Liability
When an accident happens, one of the most important questions to ask is: Who is liable? In simple terms, liability refers to a person or entity’s legal responsibility for causing harm to another. If someone’s negligent (careless) actions result in injuries, that party can be held financially accountable for the resulting damages through a personal injury claim.
Learning about how liability works under Alaska law is essential for anyone pursuing compensation. Whether your injuries stem from a car accident or a slip and fall, liability will almost certainly play a key role in how your case plays out.
What Does Liability Mean?
Liability arises when one party’s actions or failure to act causes another person harm. To hold someone liable, you must prove that their conduct violated a legal duty and directly led to your injuries, among other legal elements.
For example, a driver who runs a red light and causes a collision can be held liable for the resulting damages. Similarly, a property owner who fails to fix a dangerous condition may be responsible for injuries suffered by a visitor.
Liability can take several forms under Alaska law, including:
- Negligence: Failing to exercise reasonable care, resulting in harm to another person
- Strict liability: Being held responsible regardless of intent or negligence, often applied in defective product or dog bite cases
- Intentional misconduct: Acting purposefully to cause harm, such as in cases of assault or fraud
In most personal injury cases, negligence is the primary theory used to establish liability.
Proving Liability Through Negligence
To establish negligence and hold someone liable, four legal elements must be proven under Alaska law:
- Duty of care: The defendant owed a legal duty to act reasonably to prevent foreseeable harm
- Breach of duty: The defendant failed to uphold that duty through an action or omission
- Causation: The breach of duty directly caused your injuries and was the proximate cause as well
- Damages: You suffered measurable harm, such as injuries and financial losses
Each element must be supported on a “by a preponderance of the evidence” basis, which is roughly a 51% or greater likelihood.
Alaska’s Pure Comparative Negligence Rule
Alaska follows a pure comparative negligence law, which means that you can still recover compensation even if you share some of the blame for your accident. However, your damages can be reduced based on your assigned percentage of responsibility.
For instance, if a jury finds you 30% responsible for a car accident and your damages total $100,000, you could still recover $70,000.
This rule ensures that injured people aren’t barred from recovery just because they made a mistake, but it also makes defending against unfair fault claims critical. An experienced attorney can protect you from being assigned more blame than you deserve.
What Kinds of Evidence Are Used to Establish Liability?
Liability must be proven with credible, detailed evidence.
Depending on your case, this may include things like:
- Police and accident reports
- Eyewitness statements
- Photos or videos from the scene
- Expert testimony, such as accident reconstruction specialists
- Medical records linking injuries to the incident
- Business or maintenance logs showing unsafe conditions
The more evidence you have, the stronger your case will be. A lawyer can investigate thoroughly, collect supporting documentation, and identify every potentially liable party.
How an Attorney Can Help You Establish Liability in Your Personal Injury Case
A skilled lawyer can make all the difference in proving liability and securing all of the compensation you’re entitled to in a personal injury case.
Your attorney can take many steps to that end, such as:
- Investigating the cause of your accident
- Identifying all of the potentially liable parties
- Collecting and preserving crucial evidence
- Hiring top-rated experts as needed, such as accident reconstructionists
- Negotiating with the insurance companies on your behalf
- Filing a lawsuit and representing you in court if necessary
Having legal representation also signals to insurers that your claim should be taken seriously, which could lead to better settlement offers from the start.
Contact Farnsworth & Vance Personal Injury Lawyers for a Free Consultation
Liability is one of the most important concepts in personal injury law, as determining who is at fault and to what degree will shape the entire outcome of your case. If you’ve been involved in an accident that was someone else’s fault, an experienced Anchorage personal injury lawyer can help you establish liability and file a claim for maximum compensation.
Contact Farnsworth & Vance Personal Injury Lawyers today at (907) 290-8980 to get started with a completely free initial consultation.
