Determining Fault in an Auto Accident

The period of time immediately following a car accident can be a confusing one.  Once you have called the police to report the accident and checked to see if all of the people involved are doing okay, your mind will most likely jump to wondering who was at fault.  However, this is not the time you want to confess if you believe it is your fault, or to throw accusations at the other driver. Remember that it is up to the law to determine fault in this scenario, and any statement you make regarding this topic could hurt you in court at a later date.  The best thing you can do is to trade insurance information with the others drivers involved, gather the names and contact numbers of any witnesses, take pictures on your cell phone of the vehicles and accident scene and tell the police what happened as factually and unemotionally as possible.

Typically, the determination of who is at fault in a car accident is made based on which driver the state considers to be negligent.  There are a few cases in which fault are easily determined.

• Rear End Collisions- A basic rule of driving is that you should leave enough room between your car and the car in front of you to stop safely if the front car must come to a sudden stop.  In rear end collisions, the driver in the rear is almost always considered to be negligent.  However, if the front car has a brake light out, that may shift some of the negligence toward that driver.
• Left-Turn Collisions- Accidents involving a car making a left turn are almost always the fault of the turning driver, as cars coming straight through an intersection have the right of way. Exceptions to this could be if the car going straight was speeding or running a red light.

Looking at just the examples above, you can see that determining fault in a car accident is tricky business.  If you have been involved in a collision, it is recommended that you consult with the attorneys at Injury Law on Call who specialize in personal injury for advice on how to move forward.