Scarlett Law Group - Auto Accidents In California

Vehicle Maintenance

A motorist who fails to exercise a degree of care that ordinarily a prudent person would exercise in maintaining his/her automobile in a reasonably safe running condition will be found liable for any loss suffered by victims of this negligence. A person's liability is subject to the law of the jurisdiction in which you reside and where a particular accident occurs. If a person's negligence contributes to an accident, he/she will be found liable for any loss suffered by victims of this negligence. [See, e.g., Sherman v. Frank, (1944), 63 Cal.App.2d 278, 282.]

Unfortunately, negligent maintenance is a very common cause for truck, big rig and automobile accidents.

In Arroyo v. Arden Farms Co., (1966) 239 Cal.App.2d 332, the California Courts held that evidence was sufficient to support a finding that the defendant truck driver and the defendant owner of the truck were both negligent with respect to a rear-end collision involving an automobile which had stopped suddenly to avoid a laundry truck pulling out into the automobile's lane of traffic. The Court found that both the defendant truck driver and the defendant owner of the truck knew, or reasonably should have known, months before the accident that the breaking mechanism on the truck was becoming increasingly defective and dangerous.

The occurrence of an accident alone is not sufficient for a plaintiff to sustain his/her burden of proof. The cause of the accident must be investigated, and presented in an appropriate manner to the jury. The fault for the accident must be unambiguously established.