If you’ve been in an accident caused by someone else, how can you make sure the person who caused the accident is punished for what he or she did?
A criminal case is one where what the law can do is to fine a person or put them in jail for their wrongdoing. A car accident or other personal injury case is not a criminal case. It is a civil case.
A civil case is a case where there’s no criminal charges being made. A car accident or other civil case is where a person has been negligent but is not charged with a crime. In a civil case the only thing the law can do is to award money.
The only type of punishment that the at fault driver is going to have, other than his insurance company having to pay, is that his or her insurance company may cancel their insurance or raise their rates. If the other driver was drunk driving, then of course there may be criminal prosecution but in terms of your case against the other person for something where the person was not drunk driving, just normal activities where they caused you an injury, the only what they’re going to get punished is if their insurance company gives them a hard time. The only thing that you’re going to possibly get is money from the case.
When you are not at fault in an accident, your insurance company will not usually raise your rates or cancel your insurance. Typically the only time that your insurance company is going to do something about your insurance coverage is if you have a lot of speeding tickets or of course, if you were found at fault for the accident, they may decide to cancel you or raise your rates.
My name is John Burns and I’m a car accident and personal injury attorney in South Orange County California. My office is located right where Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel and San Juan Capistrano all come together.
My phone number is (949) 496-7000, or you can email me at john@johnburnslaw.com. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks for watching the video and have a great day.