While many automobile crashes, such as a rear-end collision or a blown stoplight, show clear negligence on the part of an individual driver, determining fault in a car accident isn’t always so cut and dry. Sometimes details are easy to forget and both drivers may bear some fault for the crash whether they know it or not. If you have been seriously injured and need an experienced attorney to help prove car accident liability, please contact our office today to schedule a free consultation.
Determining Fault in a Car Accident | Liability
In some cases, the determination of who is at fault is easy, particularly in two-vehicle accidents, in cases in which someone may have run a red light, and in similar situations. The issue of who is at fault for an accident becomes more difficult in cases where there are multi-vehicle accidents. In our system, there can be multiple at-fault parties for an accident; anyone involved in an accident can be substantially at fault even if he or she barely contributed to the accident.
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Determining Fault in a Car Accident | Comparative Negligence
Clients often ask what comparative negligence means. Essentially, comparative negligence looks at the percent of fault that is shared, both by the person that was injured and by the person who did the harm. If it’s a two car accident, for example, and there’s an intersection controlled by a four-way stop, even if you’ve stopped adequately at your stop sign and then you go forward, if you don’t look and notice another car is barreling down and is going to blow through their stop sign, then they may look to you to share some comparative fault, whether it be 1% or 10%, or even more depending on the facts of the accident. Comparative fault, as a principle, is trying to weigh the percent of fault among all the parties who are involved.
Local insurance companies are familiar with Andrews, Bernstein & Maranto, PLLC’s team of experienced Buffalo car accident lawyers, and they know all too well that we are willing to take all of our cases to a jury trial. Unlike other attorneys, we will not accept a quick settlement simply so that we can move on to the next case. We will fight for every ounce of compensation that our clients deserve.