What happens if you swerve to avoid an accident?

If you swerve to avoid a crash and end up rolling your car down an embankment, the risk of injury may actually rise. If you swerve on a city street and wind up on the sidewalk, pedestrians could be in far more danger than anyone in a car would have been if the two vehicles simply collided.

Are you always at fault if you hit a car from behind?

Generally speaking, under California law, if someone hits you from behind, the accident is virtually always that driver’s fault, regardless of the reason you stopped. A basic rule of the road requires that a driver be able to stop safely if a vehicle stops ahead of the driver.

Can someone cause an accident?

Legal liability for almost all accidents is determined by this rule of carelessness, and by one or more of the following simple propositions: If a negligent person causes an accident while working for someone else, the employer may also be legally responsible for the accident.

Can you rear end someone and not be at fault?

In most rear-end motor vehicle accidents, the rear driver is at fault for the accident. However, the rear driver is not always at fault in a rear-end collision. The lead driver or another vehicle could be the cause of the rear-end accident.

How do insurance determine who is at fault?

If the police do not decide who is at fault, or the insurance company disagrees, your insurance adjuster will investigate the accident and use the details to determine fault. The insurance company will use photos, maps, witness statements, medical records, and special algorithms to calculate fault.

Who pays for car damage in a no fault state?

In most states, the driver who caused the accident will bear financial responsibility (usually through an insurance company) for injuries and other losses. But in a dozen or so states, the car insurance process starts (and often ends) with a no-fault car insurance claim made through your own coverage.

How do you know who is liable?

The amount of the other person’s liability for the accident is determined by comparing his or her carelessness with your own. The percentage of liability determines the percentage of the resulting damages he or she must pay. This rule is referred to as comparative negligence.

Is swerving in a car accident still considered at fault?

If I had to swerve to avoid an object or another automobile and ended up hitting someone else, am I still at fault for the accident? The reason car accidents are called “accidents” is because they result from things that are sometimes out of the control of drivers. When you are in an accident, drivers are deemed partially or wholly at fault.

Who is at fault if you hit someone else’s car?

If you swerve out of the way to avoid an object or another car, but that car wasn’t involved in the accident (in other words, it only caused you to hit someone but wasn’t hit itself), then you will likely be considered at fault if you hit someone else’s car.

Do I need a lawyer for a swerve accident?

In these situations, you should treat the case like any other accident claim and contact a car accident lawyer to help you. The problem is that most swerve accidents are not this simple. If a driver causes you to crash into something or someone, this is known as a no-contact car accident.

What if the other driver doesn’t even know they caused your accident?

The other driver may not even know they caused your car accident. They may speed away, leaving you with a damaged or totaled car and maybe even some medical injuries. The driver who caused you to crash is known as a phantom driver.