CAR ACCIDENT LIABILITY

WHO’S FAULT IS IT?

In almost any road collision (bike, truck, bus, motorcycle or car accidents), it is important to prove who was negligent and caused the accident. In most cases, this is the person who will be held liable.

In many cases, you will only need common sense to determine who was at fault. Unfortunately, when a person is involved in an accident due to someone else’s negligence, the insurance companies are going to need more proof in order to pay the compensation a victim deserves for their pain and suffering.

Here is a quick list of steps to establish who was at fault when you are the victim:

• Police report: Make sure the officer fills one out. If the accident involved the other driver breaking the law, then make sure the officer issues a citation to the negligent party. This can help greatly when the time comes for an insurance company to decide if and how much they will pay the victim.
• Take pictures: Take pictures of everything, i.e., the road conditions, skid marks, auto damage, cars positions before they are moved, and any other property damage.
• Witnesses: Get their names and contact information. You should also write down what they saw. People will forget things, so writing down their statements will help later if they forget something. What seems like small details now may be incredibly important later.
• Seek medical attention: That “banged up” feeling that you are tough enough to take can be much more serious when you wake up tomorrow morning and the adrenaline has worn off. There are multiple types of car accident injuries that are not felt until up to 24 hours later. Seeing a doctor or going to the hospital will allow you to know what your actual condition is. You will also have medical documentation that will be valuable later in your case.

NO-FAULT CAR ACCIDENT LIABILITY | NO-DOUBT LIABILITY

There are certain types of car accidents where it will almost always be the fault of one of the drivers and not the other. When one of these accidents happen, insurance companies will rarely argue over who did it, not put up a fight about paying and will attempt to settle immediately. This sounds great, but because the insurance company’s job is to pay out as little as possible, the victim of the accident often accepts a payment that is far less than what they could have had if they hired an attorney. Before talking to the insurance company, contact our Fort Lauderdale accident firm and we will gladly give you a free consultation so you can tell us the details and get a better understanding of what you are agreeing to with the insurance company before you actually agree to it.

Some examples of No-Fault car accidents include:

• Rear-End Accident: If you are hit from behind, it is almost always going to be the other vehicle’s fault. Why is this car crash scenario a no-brainer for insurance companies? The damage on the backend of your vehicle and the front end of the other car leaves little room to argue. The negligent driver can still be held liable even if they claim the car ahead of them stopped suddenly. This is because the basic roads of the rule state you must keep a safe following distance that will allow you to break on time in case this scenario were to happen.
• Left-Turn Accident: If a car making a left turn collides with another vehicle that is going straight in the other direction, then the car making the left will almost always be held liable for the accident. This close to automatic rule does have a small few exceptions that include: a) the car going straight was traveling well above the speed limit b) the car going straight went through a red light c) the car making the left turn began moving when it was safe, but then something unexpected made the driver slow down or stop.

SPEAK TO A CAR ACCIDENT ATTORNEY