While an automobile accident is never a good thing, imagine if the accident is your own fault or partly so. Your next step is driven by where you live, your automobile insurance, and the level of your blame in an accident. An attorney can help you determine whether or not you are equally at fault for the accident.
If you are partly at fault for the accident, you might not be able to qualify for any kind of compensation. This can be discouraging, but it may not always be true. Personal injury attorneys like Dolan Dobrinsky Rosenblum Bluestein will advise on what should be included in the claim and how to proceed. No matter how those events that led to the accident were partly your fault, you may receive certain damages.
What Happens if the Car Accident Was Your Fault?
The culture of handling blame after an automobile accident depends on the place in which you live. States classified as both “fault” and “no-fault” are:
- In fault states, the individual who causes an accident is legally responsible for compensating anyone else who was affected.
- In most no-fault states, every person’s automobile insurance policy pays for individual injuries.
What if Both Drivers Are at Fault?
Finding one individual who was solely responsible for an accident involving a motor vehicle is always a rarity. A majority of car crash legal cases involve both drivers in some measure of responsibility. So does this mean that if you were partially to blame, you can’t sue? Not quite.
Half of the states employ the so-called contributory negligence bar rule, while the other half employ a rule known as the modified comparative negligence rule. This rule propounds that where a person has sustained loss, he may insist on compensation no matter how much he was at fault. In your case, the court will, however, reduce your damages in proportion to your degree of responsibility.
Will My Car Insurance Rates Be Affected By the Accident?
If you are more than 50% responsible for the car accident, your auto insurance premiums will likely go up after the policy renewal. You should personally go to your insurance carrier to get the specifics.
Many insurance companies offer “accident forgiveness,” where your insurance will not add another accident to your record if you go long enough without having one. For your protection today, though, accident forgiveness is built-in; it’s a feature that you pay for in advance.
Can You Proceed without an Attorney?
You don’t have to talk to an attorney to continue managing your case; it is all up to you as the client. An attorney may, nonetheless, surely assist in sorting out issues that may soon become complex. Still, if you engage the services of a lawyer, then you may be eligible for compensation regardless of the percentage of blame for the accident.
If you are entitled to any damages, you may find it extremely difficult to try and seek any at all without the help of a lawyer, especially if the insurance company of the other driver has knowledge of your share of negligence. But you could be wrong when it comes to being at fault at all. Your lawyer can help to showcase exactly who remains legally responsible for the occurrence of the accident.
Conclusion
You have rights in the event that you are involved in a car accident and are critically injured. Ideally, the insurance company should tender your entire claim without avoiding including crucial, sometimes overlooked aspects. If they do not, then you could be forced to take the other motorist to court. This is especially so if the other motorist opens their mouth and blames you for the accident.