subject: Determining "Fault" in an Auto Accident [print this page] Determining "Fault" in an Auto Accident
Being an auto accident attorney I hear the term "fault" thrown around a lot. But a lot of people aren't sure what fault really means.When "fault" is being used to specifically refer to a car accident, it means the same thing it did when you were 8 years old and got in trouble at homethat broken vase was always someone's fault. But was it your brother's fault for throwing it across the room? Or your fault for breaking it? Car accidents are no different. Who's responsible for the injuries resulting from the accident? Who is at fault?Different states have different ways of determining fault. Some states are referred to as "pure comparative fault" states. What this basically means is that all parties involved may have some level of responsibility when an accident takes place. What this means for an injured party is that you may be entitled to some damages compensation, even if you are partly to blame for the accident. How much the court determines you were at fault compared to everyone else in the accident will determine the amount of your compensation. The judge or jury will determine who is at fault and by how much if you file a lawsuit.Hypothetically if you're driving one day and someone hits you, it's their fault, right? Not quite, not automatically anyway. When trying to determine fault , the attorneys and the insurers will be looking at witness statements, police reports, the accident scene, and even medical records to try and put the blame on someone other than the party they're representing. Things like issued citations at the accident or other reports of negligence by the reporting officer can weigh heavily into an adjuster's determination of fault and who is to blame for the accident. Although citations are not the final determining factor for who is at fault, they can effectively support the adjuster's opinion.Reliable witness statements can also be used to sort out events that lead up to the crash and determine who is at fault. If the witnesses testify that one of the drivers involved violated a traffic law then their statement can be used to help determine fault. Witnesses can also give what are called statements of opinion. This is when a witness says "well I think it was all the green car's fault", in this scenario you do NOT want to be the driver of the green car because a judge or jury might be inclined to agree.It should be noted that I said reliable witnesses. It can be tricky to find a reliable eyewitness for a car crash. This is not because people will be reluctant to talk about what they saw, but because seeing a crash can be disturbing. It's because of this that a person can often have trouble accurately remembering all the details of what happened. Point of view can also make eyewitness testimony tricky. One example is that most people tend to overestimate the speed of a motorcycle, while they will underestimate the speed of a larger vehicle.If you have recently been involved in an accident and you're not sure whether or not you're at fault, you should speak with an experienced auto accident attorney immediately.
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