Legal proceedings that surround car accidents can be very complex to deal with, and with that complexity, there exists a doctrine of last clear chance that plays a very important role in the cases.
This doctrine of last clear chance is one of the very significant legal principles that has a very important impact as far as car accidents are concerned.
An accident attorney in Houston TX can help you maneuver through your cases when there is involvement of this doctrine.
Understanding Last Clear Chance
Whenever there is an accident in which more than one party is involved, it is very much understood that one of the parties must be responsible for the act, and then they are scrutinized depending on the damage that they have caused.
Everyone knows that this is the way to go about cases, but when it is quite known to everyone that one party is responsible for the ancient or the collision, the concept of the last clear chance comes into action.
According to this doctrine, even if only one party is responsible for the accident, it is said that the other party also has a last clear chance that could have avoided the accident, but they fail to use that chance and are held responsible for the collision.
This concept must be known to every single person in order to know that the impacts and the consequences of the accidents can be understood well.
Important Elements of Last Clear Chance
In certain car cases, the last clear chance is one of the legal principles that is used to determine liability in car accidents. To understand it in the best way, it is very important to look at its components.
Plaintiff’s Negligence
The doctrine starts by making sure that the injured party was negligent and was the most important element that caused the accident. This can involve some actions like changing the lane in an unsafe manner, crossing a red light, or over-speeding.
Defendant’s Knowledge
The next element that comes after that is the defendant’s knowledge about the plaintiff’s situation. To put it another manner, the defendant must know that the plaintiff was in serious danger and would not be able to dodge an accident.
Defendant’s Ability to Evade Accident
In spite of the plaintiff’s neglect and unstable condition, the defendant needs to have a “last clear chance” at avoiding an accident. This means that, at the very last moments before the crash, there was a chance for the defendant to take steps that might have prevented the accident, but he did not.
Failure to Utilize the Last Clear Chance
The key point in that doctrine concerns the defendant’s failure to make good on its last legitimate chance of avoiding an accident. Even though the plaintiff was initially negligent, the defendant may be held responsible for the accident if he was able to dodge the accident but did not take the needed steps to stay away from it.
When is the Last Clear Chance Used?
The last clear chance is used when some of the conditions are met. This is used in order to find out the liability in cases of car accidents.
Some real-life examples include.
1. Pedestrian Accident
In an accident where there are pedestrians involved, if there was a chance for the driver to swerve the car or use the brake to avoid the accident and they failed to do that, the driver can be blamed for the accident no matter what was the action of the pedestrian.
2. Brake Failure
The court may find that the disturbed driver is entitled to a ‘last clear chance’ of avoiding an accident if he has been distracted and not used his brakes at the right time. As a result, even if the vehicle ahead of him had stopped abruptly, the distracted driver could have been held responsible.
3. Rear-End Collision
In the event of a rear-end collision, the court may find that, by keeping a safe distance, the driver who had been driving too closely, Driver B, had a ‘last clear chance’ to avoid a collision. Therefore, although Driver A’s lane change was wrong at first, driver B could be found to have been partly or entirely responsible for the accident.
These are the scenarios in which the last clear chance comes into play. All of these examples make sure that the liability can be shifted in some of the cases despite all odds.
Conclusion
The last clear chance is one of the concepts in the legal proceedings that decide on the liability of one of the parties. This doctrine usually provides justice and fairness to the parties by looking at the last chance that can turn the tables. Now, when it comes to the application of this concept, it all depends from case to case.