The short answer to this question is that the person who caused the accident is responsible for paying the damages in California. California is an at-fault state for car accidents. However, the full answer is complex. Each car accident is a unique scenario where fault can often be difficult to determine. Fortunately, the law can be applied to every accident to determine who is responsible for the damages.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that approximately 36,120 people died on American roads in car accidents in 2019, a number that is consistent from year to year across the country. Of the 30 to 40 thousand Americans killed in car accidents every year, 3,904 were killed, and 277,160 people were injured in California in 2017. Every year, hundreds of thousands of California residents are forced to file legal claims seeking compensation for the car accidents they have experienced.
These claims seek compensation for property damages, medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. If you have been in a car accident, you may be having a hard time determining who is at fault. Everybody involved may be saying a different thing about responsibility. At Arash Law, we can take this confusion off your hands and fight this fight for you.
Our California car accident attorneys have been settling cases for decades, with hundreds of millions won for our clients who are car accident victims. Call Arash Law today at (888) 488-1391 to get a free review of your case. We will apply the law to determine responsibility, and you won’t pay until we win.
Determining Fault in a Car Accident
Determining fault in a car accident can be difficult. Conventional rules suggest that whoever violated the law or was at fault will be the party responsible for the damages. In many states (including California), this is the case. The more information you have when you are making your claim for damages, the easier it will be to determine who was at fault and is responsible for the accident.
Document as much as you can. File the reports you need to file as these will be useful documents as evidence when determining responsibility. When you have been in a car accident, it is always best to call the police and have a police report filed on the crash.
You can order a copy of the California Highway Patrol report of the accident, or your lawyer can do that for you. You will also need to file a report with the DMV within ten days of the accident. You, or someone you love, can file the DMV accident report online if that is easier.
It may seem like injuries were minor, and damage was minimal, but the standards are low in California. During a car accident, adrenaline is high, and you or your passengers may not feel pain when an injury occurs. You may not even feel it until the next day. Don’t ever let another driver convince you that the police don’t need to be involved.
When you have a police report or a report from the crash investigation unit, it will be much easier to determine who was at fault. There are a number of steps to take when you have been involved in a car accident:
- Call the police. For California Highway Patrol, call 1-800-TELL-CHP (1-800-835-5247).
- Call 9-1-1 if there are injuries, as you will be able to report to both police and ambulance at the same time.
- Get the information of all other parties involved in the accident, including any injured passengers, pedestrians, or bicyclists. Get their names, phone numbers, driver’s license numbers, license plates, and vehicle identification numbers if you can. Ask for their insurance information.
- Document as much of the scene as you can. Take photographs of every angle of the scene. Take pictures of traffic lights, intersections, shoulders of the roads. Take photos of injuries, passengers, and witnesses when and where you can.
- Do not accept any offers to settle the damages early or until you have talked to a lawyer. Document any offers to settle.
- Call your auto insurance company as soon as you can. Do not take any offer to settle from the insurance company until you have spoken to a lawyer. Your first call here is just to report the accident.
- Secure a personal injury lawyer with experience in car accidents.
When you have been injured in a car accident, the experience is traumatizing. It doesn’t matter how big or small the problem is. At Arash Law, we know how hard it can sometimes be to determine who is responsible for a crash. We know how to get it done.
We know what you need to prove your case and how to show it in a way to win the settlement you deserve. Call the personal injury team at Arash Law at (888) 488-1391 for a free review of your case. We’ll fight for you until you win.
Causes of Driver Negligence or Misconduct
When a driver is charged with a moving violation or traffic violation, it is easy to determine who is responsible for an accident. In a car accident, sometimes it is that easy to determine who is responsible for the accident, and sometimes it is not. Drunk driving and speeding are the most common causes of car accidents in California. Distracted driving or texting and driving is another common charge.
Possible causes of driver neglect or misconduct include:
- Drinking and driving, driving under the influence – California Vehicle Code Section 23152
- Speeding – California Vehicle Code 22350
- Texting and driving – California Vehicle Code 23123.5
- Distracted driving – Examples include reading maps, eating, reaching onto the floor, putting on makeup or shaving, reaching for anything in the back seat, or grabbing your handbag or briefcase
When it comes to citations or charges for this misconduct, the law is clear. When an individual drives in a way where it could be reasonably concluded that they endangered people and property, they are responsible for the accident. As for distracted driving, these are just a few of the most common elements of distracted driving that lawyers see every day. We use this information as cause to prove negligence and responsibility in a car accident.
It only takes a second for someone to say, “I was just reaching for something,” for the case to be won. At the same time, if you have been found to be doing any of these things in your car accident, you won’t be held completely liable in California if the other party made a mistake as well. In California, there are laws called comparative fault laws that will divide who pays for what in a car accident.
When you have been in a car accident, the first thing that will happen is that other parties will want you to take the blame. Don’t say any more than you have to with the police or your insurance company. Call the car accident lawyers at (888) 488-1391 Arash Law, and we will help you determine responsibility for your car accident case.
What Is the Difference Between No-Fault and At-Fault?
The difference between no-fault and at-fault states is that in a no-fault state, responsibility for car accidents is shared. In an at-fault state, responsibility goes to the party with the most blame. In some cases, responsibility is split under comparative negligence law.
No-Fault Car Accidents
No-fault car accidents are accidents where everybody pays their own way with medical costs, but not property damage. You may be required to purchase your own personal injury protection insurance, depending on where you live.
There are currently 11 states that are no-fault states. Puerto Rico is also a no-fault region. The states that are currently no-fault are:
- Florida
- Michigan
- New Jersey
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- Hawaii
- Kentucky
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- North Dakota
- Utah
At-Fault Car Accidents
In at-fault states, each driver must carry auto insurance. When you are in a car accident, the party that is most at fault will pay the damages in the case. In most states, the responsibility is shared depending on the circumstance.
The law uses what is called the comparative negligence rules to determine who is responsible and who pays after a car accident. Those rules are contributory negligence, pure negligence, and comparative negligence, depending on the state.
How Negligence Is Determined
When the responsibility of a car accident is being argued, a judge or jury will have to determine who was most negligent and thus at fault in the car accident. In California, the judge or jury will use the law called comparative negligence when a defendant is accusing the plaintiff of being partially at fault. In those cases, the Judicial Council of California jury instructions stipulates that the defendant has the burden to show that the plaintiff was at least partially negligent.
When a car accident case goes to court, the judge or jury must use comparative negligence rules, meaning that the settlement or verdict will depend on how much each party is at fault. The plaintiff can recover damages from the defendant, and it will be determined how much at fault the plaintiff was in the accident, if at all. If the plaintiff is accused of speeding, for example, and the defendant says that speeding caused the accident, the defendant will have to prove the speeding.
Did the plaintiff receive a ticket or citation for speeding? A comparative negligence ruling will occur when the fault can be shown reasonably. If the plaintiff was cited for speeding, the jury would be required to determine the plaintiff was partially at fault. That will be a percentage value of fault. So a plaintiff might be found by a jury to be 10 percent at fault in an accident.
The jury will then determine a settlement amount. The plaintiff will get that settlement, minus 10 percent. Cases can get complicated under this law, and it comes up often. That is because after a car accident, unless there is a clear fault such as drunk driving or a charge through a police report, both parties will accuse the other of being at fault.
Your car accident lawyer will help you navigate this law and help you to get the documentation you need to win your case. At Arash Law, we do this every day. We’ve been helping car accident victims win for decades. We know what you need to show the judge and jury to win your car accident case. Call the California motor vehicle accident team at Arash Law at (888) 488-1391 today.
Car Insurance Follows the Car
A common question around responsibility and fault in car accident cases is, does insurance follow the car or the driver. Auto insurance follows the car. When a friend or family member borrows your car with your permission, it is your car insurance that will cover any damages.
There are insurance rules that will come into play as well. When someone borrows your car, your insurance functions as the primary insurance. The driver’s insurance will function as secondary insurance. If the damages are $30,000, and your insurance is capped out at $25,000, the secondary insurance will kick in.
If your car has been stolen, you are not going to be held responsible for any theft recovery costs or damages to your vehicle. At the same time, if your accident involved a situation where someone else was driving someone else’s car, a car accident lawyer is the easiest way to help you figure out that one. Here you have multiple insurance agencies and legal policies that you will need help to navigate.
Contact a California Car Accident Attorney Today
When you have a car accident in California, the responsibility of the damages is ultimately determined by who is at fault for the crash. Sometimes that is easily determined, and sometimes it is not. When you are going through this tragedy, you will find the process so much easier with a personal injury attorney by your side.
You’ll also find that you recover more compensation as well. Insurance companies and at-fault drivers have a tendency to offer less settlement than you are owed. When you’ve been in a car accident in California, call the California car accident lawyers at Arash Law. We’ve been fighting for car accident victims for years. We can help you to win the compensation you deserve.
