Vehicle Negligent Injuring Attorney in New Orleans

La RS 14:39.1 – Vehicular Negligent Injuring

Vehicular negligent injuring is the inflicting of any injury upon the person of a human being when caused proximately or caused directly by an offender engaged in the operation of, or in actual physical control of, any motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or other means of conveyance whenever any of the following conditions exists:

(1)  The offender is under the influence of alcoholic beverages.

(2)  The offender’s blood alcohol concentration is 0.08 percent or more by weight based upon grams of alcohol per one hundred cubic centimeters of blood.

(3)  The offender is under the influence of any controlled dangerous substance listed in Schedule I, II, III, IV, or V as set forth in R.S. 40:964.

(4)  The operator is under the influence of a combination of alcohol and one or more drugs which are not controlled dangerous substances and which are legally obtainable with or without a prescription.

Penalties for Vehicular Negligent Injuring in Louisiana

La RS 14:39.1.  Vehicular negligent injuring

Whoever commits the crime of vehicular negligent injuring shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both.

La RS 14:39.2. First degree vehicular negligent injuring

Whoever commits the crime of first degree vehicular negligent injuring shall be fined not more than two thousand dollars or imprisoned with or without hard labor for not more than 5 years, or both.

Vehicle Owners and Negligence

The general rule when driving is that you need to practice safety rules and always take care to avoid causing harm or inflicting injury on other drivers, passengers or even pedestrians. If you fail to do so, then you will be committing a crime of vehicle negligence. Negligence is a legal term used in road and car accidents cases.

If a driver is not careful while on the road, then he or she has to take responsibility for injuring the accident victim.

A person can be negligent during everyday activities, which involves doing things they are not supposed to do. There are so many examples of a case of vehicle negligence, here they are:

Failure to turn on lights when driving at night- The normal traffic rule is that your headlights need to be turned on if you are driving at night. Failure to do so may lead to the harm or injury of another person, who had no idea car was forthcoming because of the absence of lights.

Over speeding- On a regular day, a vehicle owner is not supposed to be over speeding. If you do, you may cause harm or inflict injury on another person with your vehicle.

Not obeying traffic lights- Traffic lights help to maintain law and order on the road in the absence of an official. Failure to obey traffic lights may lead to the injury of another person with your vehicle.

There are so many examples though, but those are just a few to be mentioned.

How Does A Vehicle Negligent Injuring Claim Work?

The injured person, which is best known as the plaintiff by the law needs to show that the offender or defaulter was negligent, hence the injury. You need to show that the injury was as a result of careless and recklessness on the part of the offender.

The law normally requires all drivers to be careful while on the road. This is known as the ‘duty of reasonable care’, applicable to drivers on the road.

The plaintiff needs to show that the offender violated or breached this duty of reasonable care. There is a thorough check anyway, to ascertain whether the injury is the fault of the driver or the fault of the injured person. This is because there are cases where the injured person is the one at fault, due to negligence on their part.

As an offender, defaulter, or defendant, the law will also not fail to ask you how a reasonable person in your situation would have behaved. If finally, you fall short of the behavior of a reasonable and prudent person, then you will be charged with vehicle negligence injuring.

How Drivers Should Behave When on The Road

To avoid being charged with vehicle negligence, this is how drivers are supposed to behave on the road while driving according to law:

A driver needs to obey traffic lights, adhering strictly to them. You have to know what each of the traffic lights signifies and try as much as possible to keep up with them.

A driver should always watch out for pedestrians and other vehicles.

A driver needs to follow vehicles in front of them from a safe distance.

A driver needs to obey all traffic rules and regulations.

When you do all of these as a driver, it becomes hard to entangle yourself in a vehicle negligence case. If it then happens, it becomes negligence on the part of the injured person.

If a person has been accused of vehicle negligence, the plaintiff needs to prove that it was the negligence on the part of the accused that led to the injury.

Usually, if a driver is found guilty, he or she needs to compensate the injured person. The injured person needs to show evidence that he or she was injured hence a compensation. That is exactly why the injured person needs to give an accurate and detailed record of the happenings. You also need to keep a record of the compensation, expenses incurred based on medical purposes, and a record of your injury.

Driver’s Duties

As earlier mentioned, all drivers need to adhere to the duty of reasonable care. This helps them to avoid inflicting injury on any other road user.

Here are what accounts as a duty of reasonable care:

Driving at a reasonable speed- As a driver, you need to drive responsibly, and at a reasonable speed-. When you do this, you will be fully aware of traffic and avoid any case of accidents.

You also need to watch out for pedestrian crossing, especially if you are in a school environment, to avoid knocking down school children.

You need to be vigilant and always be on alert while on the road, being careful and prudent. You need to look out for pedestrians and other road hazards, to ensure that you avoid them.

Failure to behave according to the duty of reasonable care will lead to vehicle negligence injuring charge.

Causes of Vehicle Negligent Injuring

The following may lead to vehicle negligence injuring:

DUI- Driving under the influence of either alcohol or drugs may lead to an accident

Driving on the wrong side of the road

Disobeying traffic rules and regulations

Recklessness on the road

Barkemeyer Law Firm and Your Case

If you are facing these charges in New Orleans, on vehicle negligence injuring charge, then contacting the Barkemeyer Law Firm will be worth doing.

The charges for Vehicle Negligent Injuring are serious ones, and this is why you need a professional criminal defense attorney to help you out.