The burden of proof in all negligence claims, including automobile accident claims, is on the plaintiff. This means that the plaintiff must go forward first with the evidence at the trial and must present evidence from which a fact finder (judge or jury) could reasonably conclude that the defendant was negligent, that the defendant’s negligence proximately caused the accident, and that the plaintiff’s injuries are causally related to the accident. The standard which plaintiffs are held to in civil cases, including automobile accident cases, is called the “preponderance of the evidence” standard. It is much less strict than the standard in criminal cases of proof “beyond a reasonable doubt.” The “preponderance of the evidence” standard has been defined to mean that the evidence presented by plaintiffs must be more likely to be true or accurate than not true.
This can be illustrated for juries by comparing it to the scale of justice. If one party’s evidence is placed on one side of the scale and the other party’s evidence is placed on the other side of the scale, the slightest tipping in favor of the party bearing the burden of proof on an issue means that that party has prevailed on the particular issue. If the scale remains evenly balanced, then the party who bears the burden of proof on an issue has failed to sustain the burden. Each party who has the burden of proof on a particular issue, in order to prevail on that issue, must sustain their burden of proof based upon a “preponderance of the evidence.”