When a Las Vegas resident is involved in a car accident, depending on the nature and circumstance of the crash the courts may need to get involved to determine liability. If the victim in a car accident is harmed and wants to seek damages, then the victim needs to file a court claim and go through the legal processes. A number of car accident cases do not even go to court, but there are those more serious ones that do.
A police cruiser was in an accident with another vehicle while attempting to thwart a crime. The police car was traveling with sirens on en route to a crime scene. The rules of the road dictate that when a police vehicle or any other emergency vehicle is on the roadway and engaging in emergency-type activities, all other vehicles on the road are to pull over to the side, out of the way of the police or emergency vehicle. In this particular instance, the car in front of the cruiser initially pulled over to give way, but then proceeded to re-enter the lane. This caused the police car to hit the other vehicle. The people in the car were taken to the hospital with minor injuries and the police officer suffered only minor injuries as well.
Sometimes it is clear where liability lies in a car wreck, and sometimes it isn’t. In cases where liability is questionable, a police report declaring one party liable over another is always helpful. However, if no citation is issued and a party still wants to sue for damages, a claim could still be filed in court. The party filing the lawsuit would have the burden of proof in court and would have to show negligence. Negligence requires proof of a duty owed, breach of said duty owed, a proximate cause between the duty owed and the injury and damages.
Source: Las Vegas Sun, “Police car involved in accident en route to felony call that left suspect dead,” Bethany Barnes, May 31, 2014