Over the years, surveys have shown that almost one-third of American drivers admit to running red lights from time to time. Many of them say they do it when they’re running late or simply when they’re feeling impatient.
When someone runs a red light and causes a traffic accident, it’ll be pretty easy for the police to determine who was at fault for this car accident. A red light runner will almost always be the one blamed for causing an auto accident.
But it isn’t always that easy for police to figure out who was at fault in a traffic accident. They’ll need to do some further digging around to determine it.
Auto insurance companies and personal injury lawyers will also often conduct their own investigations to get to the bottom of who was at fault for a car accident. Each of these entities will do so in a slightly different manner.
Take a look at how each of them will go about determining who was at fault for a traffic accident below.
Drivers
If you’re ever involved in a traffic accident, you’ll likely have an opinion on who was to blame for it. The other driver or drivers involved in this car accident will also have opinions on who was to blame for it.
But your opinion and the opinion of others will rarely have any bearing on who is ultimately blamed for an auto accident. This is because the majority of people involved in accidents will point the finger at someone else and say they caused it.
And even if you don’t fall into this category, you should still strive to keep your opinion on who may have caused a traffic accident to yourself. If you accept responsibility for an accident at the scene of it, it could put you into a tricky legal position later.
Plus, even if you believe you were to blame for a car accident, there is a chance that something may have been going on with another driver that led to a crash. For instance, they may have been intoxicated and done something to cause a crash that you didn’t notice while it was going on.
For these reasons, it would be best to avoid taking the blame for a traffic accident or trying to put the blame on someone else. Leave it up to the police, insurance companies, courts, etc. to determine who was at fault for an accident.
Police Officers
In the immediate aftermath of a traffic accident, you should always call the police and have them come out to the scene. They’ll be able to launch an investigation into your accident that’ll help determine who was at fault.
The police officers who arrive on the scene will be in charge of creating a police report covering what happened. They’ll generate this report by speaking to the drivers involved in the accident as well as anyone who may have witnessed it.
The police will also evaluate the scene to see if they’re unable to uncover anything that might help paint a clearer picture of what happened. They’ll look at everything from the positioning of cars after a crash to skid marks that might be left behind on the road.
At the end of all this, the police might be able to make a determination as to who was to blame for the crash. But they will also sometimes create a police report without doing this. They’ll let insurance companies and possibly lawyers look into the crash further to see who was at fault for it.
Insurance Companies
Following a traffic accident, you’ll always want to touch base with your auto insurance company to let them know about it. They’ll want to carry out their own investigation of the accident to see if you were at fault for it.
During an auto insurance company’s investigation, they’ll take statements from you as well as other drivers involved in the crash. They’ll also ask you to provide them with any medical records you might have, and they’ll sneak a peek at your car in many cases, too.
Additionally, your auto insurance company will work with the auto insurance companies of other drivers to determine who caused a traffic accident to occur. In some cases, they might even go as far as to place part of the blame on one driver and part of it on other drivers by assigning them each a percentage.
The percentages assigned to different drivers involved in a traffic accident will help auto insurance companies decide who will be financially responsible for various aspects of the crash.
Personal Injury Lawyers
If you were injured in a crash and you don’t believe you were to blame for it, you might want to look into hiring a personal injury lawyer. They’ll be able to examine your case and tell you if you can file a traffic accident lawsuit to try and collect compensation to pay for auto repairs, medical bills, etc.
If you decide to go in this direction, your car accident attorney will also look into your crash further to see if they think you were at fault for it. Even if the police and/or auto insurance companies say a crash was your fault, they can still gather evidence and disprove this theory.
That’s why you should always try speaking with a personal injury attorney before you start talking to your auto insurance company about an accident. The last thing you want to do is say something that could hurt you in a legal sense while discussing your crash with your insurance company.
You should contact this personal injury lawyer to see how they can assist you after you’re involved in a traffic accident.
Courts
If you decide you would like to file a traffic accident lawsuit, you’re more than welcome to do it. Your personal injury lawyer can help you with it.
This lawyer can also help you create a compelling case that you can then present in a courtroom. From there, it’ll be up to a judge to determine if you were at fault for the crash you were in.
If a judge says you were, in fact, to blame for a car accident, it’ll hurt your chances of being awarded compensation. But if they say you weren’t to blame or you were only partially to blame, it might be a different story. You could collect compensation from whoever was to blame in your crash.
A personal injury lawyer might also be able to stop you from having to go through all this. They might be able to get a defendant in your case to agree to a settlement deal. Many personal injury cases end in settlements since a lot of individuals and companies would prefer to keep cases out of a courtroom.
Was Someone Else at Fault for a Traffic Accident That Injured You?
If you were involved in a traffic accident that you know was caused by someone else, you shouldn’t sit by and do nothing. You shouldn’t be responsible for footing the bills that can come out of a crash like this.
Instead, the person who caused the crash and/or their auto insurance company should pay you for the trouble. You should look into working with a personal injury lawyer who can get you paid.
If you’re able to collect compensation after a car crash, you’ll be able to use it to put your life back together. This money can be used to cover auto repair costs, medical bills, and other expenses.
It won’t completely erase the sting that so often comes along with getting into a traffic accident. But it will make the recovery process a little easier on you and reduce some of the stress you feel.
All it takes is one call to a car accident attorney to ease your troubled mind. Don’t be afraid to reach out to a lawyer today to get more information on how they can help you.
Contact a Car Accident Injury Lawyer Today
Getting into a traffic accident can be difficult enough. If you didn’t cause it, you shouldn’t be left to cover the costs you’ll face because of it.
A good car accident injury lawyer will be more than happy to take on your case for you. They can launch an investigation into it to see if you were at fault. And if you weren’t, they’ll be able to create a case that will hold up in court.
Look into reaching out to a lawyer today for help with your traffic accident case and read more articles on our blog to get more useful legal advice.
