How Fault is Determined in an Indiana Car Accident

After sustaining an injury in a car accident in Indiana, it is important to understand who was at fault for causing the accident and, therefore, liable for compensating the victims for their harms. Depending on the circumstances, fault can be a complicated legal concept to apply.

Fault can also be difficult to prove. Potential plaintiffs will benefit from many different resources along the way, such as police reports, medical records, photos and video, and eyewitness testimony. It is particularly important to have legal assistance if you find yourself in a situation where you may have shared some of the blame for causing the accident or the harm.

These are complicated issues that require a seasoned hand. You can get the help that you need by picking up the phone and calling Wruck Paupore today at (219) 322-1166. Our Indiana car accident lawyers offer free initial case assessments to potential clients struggling with the consequences of their car accident injuries.

Proving Driver Fault for a Car Accident in Indiana

In many situations involving a car accident, at least one driver is at fault. Identifying the at-fault driver and demonstrating why they were at fault can be a complicated undertaking, depending on the circumstances of the accident.

Proving fault for a car accident is a critical step in establishing negligence, which is the legal theory that supports most car accident lawsuits. Negligence can generally be established by showing that another reasonably prudent driver would have behaved differently behind the wheel than the driver in question. Traffic law violations such as speeding and blowing a red light are classic examples, but driver negligence does not have to be worthy of a citation to be grounds for liability.

To prove fault in court, a plaintiff will also have to demonstrate that the driver’s negligence was the cause of the accident and the plaintiff’s resulting injuries. These elements of a negligence claim can be difficult to understand without the seasoned counsel of an Indianapolis car accident attorney.

Determining the Cause of a Car Accident in Indiana to Help Prove Fault

Negligent drivers in Indiana cause car accidents in numerous ways. Many crashes are caused by distracted driving, especially by drivers texting while behind the wheel. Impatient drivers cause countless other crashes by tailgating others ahead of them. Some of the most devastating and deadly accidents are caused by fatigued drivers and people driving under the influence. Even the weather can be a significant factor in a negligent driver’s actions. Determining how your accident occurred is one of the first steps our team takes to develop our legal theories and who should be at fault for your damages.

Distracted Driving

Despite the laws against it, texting while driving is still one of the leading causes of collisions. It is simply too tempting for some to read a text, send an email, or even record videos of themselves when they should be focused on the road. Distracted drivers will not be able to react as fast to avoid an accident, if they react at all. Our team can obtain communication records from the defendant’s cell provider and review them for calls or texts made at or right before they caused the accident.

Rear-End Accidents

Many people think of tailgating accidents are relatively inconsequential fender-benders when, in fact, they can cause significant and painful injuries. Tailgating victims commonly suffer “whiplash,” which is when the head is thrown back from the force of the impact, causing the spine to whip back. It can cause fractures in the spinal column, potentially leading to nerve damage and paralysis, as most injured parties are not expecting the impact. More often, victims suffer damage to the discs separating spinal segments, which is not only extremely painful and debilitating but can also take months or years of chiropractic care to recover from.

The driver following behind is almost always at fault for a rear-end collision. They are responsible for maintaining a safe distance from the vehicle ahead so that they have time to react safely to changing road conditions.

However, if you were involved in a chain collision, the driver behind you might not be the only one at fault. The driver who rear-ended you might have been rear-ended by the one behind them, and so on. That does not mean the driver behind you was not tailgating. We will name each driver involved in a rear-end accident in your legal claim and determine each one’s level of fault.

In rarer situations, the driver ahead of you might be at fault for your rear-end collision. Perhaps the person ahead was driving aggressively towards you and slammed on their brakes in an attempt to “brake check” you. Our team can help prove that they were at fault even though you were following from behind.

Fatigued Driving

Fatigued driving is also a common cause of vehicle accidents in Indiana. While any driver can get tired on the road, fatigued driving is much more common among commercial truck drivers. Many truckers work long hours hauling cargo all over the state. Other truck drivers might be passing through Indiana on a long-haul trip when they fall asleep and crash into someone. In any case, fatigued and sleeping truckers can cause catastrophic accidents involving several fatalities. They can be sued for violating the strict “Hours of Service” regulations set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

When our team assesses the trucker's liability for your accident, we will also conclude whether the trucking company that employs them should also be named as a defendant. The common law doctrine of respondeat superior considers most employers to exert enough control over their employees’ actions that they should be held vicariously liable when an employee negligently causes an accident. However, the incident must have occurred while the employee was furthering their job duties. If the trucker was on duty when they crashed, the trucking company can usually be held at fault for the damages.

Some trucking companies have a history of pushing drivers past their limits to make more money and gain a competitive advantage. Suppose the one involved in your case has such a pattern of behavior. In that case, our lawyers will request the court grant punitive damages by providing clear and convincing evidence of the misconduct, which can increase the value of your claim. These damages are not intended to compensate for your losses but to punish the trucking company and serve as a warning to others who are or are considering acting in the same manner.

Driving Under the Influence

If you are the victim of a driver under the influence of alcohol or drugs, our team can help hold them accountable in a civil claim, regardless of the criminal punishment. Drunk driving is widely recognized as reckless and wanton behavior, which is why courts often award punitive damages in cases involving injury and wrongful death. Our team can obtain the driver’s blood and breath tests confirming their level of intoxication, which will likely serve as clear and convincing evidence of the violation to garner punitive damages.

The drunk driver might not be the only potentially liable party. Bars, restaurants, or any business or person furnishing alcohol can be held liable for knowingly serving a visibly intoxicated person who goes on to cause a collision, according to I.C. § 7.1-5-10-15.5(b).

What Evidence is Used When Determining Fault in an Indiana Car Accident?

Evidence comes in many different forms. It is important to understand what resources you have at your disposal to prove your case early on so that you can obtain and preserve these vital sources of information.

Police Accident Reports

The first step in this process starts at the scene of the accident. You should always call 911 while at the scene, regardless of the circumstances. The law enforcement officers who arrive at the location of the crash will investigate and compile their findings into an official police accident report. The report will contain vital details about the accident and the parties involved that you will likely need in your dealings with insurance or the preparation stages of your lawsuit.

Photos and Videos

Once you leave the crash site, much of the evidence will be lost. For this reason, it is important that you document the crash through pictures and video. Visual evidence of the damage to vehicles, conditions of the road, and other aspects of the crash can be critical in proving who was to blame for causing the collision. Minor things like whether there are skid marks on the road and where they are located can make all the difference in reconstructing your accident and proving who was at fault.

Eyewitness Testimony

Another critical type of evidence that should be sought at the scene of the accident is eyewitness testimony. It can be incredibly difficult to track down individuals who saw the accident happen after leaving the crash site. If you are able, do your best to get the names and contact information of any willing bystanders who can explain what really happened. Police officers often document eyewitnesses in their crash reports, but it is very common that they do not document everyone who was a witness. We have successfully recovered for our clients in numerous cases where our investigation revealed a key witness that was not mentioned in the police report.

Medical Records

You will also need evidence that you suffered injury as a result of your accident. The easiest and best way to create this evidence is by seeking medical attention as soon as possible after you leave the scene of the accident. Going to an emergency room immediately has the significant added benefit of preventing any undiscovered conditions from worsening over time. Make sure to explain how you were injured to health providers so that they document in in your medical records.

Expert Witness Testimony

It is also common to get the help of expert witnesses to prove fault in a car accident.

Accident reconstruction experts can review the various pieces of evidence our team has collected, like those mentioned above, and apply their scientific knowledge to explain crucial facts to support your case. They can often determine the direction each vehicle was traveling and at what speed, which is especially important when other evidence is scant, and the defendant is claiming you are partially at fault.

Medical experts can testify to explain complex injuries, treatment recommendations, and the likely amount of time a victim will endure pain and suffering.

Third-Party Liability for a Car Accident in Indiana

Not every car accident is entirely the fault of one of the drivers involved in the actual collision. If deficits in infrastructure contributed to the accident, the government entity responsible for inspecting and maintaining that infrastructure might be liable. Examples may include potholes that cause tire punctures, ineffective guardrails or stoplights, bridge failures, poor road design, or a failure to include and maintain traffic signs.

Car manufacturers are responsible for producing safe, functioning vehicles. This includes all of the numerous components within the vehicle. If a car is sold with defects, and those defects cause an accident, the car manufacturer (or potentially the manufacturer of the individual defective part) may be liable for the consequences. Common examples are faulty seat belts or airbags which do not properly deploy. These defects are hard to spot without the experienced eye of a South Bend car accident attorney and nearly impossible to prove without the testimony of seasoned industry experts.

Can You Sue After an Indiana Car Accident if You Were Also at Fault?

In some cases, multiple parties may have contributed to causing an accident or the resulting injuries. For these particular cases, Indiana law utilizes a modified comparative negligence rule. Under this rule, a plaintiff in a car accident injury case who was also partially to blame can still recover compensation from another at-fault driver, provided that the plaintiff’s level of fault is not more than 50%.

The percentage of fault is important because it will impact the amount of compensation that a plaintiff can recover. In a comparative negligence case, the plaintiff’s damages are reduced by the proportion of fault they share. For example, if a plaintiff claims $40,000 in damages, and the court finds that the plaintiff was 25% responsible for causing the accident, the plaintiff would still receive the remaining 75% of the damages, or $30,000.

Our Indiana Car Accident Attorneys Can Help You Figure Out Who Was at Fault

For your free case review, speak to our Indiana personal injury attorneys at Wruck Paupore by calling (219) 322-1166.