Car Accident Attorney in Rio Rancho, New Mexico
What This Page Covers:
- Duty of Care: New Mexico requires drivers to uphold a duty of care to prevent harm to others on the road.
- Negligence: Car accidents often result from negligent actions like speeding, ignoring signs, and other traffic violations.
- Evidence: Collecting evidence, such as skid marks and dash cam footage, is crucial for proving negligence and calculating compensation.
- Dominguez Law: We offer personalized, aggressive legal support to secure compensation for car accident victims.
- Call Dominguez Law at (505) 850-5854 or complete our contact form.
Recklessness behind the wheel has the severe risk of doing serious damage to other drivers on the road. It is with this in mind that New Mexico requires its drivers to uphold a duty of care to one another. This duty states that all drivers must take reasonable action to protect one another from harm. Unfortunately, not every driver takes their duty of care seriously. Should you fall victim to the recklessness or negligence of a misbehaving driver, though, you can take action.
If you have been a victim of a car accident due to another driver’s negligence, Dominguez Law is here to help. Our experienced and compassionate legal team understands the complexities of car accident cases and is dedicated to securing the compensation you need for your recovery. With a personalized approach, we aggressively pursue justice for our clients, ensuring that your rights are protected throughout the legal process.
Roadway Negligence Can Cause Car Accidents
Car accidents most often stem from roadway negligence. In New Mexico, this negligence can take the form of any roadway misconduct. This could mean:
- Speeding
- Ignoring roadside signs
- Blowing stop lights
- Other offenses that may otherwise appear in criminal court
You do, under some circumstances, have the right to take the incidents that result in your car accident to both criminal and civil court. Many times, this combined approach can even aid your civil case. For example, most civil courts consider a criminal conviction to represent proof of negligence.
If you want to pursue criminal charges against the party responsible for your actions, you can do so with the assistance of a criminal prosecutor. This pursuit can see the liable party charged with jail time, fines, or even a revoked license.
Evidence Proves the Value of Your Car Accident Case
A civil case brought against the person responsible for your car accident sees that individual held responsible for the financial losses inflicted upon you. If you want to request this financial support, you need to thoroughly outline the nature of your accident and why you believe the other party to be liable for your losses.
You do this specifically by bringing forward evidence of negligence found at the scene of your accident. Evidence of negligence can range from skid marks indicating a loss of control to dash cam footage suggesting road rage. You can work with a Rio Rancho car accident lawyer to determine what evidence might best help you prove your point and a car accident case.
Do note, however, that it is in your best interest to move quickly to gather this evidence. If, for example, the person liable for your accident works for a corporation, that corporation may move to obscure certain forms of evidence. While a Rio Rancho car accident lawyer can demand that the offending party turn over that evidence during discovery, gathering it in the first place can save you a headache.
Build a Case for Car Accident Liability
You need evidence not only to prove that negligence occurred but also to hold the right parties accountable for your losses. In most cases, a car accident victim’s first instinct is to blame another driver for their losses. This is not always correct. For example, if the individual in question was on the clock while the accident occurred, their employer may take responsibility for their actions.
Similarly, environmental hazards may contribute to your car accident. In turn, you may have the right to hold government officials, construction crews, or related parties accountable for your roadway losses. The best way to determine who to name in your civil complaint is to assess the evidence found at the scene and draw your conclusions from it.
Calculate Car Accident Compensation in New Mexico
Building a solid case for car accident liability requires comprehensive evidence to establish negligence and identify the correct parties responsible for your losses. While it is common for car accident victims to immediately blame another driver, this is not always the correct course of action. For instance, if the other driver was performing work duties at the time of the accident, their employer might be liable for the damages instead.
Moreover, environmental factors can also play a significant role in causing car accidents. Hazards may include:
- Poorly maintained roads
- Inadequate signage
- Construction site negligence
In these situations, you may have grounds to hold government officials, construction crews, or other related parties accountable for the conditions that led to your accident.
To accurately determine liability, it is crucial to thoroughly investigate the scene of the accident. Collecting and analyzing evidence such as traffic camera footage, eyewitness testimonies, police reports, and accident reconstruction analysis can help establish the chain of events and identify all responsible parties. Consulting with legal experts who specialize in car accident claims can also provide valuable guidance in building a strong case and ensuring that all liable parties are held accountable for your losses.
File Your Case by New Mexico’s Deadline
New Mexico wants to keep the civil cases that come before its judges up to date. That is why the state relies on its statute of limitations to control which cases move forward in court. The statute notes that survivors of car accidents must file their claims as personal injury lawsuits.
As such, when building your claim, you need to keep the statute of limitations regarding personal injury lawsuits in mind. According to N.M. Stat. Ann. § 37-1-8, the statute of limitations gives you no more than two years to bring your case forward.
If you attempt to file a car accident claim outside of New Mexico’s personal injury statute of limitations, your case can be waived. It will not matter what evidence you bring forward of liability or the value of your case. With that in mind, you need to contact a car accident lawyer in Rio Rancho as soon as possible after your accident.
Contact an Experienced Rio Rancho Car Accident Lawyer
Roadway laws throughout New Mexico attempt to curb reckless behavior that can result in dangerous roadway injuries. Unfortunately, not all drivers make a point of looking out for one another. Should you fall victim to another driver’s negligence, you can demand that said party helps you recover from your losses.
At Dominguez Law, we understand how to best present a car accident case stemming from negligence to an applicable civil body. At our firm, we are both compassionate and aggressive, as our main goal is getting you the compensation you need to recover. Call (505) 850-5854 or fill out our contact form to arrange a free consultation.
We also speak Spanish.