"DID I DO THAT?"

I’m sure most of you remember the phrase “Did I do that?” by the TV character Steve Eurkel!  If not it centers around “responsibility” and of course “liability.”  In essence whenever there is an accident, someone or something caused it!  Trick is trying to figure it out especially when you were not there and are just gathering information from the various people involved.

There is now a way you can put your cell phone on your vehicle dash and record a 30 minute loop of the activities in front of you.  This has been designed as an App to help in the apprehension of potentially drunk drivers that you might see in front of you while driving.  With this, law enforcement will have a much better chance of securing a DUI conviction if that is the case.  On the other hand, I think that all vehicles should have this running at all times, not just for potential DUI’s, but in the event you are involved in a vehicle accident.  Just think how much better your case will be, that is if you are not at fault, if you have it recorded.  Also another plus would be to see the condition of the vehicle in front of you that you just rear ended before the collision.  How many times do people who have been rear ended say there was no prior damage to their vehicle.

As to fault, one carrier I worked for used the DBCD method for determining liability.

D for duty

B for breach of that duty

C for casual connection  

D for damages

What duty or obligation did the drivers have just prior to the accident?

Did any driver breach that duty?

What was the casual connection between the duty and the breach of that duty that contributed to the accident?

What were the damages?

Simple scenario would be a vehicle backing out of a parking space, versus a vehicle passing behind it.  Both have duties, and in this case what would they be and who has the greater duty.  Of course the person backing up has the greater duty to be sure the road way is clear.  Yes the driver going behind has a duty to watch for cars backing up and also needs to maintain a safe speed.  However the greater duty and in the case of the collision would rest with the vehicle backing up. 

There was a duty, a breach of duty and a casual connection with damages that resulted!

Of course this is a very simply liability determination, and coming up will present you with some more complex situations.

“Did I do that?” by

Frank Rogers

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