It's one of the first questions that come up after a car accident: Who was at fault? With some kinds of accidents, it's clear to everyone involved (and every eyewitness) exactly who or what caused the crash. But that's not usually the case. In this article, we'll touch on some of the key factors that come into play when it's time to make a finding of fault for a car accident.
Sometimes Car Accident Fault is Clear...
In some cases, determining fault for a car accident is easy. For example, if you are stopped at a red light and another driver slams his car into yours from behind, the other driver is clearly going to be at fault. The circumstances of the crash -- the position and location of the vehicles, plus any vehicle damage -- will make that clear. And typically there will be plenty of witnesses who saw what happened. Both the police officer responding to the scene and the insurance adjusters for the companies insuring the two vehicles will undoubtedly conclude that fault for this rear-end accident lies with the tailing driver.
...Sometimes, Not So Much
In other cases, it may be more difficult to determine fault because either the drivers' versions of what happened are quite different or because both drivers are partially at fault.
For example, when Driver A says that he came to a complete stop at the stop sign before proceeding through the intersection, and Driver B says that Driver A ran the stop sign, neither the police nor the insurance adjusters will be able to conclusively determine fault unless there were eyewitnesses to the accident. And, even if there were eyewitnesses, their stories may not be consistent. In this type of case, the police report may assign fault to one of the drivers, but the insurance companies will not be bound by this determination and may ultimately agree or disagree with the police report based on their own independent investigations.
(Learn more about how police reports are used to determine fault for a car accident.)
Shared Fault -- Sorting It All Out
When both drivers are partially at fault for the accident, such as when Driver A is going 20 miles over the speed limit and is struck by Driver B, who is pulling out onto the road from a private driveway, an allocation of fault between the parties will have to be made. This fault allocation will be arrived at through a combination of:
- the drivers' statements (and those of any passengers)
- eyewitness interviews
- physical evidence at the accident scene, and
- the judgments of the responding police officer and the drivers' insurance companies.
As you can imagine, this process can be complicated, and there is no magic formula for determining the drivers' relative percentages of fault. As is the case with the example above, the insurance companies are not bound by the police report in cases of mutual fault, but the police findings will certainly be an important factor in their determinations.
Unless a car accident lawsuit has been filed and the dispute is taken to court, fault is something that will be determined by the car insurance companies for the drivers involved in the accident. This determination is important because it will impact the drivers' entitlement to benefits under their respective car insurance coverage, and it may also affect their car insurance rates.
While state laws vary on the issue of whether fault may bar or limit one's right to recover benefits, it is never wise to admit liability at the scene of a car accident, because even if you believe you caused the accident, there may be facts unknown to you that could impact a fault determination. As a result, you should not admit fault at the accident scene but should instead exchange information with the other driver and be cooperative with the police and insurance investigators.
If you believe your insurance company has wrongly determined that you were the party at fault for the accident, your insurance policy likely includes a provision that grants you the right to appeal this determination. Appeal provisions typically have time limitations, so you should read your policy closely and make sure that your appeal is timely filed.