Vehicle accidents are called accidents because they are usually caused by drivers who are not paying enough attention to the important task of operating their cars, trucks or sport utility vehicles. While some road incidents may occur due to intentional conduct, such as when an aggressive driver allows road rage to control them and they intentionally collide with another vehicle, most accidents on Florida roads happen because drivers are not paying attention to what they are doing.

When people do not conduct themselves as a reasonable person would given the circumstances of their situation, then it is likely that the person is acting negligently. A driver who is distracted by their phone, another passenger or other disturbance is behaving negligently-- a reasonable driver would see the inherent dangers in allowing their attention from being taken off of the road in front of them.

Negligence forms the basis of many car accident lawsuits. A person who negligently causes a vehicle collision is said to be at fault for the crash and due to their fault may be liable to others for the losses they sustained as a result of the crash. In some cases more than one party to a crash may have acted negligently and in these cases courts may modify awards of damages depending upon how the negligence of the parties compared in relation to the accident.

A negligent driver can be held accountable for the harm they inflict on others and lawsuits based on personal injuries and negligence can provide victims with financial compensation. The recovery of damages may allow a victim to repay their accident-related medical costs, the earnings they missed out on due to taking time off of work to recover and other costs associated with getting one's life back in order after a serious car collision.