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Car Accident Insurance Settlements: Establishing Liability in Auto Collisions...

As we've mentioned, most personal injury claims are for car accident insurance settlements.

If you were injured in an auto collision, then you must show someone else was liable for the damages.

Without showing that someone else was negligent, and therefore liable for your damages, it's not very likely you'll get a fair car accident insurance settlement.



So many things can go wrong while driving a car that there's no easy way to predict all the liabilities from the outset.

There are many top causes of car accidents. Perhaps the other driver was speeding, or drinking, or turning incorrectly. Maybe a pot hole caused a problem, or a traffic light malfunctioned.

The possible situations leading up to an auto collision are truly infinite. So as we'll keep saying, you've got to do your best to detail everything that happened at the scene of your accident.

With car accident insurance settlements there's often no fool-proof way of determining liability. Things often come down to who tells the most convincing story. Because of all the possibilities there's not always a way to state with certainty what events transpired before the crash.

For example, take a distracted driver. This is definitely a sign of negligence and can easily be said to be the cause. But, how can distraction be proved after the fact?

This is where witnesses are important. Hopefully they'll have seen the driver looking away from the road, using the radio or cell phone, or talking with someone in the back seat.

A good witness creates a situation where it's no longer just your word against the driver’s - this makes your battle much easier.

Without witnesses you'll have a tougher time. But auto accident pictures and the police report can tell a pretty accurate car accident story.

They'll show how the accident looked, where the damage was done and where it all took place. If it was mid-intersection and the other driver sideswiped you, then you can easily claim you entered the intersection first.

You could also suggest they weren’t paying attention, because if they were, they would have tried to avoid hitting you. Taking pictures of any skidmarks can confirm or deny if a driver tried to avoid the accident.



You need to notice things that can help you prove liability.

If a lot of children were in the other driver's car, or an open map lay on the passenger seat, there's a good chance the driver was distracted.

The police accident report may make note of details like this, so read it carefully.

In some situations, the traffic accident will be partially your fault. If the other driver ran a stop sign, but you were the one glancing at a map, the insurance adjuster will argue that you're partially negligent.

Arguments of split liability will always arise in car accident insurance settlements, no matter how clear it is you're not at fault. Be prepared for this.

If you really did nothing wrong, make sure your version of the accident stresses details that demonstrate this. If you were partially negligent, then downplay it as much as you can.

When traffic accidents have more than one cause, one of the causes doesn’t necessarily have to be attributable to you.

If a driver was speeding and hit you in the middle of an intersection where the traffic lights failed, then both causes are valid. The other driver and the city are both negligent in some way.

Since both of these causes resulted in your injuries, you have the right to pursue both parties for your claim.



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