Arthur Gueli

Car Collisions & Predetermined Fault

In car collisions, there's a couple of situations that make it easy to prove liability (known as "predetermined fault"). Here we'll explain both of these situations and how they can help your case.

In certain types of car collisions there's what is called 'predetermined' fault. This means that the nature of the car collision strongly suggests that one driver caused the accident through negligence. If this is the case in your insurance claim, winning will be much easier.

The two main situations with predetermined fault are rear-end collisions and left-turn collisions. In both of these circumstances there's a driver who's definitely at fault.

There's a ton of precedent due to these types of car collisions being so common. When these accidents happen, a definite traffic rule has been broken.

In a rear-end collision, the person at the rear is at fault. Period. There's almost no way for that driver to get out of it. In every state, and pretty much anywhere you drive in the world, the rules of driving say that you must maintain a safe distance behind other motorists.

Regardless of any factors leading up to it, in a rear-end collision, the driver in the rear must have been unable to stop in time to avoid the accident. Therefore, they were driving too close.

They can argue that you slammed on your brakes too fast and that there was no reason for you to do so, but that really doesn’t matter. They should've been able to avoid you.

Now, don’t get too excited. While there is undebatable liability on the part of that driver, there are still ways they can reduce the compensation you receive. A common example is if your brake lights were out. The other driver is still at fault, but your own negligence in having broken brake lights will likely lower the claim.

In a car collision involving a left turn, the driver turning left is the one who's negligent and the cause of the accident. A driver simply can’t turn left when the oncoming lane isn’t clear. That’s a strict rule that can’t be broken. The car damage sustained in these types of auto collisions make it obvious that a left turn was being made. So your case is pretty much open and shut.

Again, there's a couple of exceptions that can reduce the claim in a left-hand turn collision. If one driver was clearly speeding, then the driver turning left can argue they couldn’t fairly judge the time they had to turn. Or perhaps the driver turning left saw something unexpected, causing them to stop mid-intersection. Because no driver is supposed to attempt a left turn until they're certain they can complete it, this argument rarely works.

A final note on the left-turn car collision: if the car that was driving straight actually ran a red light, then the left turning vehicle may get off the hook. In this case, the person running the red light is likely the more negligent. Unfortunately, this is very difficult to prove without witnesses.

Article Tags: Driver Turning Left, Predetermined Fault, Driver Turning, Turning Left

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