Every year in the United States, there are more than 6-million road traffic accidents.
A car accident is likely to be one of the more stressful incidents that you may need to deal with in life.
Not only do you need to contend with any injury you may have succumbed to and deal with the damage to your vehicle, but you will also have to worry about finding out who is at fault.
After a car accident, how do you find out who is at fault? Here’s when you need to get in touch with a Houston car accident attorney.
What Is a No-Fault Car Accident?
There are 12 states that have no-fault insurance laws. In these states, all drivers are required to have personal injury protection (PIP). This will be a part of their car insurance policy.
PIP will help drivers to pay their own medical expenses in the event of a car crash, whether they caused the accident or not.
If there are property damage claims, these are still dealt with on an at-fault basis even in no-fault states. This means that if you cause a crash, your insurance will pay for the other vehicle to be repaired.
What Is an At-Fault Car Accident?
In states where there is no PIP coverage, it is the at-fault driver’s insurance policy that will cover the medical bills of any injured party, in addition to any vehicle damage.
This means that if you were the at-fault driver in one of these states, your insurance would need to cover any medical costs and vehicle repairs following the accident.
If you’re driving out of state, always check the insurance regulations.
What Should You Do Following a Car Accident?
Following any car accident, you should take certain steps to protect yourself and ensure you’re meeting your legal obligation.
After you have ensured everyone is safe, you should call the police immediately and file a report. Then you should record as many details about the accident as possible. Take photos of the site of the accident and the damage to both vehicles.
Record information such as the time of day, any hazards, the driving conditions, the other vehicle’s make, model, color, and registration plates.
Once you have reported and recorded the details of the accident, you should exchange details with the other drivers involved. If there were any witnesses, find out their details too and record these.
By doing all of these things, you will make it easier for the insurance company.
As soon as you can, following the accident, get in touch with your insurance provider. To make things easier, you may wish to hire an attorney to make sure that you get the best support possible.
Avoid Admitting Fault
It can be hard following an accident to not accuse the other party of being at fault or to not hold your hands up and take responsibility for an accident that you believe you have caused. However, it is important that you avoid admitting fault.
Don’t lie about the accident. Report all the facts to your insurer and the police. State the facts as they actually happened and allow the insurance companies and police to come to their own conclusions. Avoid embellishing the information.
Who Determines Fault After a Car Accident?
In most cases, the police will be responsible for determining fault. However, there are always exceptions to this rule.
Whenever the police attend the scene of a car accident, they’ll complete an accident report. This will contain all of the relevant information, including the names of the drivers involved, the location, what happened, the driver’s insurance details, and their observations from the scene.
The police will talk to all parties, including any drivers, passengers, and witnesses. They will assess the damage to each vehicle and use the physical information from the scene to assess the stories provided by the drovers and witnesses.
With some accidents, it will be easier to determine the fault than with others. For instance, where stories don’t add up, and no witnesses or security camera footage are available, it can take more work to determine fault.
If the at-fault driver does not admit responsibility for the accident, then the insurance company can assess the evidence to work out who caused the accident.
It is for this reason that you should take photos and gather information, including the contact details of any witnesses. The more evidence there is, the easier it will be for the insurance adjuster.
What Happens If Both Drivers Are At Fault?
In Texas, modified comparative negligence is used. This means that you will not be about to recoup any losses from the other driver if you’re more than 50% at fault in the accident.
In this instance, you would pay for your own medical bills and repairs, even if the other driver was also at fault.
Hire a Houston Car Accident Attorney Today
If you’re in an automobile collision, do your best to gather as much information as possible. Try your best to remain calm and think about your safety and that of others around you.
Do remember to contact the police, and get in touch with a Houston car accident attorney as soon after the accident as possible.
A car accident lawyer can help you to deal with your insurance company. Whether you were at fault or not, we can help you following your accident.
Get in touch withThe Law Offices of Omar Khawaja today and find out how we can help you.