A Lawyer Can Help Establish Fault in a Car Accident

Not every car accident requires a personal injury claim but if you’re thinking of filing one, hiring a lawyer is essential. In any accident claim, the first thing you will need to do is prove which auto is at fault. In some respects, this will require a meeting between the police department, the drivers and the insurance companies. Using certain pre-established rules about “fault,” a decision will be made about who was careless, or “negligent” in the way they were driving. Rather than simply looking at the way they were driving, it often helps to know the laws that were violated.

Here are some ways your lawyer can help establish fault in a car accident –

Police reports

When the police arrive at the scene of an accident, particularly when a person has been injured, they will write up an accident report on the scene. This may include the comments of eyewitnesses, photographs of the cars in the accident and skid marks on the road, notes on the weather conditions and their own personal opinion. Sometimes it’s obvious who is at fault when a driver in the accident violated a specific traffic law.

State Traffic Laws

Another way to support an argument about the fault in a car accident is to see if any state laws were broken. This may require a review of the vehicle code in that state, which governs who has the “right of way” and the meaning of certain roadway markings.

"No-Doubt" Liability

In certain instances, a lawyer is not required to help determine the fault in a car accident. That’s because in certain types of accidents the other driver is at fault 99 percent of the time and insurance companies will rarely argue it. A good example of this is hydroplaning. Even though it may appear to be a weather related accident, hydroplaning only occurs when a driver is moving too fast for the weather conditions.

Rear-End Collisions

Whenever someone hits you from behind, it is virtually never your fault. Regardless of why you had to stop, it is always the other driver’s responsibility to control his or her car in such a way that they can stop safely without hitting the car in front of them. In multi-car accidents, the person behind you may have a claim against the person who caused the driver in front of them to stop, as well as the driver behind them if they were pushed into your car.

If you have questions about fault in a car accident, an auto-accident lawyer can help. Consult with the experienced personal injury attorneys at Clawson & Clawson LLP.