What Happens if I'm at Fault for a Car Accident?

If you have caused a car accident and are determined to be at fault, it may or may not impact your ability to claim compensation.

The negligence doctrine in the state where the accident happened will determine whether a legal path for compensation is available.

Even if you caused the crash, you may be entitled to receive compensation to cover your medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages.

In fault states, the motorist who caused the collision is liable, and injured parties will usually seek compensation from their insurance provider.

However, the at-fault party in a car accident that occurs in a no-fault state may be able to seek recoverable damages from their own insurance provider's personal injury protection (PIP) coverage.

In states that follow contributory negligence rules, injured parties are barred from compensation if found to have a percentage of responsibility for causing the accident.

Other states recognize comparative negligence rules where recoverable damages are available to at-fault motorists but reduced by the share of determined responsibility.

A final negligence doctrine that may dictate an at-fault driver's ability to recover compensation is used in states that recognize modified comparative negligence.

In states that use a form of modified comparative negligence, drivers who caused a crash can be barred from recoverable damages if their share of responsibility for the crash is found to be above 50% or more.

So, as you can see, the answer to "What happens if I'm at fault for a car accident?" is: it depends.

If you have been in a serious auto accident, even if you are deemed at fault for a crash, review the unique circumstances with an experienced car accident lawyer.

When you sit down with an attorney, you will be able to review the negligence rules in effect and determine what legal options are available.

Who is deemed to have caused a car accident will determine if and how an injured party may seek recoverable damages after a collision. A determination of fault and who bears responsibility is tied directly to the facts of the accident and lays the groundwork for legal liability. The following factors receive consideration when determining fault in a car accident.

Your Police Accident Report

An investigation of the accident scene by law enforcement will include observable evidence noted by the police officer and provide a determination of fault in the report. The police report will usually note whether traffic laws were violated, evidence of speeding or reckless driving exists, and what an investigation has determined to have caused the crash. While the police report's assessment of fault will be weighed heavily in any subsequent legal claim, it can contain errors and opinions can be disputed in some cases.

Rear-End Accidents

In a rear-end accident, 9 times out of 10, it will be the motorist who hit the vehicle from behind that will be found at fault. Motorists have a duty to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front, even after a sudden, unexpected stop. An exception can be found in multi-vehicle accidents where the initial collision forces a vehicle to rear-end another motorist, in which case the first motorist may be found liable.

Multi-Vehicle Car Accidents

Determining liability and fault in multi-vehicle accidents can be complex. The driver of the first driver whose actions initiate the daisy chain of collisions, will carry the most responsibility for the pile-up. However, the facts surrounding each party involved will be scrutinized by the insurance providers and attorneys over the potential for shared responsibility. Vehicles involved in the chain reaction may have been too close to the subsequent vehicle in the collision. A driver may be determined to have been able to avoid the next collision in the series of events if reasonable action was taken. In a pileup, the entire sequence must be untangled and contributing factors scrutinized closely to determine responsibility from one collision to the next.

Traffic Law Violations

When a driver has violated the local traffic laws, and the events result in an auto accident, the driver will usually be deemed at fault. Running a red light, failing to stop for a stop sign at an intersection, driving over the speed limit, driving impaired, making an illegal turn, are all common traffic violation examples that can cause a crash and result in the driver being deemed responsible.

Beyond your own recovery options, being at fault sets four things in motion, and knowing them keeps a bad week from becoming a worse year.

Your liability insurance steps in front of you. Bodily injury liability coverage exists for exactly this moment. Your insurer owes you two duties: it pays the other side's covered damages up to your policy limits, and it defends you, meaning the company hires and pays the lawyer if you get sued. Report the crash to your carrier promptly; cooperation is a policy condition, and late notice gives the insurer an excuse to balk.

Your exposure is capped by your limits, mostly. If the other side's damages exceed your coverage, the excess can be pursued against you personally. This is also where your insurer's duties to you have teeth: if the injured party offers to settle within your limits and your carrier unreasonably refuses, many states shift the excess risk onto the insurer. If your own carrier mishandles the defense of your case, our guide on when you can sue your own insurance company covers the duties it owes you.

Your premiums will likely rise. An at-fault crash typically follows your record for three to five years. It is a real cost, and it is also not a reason to skip reporting a crash that involves injury; an unreported injury crash is a far larger risk than a surcharge.

Fault is a legal conclusion, not a feeling. Do not announce fault at the scene or to an adjuster. You know what you saw from one seat; you do not know what the other driver was doing, what the cameras show, or what the reconstruction will say. Plenty of drivers who felt at fault turned out to share fault or none at all, and the difference is worth real money under comparative negligence rules.