Santa Fe was one of three counties in New Mexico with the highest number of motor vehicle crashes in 2022 according to the New Mexico Department of Transportation. A total of 2,807 occurred locally, which caused 25 fatalities and 1,006 injuries.
If you or a loved one was involved in one of these collisions, you know first-hand the toll it can take and the costs it can bring. The good news is, New Mexico law protects your right to recover compensation for these losses if someone else was responsible for causing you harm.
Contact our Santa Fe car accident attorney today by calling (505) 883-5000 or filling out our form online to schedule a free consultation.
Why Choose Our Santa Fe Car Accident Lawyer?
Our Santa Fe personal injury attorneys focuses on developing strong relationships with every client as we work with you to gather evidence, negotiate a settlement or have your day in court.
Our personalized approach and track record of wins has helped us to earn our A+ Better Business Bureau Rating as well as our 10.0 AVVO rating, which is an unbiased ranking of attorney skills awarded by an online directory of lawyers.
We’ll offer the following advantages to your claim for compensation:
EXPERIENCE
Our law firm has spent over two decades navigating insurance claims and lawsuits for clients injured on the Albuquerque roadways in accidents caused by someone else’s actions.
We take no other types of personal injury cases so our team spends all day, every day, in a deep dive into the state’s traffic laws and insurance policies. Our 20-plus years of experience also give us access to the best expert witnesses to support your case. We are the legal team with the power to win.
RESULTS
We have a long history of success in securing multi-million dollar settlements and jury awards for our clients but we work just as inexhaustibly for clients with fewer losses. We understand that even a single large hospital bill and a missed paycheck can quickly cause financial hardship.
With our contingency-based payment system, you pay nothing until after our Santa Fe car accident attorney secures your compensation.
DEDICATION
At Caruso Law Offices, our Santa Fe truck accident attorneys take the time to get to know each client and learn about the extent of their injuries and the impacts on their family and finances so we can tailor the best strategy for recovering the maximum compensation for their damages. We have deep compassion for our injured clients and make every case our own as we argue aggressively for full compensation.
What Compensation Can I Expect After a Car Accident in Santa Fe?
As per New Mexico’s Motor Vehicle Department, every driver is required to have $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in bodily injury liability insurance. Many drivers purchase more than the required minimum.
If you become involved in a car accident and the other driver was to blame, you can pursue a claim against them that their insurer will have to defend against — or pay if they accept fault. If the other driver was uninsured or underinsured, you can make a claim against them personally if they have assets or can pursue payment from your own insurer if you opted for uninsured motorist coverage.
You are allowed to make a claim against another driver who harmed you even if you share some of the blame. New Mexico is a pure comparative fault state, which means that any time a defendant was partly at fault for hurting you, you can get some compensation from them. Many other states only allow you to recover damages if you were less than 50% or less than 51% responsible for the accident — or even if you bore any responsibility at all.
In New Mexico, however, Code Section 41-31-A establishes the right to recover compensation “equal to the ratio of such defendant’s fault to the total fault,” even in circumstances where the majority of blame is your own. So if someone was 10% responsible for harming you, you could make a case to recover 10% of damages.
Proving Negligence in a Santa Fe Car Accident
To prove you are entitled to compensation for losses, you must show the defendant did something wrong. This doesn’t have to be an intentional bad act, although it can be. It’s sufficient to show:
- The defendant had a duty of care to be behave responsibly on the roads
- The defendant fell short of that obligation
- The defendant harmed you as a direct result in a way you can be compensated for
If the driver who caused your accident broke the rules of the road, you may not have to separately prove negligence. A legal doctrine called “res ipsa loquitor” establishes the rule that if a defendant breaks a law and causes harm as a result, the violation of that law is sufficient to show they were unreasonably careless and should thus be held accountable.
At Caruso Law Offices, our Santa Fe car accident lawyer works with you to recover the evidence you need to make your case — whether that involves proving negligence or simply showing a defendant’s legal violation caused you to be hurt. This can include helping you to obtain copies of any police reports.
New Mexico Code Section 66-7-206 requires that:
“the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in bodily injury to or death of any person or property damage to an apparent extent of five hundred dollars ($500) or more shall immediately, by the quickest means of communication, give notice of the accident to the police department if the accident occurs within a municipality; otherwise to the office of the county sheriff or the nearest office of the New Mexico state police.”
When the police come to the crash scene, they should prepare a report that you can use to help show how the defendant’s actions fell short and caused your crash. You should also aim to document the crash scene when possible by taking detailed pictures, and consider talking to witnesses who may have seen the events unfold.
How Long Do I Have to File a Car Accident Claim in Santa Fe?
If you have been injured in a collision or your loved one lost their life in a crash, you should reach out to a Santa Fe car accident lawyer as soon as possible.
That’s because there’s a time limit, called a statute of limitations, that applies to all lawsuits for damages. You must bring your claim before the statute of limitations runs its course, at which time your case is time-barred or prohibited from proceeding because too long of a time has passed. New Mexico Code Section 37-1-8 sets the limit at three years “for an injury to the person or reputation of any person,” so this statute applies to car accident claims.
If you’re making your case not on your own behalf but are instead suing for wrongful death after a loved one was killed in a crash, you should know that New Mexico Code Section 41-2-2 says the timeline for the three-year deadline begins running on the date of the death. If you wish to pursue a wrongful death claim, don’t hesitate to reach out to our Santa Fe wrongful death lawyer.
Contact Our Santa Fe Car Accident Attorney Today
Caruso Law Offices can jump right in to helping you make your case so there will be no delays in moving forward and seeking the justice you deserve. Contact us today so we can work with you to gather evidence, navigate the legal process, and maximize your chances of a large settlement or verdict in your favor.
Call (505) 883-5000 for a free consultation or complete our online form today.