Car Accident Fault: How Fault is Determined in Car Accidents

Determining fault after a car accident can feel complicated, but it’s a crucial step for legal, insurance, and financial reasons. How fault is determined in car accidents typically depends on factors like traffic law violations, eyewitness accounts, physical evidence, and the circumstances of the accident scene. 

Understanding car accident fault laws in your state can clarify who is responsible for damages, injuries, or property loss. Working with the best car accident lawyers can make a significant difference in navigating these legal complexities. 

An experienced attorney like Gage Mathers can guide you through gathering evidence, filing claims, and negotiating with car insurance companies to ensure your rights are protected and you receive fair compensation after a car accident. Knowing the rules, your legal options, and how fault is assessed early can save both time and stress as your case progresses.

How Fault Is Determined in a Car Accident

Relevant Factors in Establishing Fault

There are four major factors to determining fault after an accident, some of which you can influence, and some over which you have no control:

Evidence

It might seem as though, as a person involved in an accident, you have no power over the collection of evidence, but you actually have a major role to play. Once you’ve established that everyone is safe and you’ve called 911, the next thing you should do is document the accident for fault determination. 

Take photographs and videos of the vehicles involved, the road conditions and signs, and any injuries you’ve sustained. It’s important to over-document in these accident moments. Having just been in an accident, it may be difficult to think clearly, and it’s likely you might not document details that seem unimportant.

Collecting evidence at the scene of the accident also means talking with eyewitnesses. By the time the police arrive, anyone who actually saw the accident may have left, so it’s possible that you’ll be the only one who can make sure their testimonies are a part of your claim.

Police Report

This is part of why calling the police right after an accident is important–it begins a paper trail of documentation that will record detailed accounts of the facts. Police reports include time, location, weather conditions, and descriptions of the vehicles and damage sustained. They also include accounts of the accident given by those involved and any witnesses.

Adjuster Assessments

Insurance companies can have the largest influence on determining fault. Their involvement in the process begins, after the initial report, by assigning an adjuster to the claim.

This person will review the police report, documentation of the accident, witness testimonials, and whatever other information is at their disposal. They will also examine the vehicle to assess the damage done and calculate the cost of repairs and whether or not the vehicle has been totaled.

This often only happens in more complex cases, but insurance adjusters might also conduct their own interviews of the drivers involved, passengers that might have been in either vehicle, and recorded witnesses. They might also go one step further and involve expert witnesses.

Accident Reconstruction

Accident reconstruction specialists are experts at understanding the physics of accidents. They will analyze the documentation of the accident and the environment, assessing patterns of movement, the kind of damage done to the vehicles, any skid marks on the road, and other facets of information. 

Using this, they will try to reconstruct what happened when to determine fault. For example, their testimony can be a part of how speeding affects liability in car accident claims.

Medical Experts

Medical experts are often used to assess injuries sustained in accidents, what treatment and recovery could look like, and how these injuries were sustained. They are sometimes used to debunk claims that injuries were sustained in an accident that were actually caused before or after the fact.

Navigating the Fault Determination Process

Much of the aftermath of a car accident is messy, and when fault is unclear, determining who is responsible can be one of the most complicated parts of the claim. Hiring a lawyer from Gage Mathers to be on your side not only ensures you aren’t alone as you navigate the process, but ensures you have the help you need when it comes to negotiating with adjusters, collecting new evidence, and contacting expert witnesses–all of which can be vital in securing the compensation you deserve!

About the Author

Joseph D'Aguanno

Guided by the belief that being a highly skilled specialist in a narrow field is better than being ordinary in everything, Joseph “JD” D’Aguanno leads Arizona’s best personal injury law firm in Phoenix, AZ. Having extensive cross-training in pre-litigation negotiations and trial lawyer skills, with decades of experience, JD strives to provide clients with the most valuable legal services a personal injury lawyer can provide. Under his direction, Gage Mathers Law Group is an award-winning personal injury law firm providing aggressive representation to victims of a car accident, medical malpractice, dog bite, motorcycle accident, and other injurious events. Gage Mathers is trusted by thousands of lawyers and clients throughout the country because of their reputation for getting clients the maximum compensation they deserve.

Years of experience: Over 24 years
Bar number: 020421
Location: Phoenix, AZ
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