Furthermore, you’ll need to prove these four elements to win a negligence claim:

• Duty of care:

  Drivers must operate vehicles safely and abide by traffic laws to ensure that other drivers and their property are safe.

• Breach of duty:

  There must be proof the responsible driver breached their duty to drive safely. Examples of violations include going over the speed limit, not using turn signals, and running red lights.

• Causation:

  Once the breach is proven, a cause and effect relationship must be verified. Injuries and damages sustained must be a direct result of the accident.

• Injury/Damages:

  Lastly, the victim must be able to place a value on the losses and costs resulting from the accident. These costs may include medical bills, car repair costs, and injury or harm.

In fault states, the at-fault driver’s insurance covers the costs associated with the crash. In no-fault states, drivers often carry personal injury protection (PIP). Each driver’s insurance pays up to a specified threshold, except for property damage, which is paid by the at-fault party.

Aside from negligence, the type of insurance used in your state helps to determine who will pay for damages. There are two types of coverage – fault and no-fault.

Types of accidents

Vehicle accidents cause injury and damages to varying degrees, depending on the severity of the crash. The location of damage can be used to help determine fault in an accident, as it can help indicate the direction in which the vehicles were traveling. Here are some of the most common types of accidents:

• 

  Bicycle

  A crash involving a motor vehicle and bicyclist resulting in injuries. Cyclists are susceptible to serious injuries like head trauma and spinal cord injury even when they wear safety gear when involved in collisions with a vehicle.

• 

  Commercial Vehicle

  A collision involving a delivery or cargo van, commercial passenger bus, transportation van, tow truck, or garbage truck.

• 

  Head-on

  When the two front ends of vehicles collide with each other as a result of distracted or fatigued driving, low visibility, ignoring traffic signs, or driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. These types of collisions are often fatal but may also cause broken bones, organ damage, head injuries, and PTSD.

• 

  Hit and run

  A collision in which at least one person involved flees before providing information or aid or fails to report the incident properly. Hit-and-runs and fatalities are on the rise, with a hit-and-run happening somewhere in the U.S. every 43 seconds.

• 

  Motorcycle

  Accidents involving motorcycles are more likely to result in severe injury or death. Motorcycles offer less protection for riders exposing them to head, brain, and spine injuries.

• 

  Multi vehicles

  Often referred to as “pile-ups,” these collisions tend to occur on busy roads like highways and freeways.

• 

  Passenger

  An injured passenger is eligible for compensation and typically won’t be required to prove liability. One or more drivers will be at fault for the accident, and by extension, a passenger’s injuries.

• 

  Pedestrian

  When a pedestrian is hit by a car. Most of these accidents happen in urban settings at night. A pedestrian hit by a vehicle traveling over 30 miles per hour results in more severe injuries and even fatalities.

• 

  Rear-end

  Typically, a result of sudden braking but may be caused by one vehicle following too closely or accelerating to a higher speed than the car in front of it. Whiplash is the most common injury sustained from rear-end collisions.

• 

  Rollover

  SUVs, pickups, and vans are more susceptible to rolling over due to a higher center of gravity. Rollovers account for nearly 30 percent of all crash fatalities, with most deaths being people not wearing seatbelts.

• 

  Electric scooter

  When a scooter rider collides with a pedestrian, is struck by a car or suffers an accident due to a road defect. Few riders wear helmets, ride on sidewalks and exceed 15 mph, leading to accidents and injuries.

• 

  Side-impact

  More commonly known as “T-bone” occurs when the side of a vehicle is hit. Vehicle damage and injuries are usually severe, especially for drivers or passengers on the impacted side.

• 

  Single car

  A car accident involving only one vehicle. It can involve hitting an animal, object, pedestrian, or running off the road.

• 

  Truck

  Commercial trucks are much larger and can weigh at least 25 times as much as a car; therefore, truck accidents can be much more catastrophic.

• 

  Uber/Lyft

  Uber and Lyft carry third party liability insurance policies that pay up to $1 million for personal injury and property damage.

Accidents are unexpected and stressful, here are some tips for what do in the event that you’re involved in one. Taking the right steps after an accident can help preserve evidence and give you the best chance at filing a successful motor vehicle accident claim.