a bad light if there is a history of reckless driving or multiple accidents for which he or she was found at fault. If your attorney can build a case against the other driver for negligent driving, evidence about this driver’s pattern of negligent driving may help to strengthen your case. In a commercial truck crash case, evidence of the driving record of the truck driver could be very important to the case. If the company that hired the driver did not know about past accidents or traffic infractions it could bear liability for failing to conduct a thorough background check. Proving a pattern of behavior could be very important in a jury trial. Sometimes this information could help to sway a jury one way or the other.

Prior Accidents on Your Record

Considering the amount of traffic, especially around growing construction sites in California, it is rare for a driver to have never been involved in at least one accident in his or her lifetime. However, this may not impact your claim for compensation at all, particularly if you take steps to manage the situation. First, it is important to disclose this information to your attorney as soon as possible. This way, your attorney may be prepared for arguments made by the insurance company if they manage to dig up information about old accidents. You should also disclose information about preexisting injuries caused by old accidents. The insurance company may try to use this information to claim you did not suffer an injury in the latest crash. They may say you are seeking compensation for an existing injury.

Non-Moving Violations on a Driving Record

Whether a non-moving violation on a driving record would affect a claim depends on the type of violation and how long before the accident it occurred. Remember that non-moving violations may include minor infractions like parking tickets, but also more serious issues like a broken taillight. Although an old parking ticket may not do much to sway an argument in favor of or against compensation, a ticket for a busted taillight may. Especially if that citation was issued shortly before an accident to a person who was rear-ended by another driver claiming broken brake lights as a defense.

We Are Ready to Help. Call Today

Our attorneys are prepared to help you fight back when the insurance company tries to unfairly deny or undervalue your claim. We offer a free consultation with no obligation to take legal action. There are no fees unless we recover compensation on your behalf.

Call 916-777-7777 to schedule a free consultation.

Settlement - $3,767,000

Truck Accident

A 20-year-old man who had been married for just 12 days left home on his way to work. He was driving on Pleasant Grove Road in Sutter County in the early morning when he came upon a slow-moving truck. As he pulled out to pass the truck, the truck driver turned left in front of him. The young man attempted to steer back into his lane but his vehicle struck an un-flagged piece of metal extending from the back of the truck. He died in the resulting crash.

Expert witnesses brought in by the Arnold Law Firm proved that the truck, owned and operated by a hauling firm, should never have been on the highway that morning. Specifically, the rear and side turn signals did not work and the rear-view mirror was in a poor state of adjustment at the time of the collision. As a result, the driver, who had failed to properly inspect the vehicle before setting out that morning, couldn’t see the young man’s vehicle as it attempted to pass.

The poor condition of the truck, its lack of maintenance and the manner in which it was operated were found to be substantial factors in causing the collision that killed the young man. The testimony also established that the man had been making a lawful pass at the lawful speed limit and acted reasonably when he attempted to avoid the collision.

The man’s 20-year-old widow was awarded $3,767,000.77, his parents were awarded $185,131 and the family was reimbursed $11,899 in funeral expenses. Though money is a poor substitute for a young man’s life, this verdict demonstrates that drivers who endanger the lives of others will be held accountable for their actions.