In a case reviewed by the Eighth Circuit, Lopez v. United States, the Court of Appeals discussed the presumption of negligence that typically stems from a rear-end vehicular accident; that is, when one driver rear-ends another driver. In the instant case, the plaintiff sought monetary damages from the U.S. government after her vehicle was rear-ended with that of a postal employee.
From the facts given in the Eighth Circuit’s opinion, it seems as though the plaintiff was riding in a vehicle being driven by a friend. The Appellate Court stated that their lane was merging into another lane of traffic at an intersection. The plaintiff’s friend merged into the lane in which a postal truck was driving. Unfortunately, the postal truck rear-ended the plaintiff’s vehicle. Ultimately, the vehicle in which the plaintiff was riding was able to be driven home by its owner. However, the plaintiff then sued the U.S. government and asserted that the postal employee was negligent in rear-ending the vehicle in which the plaintiff was riding. She relied upon a Missouri law presumption that assumes the driver crashing into the rear of another vehicle is negligent and presumed to be at fault. Given the circumstances of this case, however, the Eighth Circuit court did not apply the presumption and found for the defendant.
The Eighth Circuit stated that a presumption of negligence does exist, but the court refused to apply the presumption in the Lopez case since it did not find the plaintiff’s version of the facts to be credible and disputed the facts of the case as presented by the plaintiff. The court noted that the postal employee probably did not have enough time to be able to come to a complete stop due to the rapid merge by the plaintiff’s vehicle. The Court also relied upon a police officer’s testimony. The police officer expressed his professional opinion that it was more likely that the accident was caused by the plaintiff’s friend’s rapid merge, as opposed to any negligence on the part of the postal worker.
Maryland Law Presumptions of Negligence
Maryland law holds presumptions of negligence similar to that found in Missouri. Like the Missouri presumption, in Maryland, when a driver rear-ends another vehicle, the driver who crashed into the rear of the other driver is presumed to be at fault. Be sure to note that this is only a presumption of negligence, and can definitely be overcome with evidence or testimony showing the non-negligence of the defendant, or the negligence of the plaintiff. To learn more about presumptions of negligence in Maryland accident cases, or to obtain legal assistance if you or a loved one have been involved in a vehicular accident, contact the Law Offices of Stuart Plotnick today.
(Source: http://www.marylandaccidentlawblog.com/2015/07/federal-appellate-court-discusses-presumption-of-negligence-in-rear-end-accident-cases.html#more-1292)