Car Accidents -
How Do Insurance Companies Determine Fault in an Auto Accident?
After an automobile accident, one of the important things that needs to be done is determination of fault. If you’re dealing with an insurance company, you’ll want to call an auto accident attorney in Atlanta for help as soon as possible to ensure that all determinations of faults are fair and take into consideration all the evidence. If you need to fight back, you’ll need legal help to do it.
How Do Insurance Companies Determine Fault in an Auto Accident?
The insurance company will conduct an investigation and look at various factors as they decide responsibility after an accident. Some of what they’re going to look at will include:
Police Report
If law enforcement responded to the scene, they will have made a report, and this report will be important evidence. While the police officer’s determination of fault is not final, officers are good at giving educated guesses in these scenarios by looking at the evidence when they arrive.
They can also talk with witnesses and both drivers to get a better sense of what happened, and they will write down their observations and include any citations they may have issued for traffic violations. These can often provide an initial assessment of fault, though they can be challenged later in a personal injury claim.
Witness Statements
Accounts from eyewitnesses who saw the accident can offer valuable perspectives. A third-party witness is generally seen as more reliable and less biased than the drivers, so insurance adjusters will identify witnesses, if there are any, to try to get an understanding of how the accident unfolded.
Physical Evidence
Another thing the insurance company will look at is any physical evidence that was actually at the scene. This will include the vehicles themselves and their damage, any photographs of the area, any video footage that might have been obtained from a dash cam or traffic camera, and things like skid marks and debris. By looking at exactly where the vehicles were in relation to each other and to other marks on the road, as well as the precise damage they sustained, it’s often possible to reveal the point of impact, which allows you to reconstruct the sequence of events (at least to a degree).
Traffic Laws
The insurance company will also investigate whether either of the drivers was violating the traffic laws of the area at the time. This could include anything from speeding and running a red light to failing to yield or driving unsafely for the weather conditions.
Driver Statements
The insurance company will certainly want to hear about your view of the situation, as well as the testimony of the other driver, though they will assume that both drivers are biased in their accounts. Even excluding bias, the drivers often don’t have a full perspective on what happened because their attention was taken up in the moment by getting through the accident itself.
Expert Analysis
When cases are particularly complicated, an insurance company may turn to an accident reconstruction specialist to get an analysis of the evidence and a professional opinion of fault.
Once the insurance company has gathered all this information and reviewed it carefully, they will assign a percentage of fault to everyone involved. Under Georgia’s system, as long as you are not 50% at fault or more, you can recover damages. However, your compensation will be reduced by the same percentage as your responsibility. Thus, if the insurance company claims that you are 30% responsible, and your damages amount to $27,000, you would end up with just $18,900 after 30% is taken.
As you can see, the insurance company does have a strong incentive to assign you more fault than you might actually hold. Every percentage point of fault that they can saddle on you is a few hundred (or thousand) dollars less that they have to pay. And if they can blame you for as much as 50% of the accident, they won’t have to pay anything at all. This is one reason it’s important to have a qualified and experienced lawyer on your side.
How to Challenge Fault
If you disagree with the determination of fault in an auto accident, there are several steps you can take to challenge it.
Talk With an Auto Accident Attorney in Atlanta
Your first step should be to retain an auto accident attorney. Even if you agree with the fault assessment of the insurance company, it can still be a good idea to talk with the lawyer about your case and find out what they can do to maximize your compensation, help you to investigate your accident, negotiate with the insurance company, and make sure you and your rights are protected throughout the process. They will also help you with the following aspects of challenging the fall assessment.
Get a Copy of the Report
Ask for a copy of the insurance company’s fault determination report, and have your lawyer carefully review the specific reasons given and all the evidence used to assign fault. This is the first step because you need to understand what exactly it is they’re claiming and what they are basing those claims upon.
Once you’ve done that, you will be able to gather your own evidence to support your version of what happened. This may include evidence that the insurance company didn’t reference, or you might be putting together the existing evidence to show how it is open to a different interpretation.
Reach Out and Present Your Claim
With all the evidence in hand, your next step will be to reach out to the insurance adjuster via your lawyer. Your lawyer will present the evidence clearly and explain why you believe their determination of fault is not correct. The first step is usually just to ask for a reevaluation based on the new assessment that you’ve provided. If the adjuster refuses to do this or to change the decision, you may need them to escalate the matter by asking to speak to someone higher up. You can also write a complaint to the claims department asking for further review, and your lawyer will help you to do this.
Pressing Further
If the insurance company still does not agree with your position, your lawyer can negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf or represent you if the dispute escalates further. At this point, your lawyer may need to become a bit more aggressive in communication and may work with you to review your insurance policy and see if it offers or requires you to go through mediation or arbitration.
File a Lawsuit
If you can’t get the insurance company to budge, and you know their determination of fault is inaccurate, you may need to consider filing a lawsuit. This could be against the insurance company or against the other driver, but whichever it is, bear in mind that this is usually a time-consuming and expensive way to go. You absolutely must have legal representation, and your lawyer will let you know whether this is a smart step to take in your case or not.
If you’ve been in an accident and are dealing with an insurance company, reach out to us at T. Madden & Associates, P.C. in Atlanta today for a free case evaluation.
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