Getting called upon to serve as a juror in a California courtroom is an important responsibility. You could get asked to cast a vote in a number of different types of cases.
If you are assigned to a case involving a car accident and collision injuries, you may have some questions about how to consider the evidence. You may wonder how much weight to give the account of each driver involved and the investigating officer.
When jurors are preparing to sit on a jury, they can turn to a helpful guide called the California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI) to learn more about the challenges of deciding a car accident personal injury case. It’s an online document that also explains some of the basic courtroom procedures that jurors will need to know.
California Civil Jury Instructions for Jurors Assigned to Car Accident Cases
The California Civil Jury Instructions is a document meant to help jurors prepare for these difficult responsibilities and decisions. It’s maintained and updated by The Judicial Council Advisory Committee of California.
Jurors can access the guide to help them understand their duties when hearing personal injury cases (civil cases) involving things like car accidents, labor violations, medical malpractice, elder abuse, and other important issues.
Jurors will also find a preview of what they’ll experience during jury selection and during a trial. You can find out more about what jurors can expect when taking part in the California civil trial here.
What Type of California Car Accident Cases Go to Trial?
Car accidents usually include property damage and can involve some physical injuries for drivers and passengers. The collision cases that end up in court usually involve serious injuries and the hospital costs that follow.
Insurance companies usually don’t fight a lot over payment for car repairs or for the care of minor injuries. Insurance companies usually like to settle these cases to avoid court costs. But when the expenses and the consequences of an injury reach the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in hospital bills, they start to resist.
Insurance companies want to protect their profits and sometimes they’ll dispute who was at fault in an accident and question the seriousness of an injury when medical expenses grow. Injured victims can be forced to take the at-fault driver’s insurer to court to secure what’s fair.
Jurors are often assigned to motor vehicle accident cases involving a major injury. The totals on every doctor bill and physical therapy cost would have to be considered. The valuable time victims have lost at work would also factor in. Jurors will have to decide what the emotional trauma and physical pain brought on by an accident and a difficult recovery are worth.
Jurors may be asked to determine how much someone who has suffered from a permanent physical disability should receive to maintain a lifetime of care and support. Jurors charged with hearing a California car accident personal injury case would have to decide on these issues and more.
California Car Accident Trials and The Duty of Care
In any personal injury case involving a car accident, jurors will need to keep the legal duty of care that drivers are responsible for in mind. California vehicle codes hold all motorists to a “basic standard of care.” Drivers must show reasonable caution while on the road and avoid making decisions that would put others in harm’s way.
Jurors will have to weigh the responsibility of drivers to respect the safety of others to decide if someone was reckless or careless and put someone else’s safety at risk.
The section in the California Civil Jury Instructions that summarizes this concept reads this way:
CACI Section 700.
“A person must use reasonable care in driving a vehicle. Drivers must
keep a lookout for pedestrians, obstacles, and other vehicles. They must
also control the speed and movement of their vehicles. The failure to use
reasonable care in driving a vehicle is negligence.”
California Car Accident Cases and the Right-Of-Way
In many California car accident cases, jurors will be deciding who had the “right-of-way” when trying to determine fault in a crash. It’s a term that sums up how drivers should behave when they are on the road.
CACI Section 701.
“When the law requires a [driver/pedestrian] to “yield the right-of-way” to [another/a] [vehicle/pedestrian], this means that the [driver/pedestrian] must let the [other] [vehicle/pedestrian] go first. Even if someone has the right-of-way, that person must use reasonable care to avoid an accident.”
This section of the CASI (pronounced Casey) goes over California codes involving the right-of-way at intersections with traffic lights or stop signs. Right-of-way is an important concept when considering accidents during left turns or when pedestrians are hit in crosswalks. These are all common situations that cause drivers to make mistakes.”
Jurors will need to be familiar with what’s expected of motorists in these situations and others to decide a civil car accident case fairly.
Considering Speed as a Juror in a California Car Accident Trial
Some car accidents are caused by drivers who aren’t paying attention to the road. Others are caused by the reckless decisions of drivers. Those dangerous decisions often involve excessive speed. Many accidents wouldn’t have happened if an at-fault motorist was traveling at a reasonable velocity.
The California Civil Jury Instructions document goes over the responsibilities of drivers to avoid speeding:
CACI Section 706.
“A person must drive at a reasonable speed. Whether a particular speed is reasonable depends on the circumstances such as traffic, weather, visibility, and road conditions. Drivers must not drive so fast that they create a danger to people or property. If [name of plaintiff/defendant] has proved that [name of defendant/plaintiff] was not driving at a reasonable speed at the time of the accident, then [name of defendant/plaintiff] was negligent.”
The posted speed limit isn’t always the actual speed limit. Drivers are required to travel at speeds that are safe for the conditions. That means that if snow, ice, or winds are affecting travel, motorists must slow down to speeds that ensure they remain in control of their vehicles and don’t hit anyone else.
They must slow down as necessary for traffic jams or obstacles in the roadway. If they don’t slow down, they are considered negligent and can be held liable when they cause harm to others.
Trials Involving DUI Drivers After a California Car Accident
Drivers who are suspected of causing accidents while driving under the influence of alcohol or a drug will likely face a criminal trial. However, the criminal proceedings will be separate from the civil trial. A civil trial will be concerned with deciding what the victims of the impaired driver’s negligence should receive for their hardships.
The CACI goes over what’s considered “under the influence”:
Section 709.
“The term “under the influence” was first defined in People v. Dingle (1922) 56 Cal.App. 445, 449 [205 P. 705], as follows: “[I]f intoxicating liquor has so far affected the nervous system, brain, or muscles of the driver of an automobile as to impair, to an appreciable degree, his ability to operate his car in the manner that an ordinarily prudent and cautious man, in the full possession of his faculties, using reasonable care, would operate or drive a similar vehicle under like conditions, then such driver is ‘under the influence of intoxicating liquor’ within the meaning of the statute.”
Jurors will be asked to determine if the consumption of alcohol or a drug caused an accident and then how much victims should receive for the damages the at-fault driver’s dangerous choice caused.
A .08 blood alcohol content is used to prove criminal negligence, but that level doesn’t always have to be reached for a suspect to be ruled negligent in a civil trial. Jurors will be asked to decide if the driver’s alcohol or drug use was enough to make them unsafe behind the wheel.
The CACI also explains what is considered a drug for the purposes of a civil trial and that can sometimes mean a combination of substances.
Contact a California Car Accident Lawyer
If you or a loved one are the victims of a careless driver, you should know that most car accident claims don’t require a trip to court. The majority of cases are settled out of court, but that doesn’t mean you can trust auto insurance companies to always do the right thing.
It’s often necessary for a California Car Accident Lawyer to collect evidence and prepare a strong case to protect your interests. A skilled lawyer negotiates on your behalf to make sure insurance adjusters don’t rob you of the compensation you need to recover.
Allow an attorney with Maison Law to fight for you and your family to get the most out of your injury claim. Contact us for a free consultation on your case to learn about your options.
There’s no obligation, but if you decide we can help you maximize your settlement amount, you won’t need any money to hire us. We don’t get paid unless we win your case for you, and then our fee comes out of the settlement you receive.
