What Is Causation? Answers from a Tampa Auto Accident Lawyer

Personal injury victims may find themselves becoming familiar with a variety of legal terms, a common one being "causation." Different from proving fault or negligence, causation is your responsibility to prove that your injuries were caused by the accident. For instance, if you are hit in a Tampa, Florida area car accident and suffer serious injuries, you may have ample evidence to prove that the person who hit you was at fault in the accident. You may even be able to prove that the other driver behaved negligently in the accident by speeding or running a red light. Causation is different because it requires you, the injured party, to prove that the accident caused your injuries. If you have been injured before, or if the accident had little property damage, causation can be particularly difficult to prove.

Causation comes up a lot in Tampa, Florida car accident cases and since it can be tricky, it is typically best to consult a Tampa auto accident lawyer about how to handle it. In order to prove causation in an auto accident, our Tampa law firm employs a number of strategies and techniques at the very beginning of the case. For example, it may become a huge issue at trial whether or not an auto accident collision created significant force upon the passengers of a vehicle—enough force to create or cause the alleged injuries. In order to prove those forces, it is necessary to gather information that is referred to as "crush damage," or the amount of damage to the vehicles involved in the accident, and how that damage corresponds with your injuries.

Your lawyer and his or her accident investigator also will look for such things as skid marks or variations in skid marks where the accident occurred. The investigator also will want to get witness statements before memories fade. This is why witness statements must be gathered early on, or else they may be lost—to the detriment of you, the injured party.

With the evidence gathered immediately after the accident, as well as the assistance of biomechanical experts and re-constructionist experts, your Tampa auto accident lawyer will have the best chance of explaining to a jury how the accident you were involved in resulted in your injuries.

Another stumbling block law firms are faced with is proving causation when medical records are poorly kept. It is important that your attorney look over the doctor's shoulder to make sure everything is properly documented and if not, to correct that situation.

Furthermore, good advice from a concerned injury attorney can help prevent or resolve a frequent problem with car accident injuries – the fact that clients will often complain about their most pressing injury and not mention those injuries that, at the moment, seem less significant. Failing to mention all injuries early on after an auto accident can greatly affect the ability to prove that those injuries were caused by the accident. Regardless of how significant an auto accident injury may become in the months following the accident, if you don't mention it right off the bat, proving causation becomes increasingly difficult.

Finally, people's lives are busy, and finding the time to get adequate and appropriate treatment for auto accident injuries can prove very difficult. If someone who is injured in an auto accident doesn't get treated regularly in order for those injuries to get better, it may become difficult later on to prove that the injury is as significant as the injured person claims. In order to overcome a number of these issues in regard to causation, it is necessary that you have a personal injury law firm that gives you individual attention and personalized service. It is also necessary that your law firm have significant trial experience so that they understand what to expect in regard to causation, and by anticipating the problem, can work with you to prevent causation from becoming an issue.

For more information about causation and the other issues that are likely to arise in your Tampa area car accident case, contact Tampa auto accident lawyer Dale Appell, P.A. for a free initial consultation. Our law firm has been in the area for decades and we serve all surrounding counties and neighborhoods including Clearwater, St Petersburg, Sun City Center, Lutz, Town & Country, and Ybor.