Media post: How Fault and Liability Work in Car Accident Claims

Did you know that there are approximately six million police-reported car accidents in the U.S. every year? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that there were 36,640 traffic fatalities in 2025, a 6.7% decrease compared to 2024. 

It takes only seconds to be involved in a car accident, while figuring out liability may take many more months. The issue of fault and liability is very crucial in dealing with the financial aspects such as payment of medical expenses and damage to vehicles.

Evidence that insurance companies, attorneys, and courts consider to assess responsibility is police reports, witness statements, traffic laws, and findings on accident reconstruction.

According to a Fairfield car accident lawyer, if another driver is responsible for causing the accident, you must prove how they caused it before you can obtain compensation for your damages.

Let’s look into how responsibility in car accidents is determined and the process to strengthen your case.

At-Fault vs. No-Fault States

In most states, car accident claims are handled by the traditional tort style. An individual who suffers an injury may directly file their claim against the liability insurance policy of the negligent driver for damages of all types, including economic and non-economic losses. 

It is fair to say that it is the insurance company of the driver at fault that is going to be expected to make payments to the victim of the accident. But then again, proof of the other driver’s negligence is important.

These are the states that operate on a no-fault insurance system: Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Utah. In these states, it is an individual’s own PIP insurance that compensates the victims for the injuries sustained, irrespective of fault in causing the accident.

The no-fault structure also determines the ability to sue the at-fault driver for non-economic damages, meaning pain and suffering. So injured parties can only file a tort claim if their injuries meet the state’s threshold for leaving the no-fault system.

According to https://falzonlaw.com/, if you believe that another driver is responsible for causing your recent car accident, you need to secure several types of evidence to hold them accountable. This evidence could include testimony from witnesses who saw the accident happen, vehicle computer data, the other driver’s cell phone records, and traffic camera video recordings, if available.

Comparative Fault Frameworks in Tort States

In tort states, there are three different approaches that determine how an injured person’s own negligence affects what they can recover.

First there’s pure comparative fault; California, New York, Florida, and around a dozen other states use it, so the injured party can still get money, but only based on the share of fault. 

The award is determined based on the defendant’s percentage of fault regardless of whatever actions led the plaintiff into the accident. This means that in case the plaintiff is 80% at fault for causing an accident, they can recover 20% of the total damage caused by the accident. If the plaintiff bears most of the fault, they do not lose everything completely.

Next comes modified comparative fault, which shows up in most states. Here recovery is allowed only while the plaintiff’s fault stays under a set line. A lot of modified comparative fault states pick a 51 percent cutoff: if the plaintiff is 51 percent or more at fault, recovery is barred entirely. If the plaintiff lands at 49 percent, they get 51 percent of their damages. 

On the other hand, another category follows the 50 percent standard, which requires that where there is equal culpability by both parties, then no recovery takes place. In practicality, it means that there are times when the allocation of blame can lead to complete loss rather than reduced recovery.

Contributory negligence blocks any recovery if the plaintiff was negligent in any degree, even if the fault is small. This rule is kept in Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. A plaintiff who is only one percent at fault in those places receives nothing from a defendant who is ninety-nine percent at fault.

Liability by Collision Type

Blame is based on the particular facts. But some crash categories create presumptions that courts apply pretty consistently, even if it still depends on the circumstances.

Rear-end collisions: the driver behind is presumed at fault in every state. The duty to keep a safe gap and the ability to see and react to what’s ahead produces a rebuttable presumption of negligence when a driver hits the back of the car in front. In other words, it can be pushed back with proof that the leading vehicle suddenly cut off the trailing driver with essentially no reasonable time to respond. 

It can also be overcome if the lead vehicle was stopped illegally, or if it had defective lighting, or if the whole incident was actually driven by a third vehicle’s impact. If those exact things aren’t shown, then the following driver’s insurer typically takes the primary responsibility, and the settlement process in rear-end crashes with clear injuries and causation is usually more straightforward than in most other collision scenarios.

Left-turn collisions: Drivers who make the left turn in front of oncoming traffic and collide with a vehicle going straight are always presumed at fault of the crash. This is because they are the ones with the duty to yield to oncoming traffic, especially when the left turn is unprotected. 

The case would be different if the oncoming driver were speeding or running a red light or were otherwise contributing, like doing something improper. Left-turn crashes at signalized intersections where the turning driver had a protected green arrow get looked at differently because then the oncoming driver is effectively breaking a red signal.

Intersection crashes, T-bone collisions: For intersections with no traffic controls, fault relies on the right-of-way rules that apply to that particular setup. At stop-controlled intersections, the driver who didn’t yield before entering is at fault. 

At uncontrolled intersections, the driver on the less traveled road is the one that yields to the driver on the more traveled road. If the roads are equal, the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right. Also, the physical evidence matters a lot. Which vehicle struck the other, and what was the direction of the impact forces on each vehicle?

Evidence That Determines Fault

The police accident report is the most immediately influential document for determining liability in a car accident. It includes the officer’s observations at the scene, statements from both drivers, and also statements from any witnesses. 

Then there’s the officer’s view on what caused the crash, along with any citations that were issued. Insurers tend to give pretty significant weight to the officer fault assessments and the citations during their first liability evaluation. Still, these papers aren’t binding on courts and can be contested.

Electronic evidence is now one of the most important pieces that greatly contributes to determining liability for car accidents. Event data recorder (EDR) data are found in most vehicles manufactured after 2012. This can record logs pre-crash conditions like speed, brake use, throttle position, and whether a seatbelt was being used. 

Records on cellphones show the time a driver was actively using the device. Are they using it when the crash happened? There’s also traffic camera footage, dashcam footage, and surveillance video from nearby businesses, which often shows the crash itself or at least the moments just before it. 

Getting preservation started should be done fast, as soon as possible after the crash, by sending written correspondence to the opposing party, their insurer, and any relevant third parties because electronic data gets overwritten and videos are routinely purged on short cycles.