Speeding & Got Into a Car Accident? Does This Automatically Bar Your Recovery?

A common assumption is that if a person is speeding and has a car accident, he or she would automatically lose the case. This is not true across the board. In Georgia, you could get relief for injuries sustained in the car accident even if you were going above the speed limit before the accident occurred.

NEGLIGENCE PER SE

Negligence per se is a legal principle that typically bars a person who is speeding from recovery in an auto accident. The reason is that in order to give an amount of money in damages, fault must be found. Fault is caused in most auto accident cases due to negligence. Negligence is failing to do what a reasonable person would have done in the same circumstance. In a car accident case it must be found that one party’s negligence cause the injuries or property damages to the other party.

Negligence per se is a more strict form of negligence. If a person is are speeding, they are automatically found to be negligent because laws about speeding are intended to promote safety and avoid injuries and a violator is guilty automatically.

The “out” for speeding drivers, although speed could still be considered a contributing factor, is if the accident occurred because of an outside event – or a non-traffic related occurrence. for example, an interference by a pedestrian or faulty steering wheel. If the non-speeding driver is not able to find direct evidence of negligence on the speeding driver’s part, then compensation by the speeding driver may be pursued.

COMPARATIVE FAULT

Another option for the speeding driver is to look to Georgia’s comparative fault standard. Georgia’s comparative negligence law essentially asks what role, if any, the victim had in causing his or her accident and resulting injuries. This means that the driver who was speeding may not be completely barred from recovery. In a comparative negligence equation, each party is responsible for damages relative to his or her own fault in causing the accident. For example: if the injury finds that one party is 30% negligent and the other party is 70% negligent, each side may recover according to his or her percentage of fault.

In conclusion, there are a lot of ifs and unknown factors involved with determining how the speed you were going would impact your case. Doug Powell and Doug Powell are experienced car accident attorneys who can help you sort it out.