Who Really Decides Fault Liability in Vehicle Accidents?

Any time you happen to be in an automobile accident, one of the most critical element is determining fault. The one who is found to be at fault is probably the one who will be required to pay for damages their negligence caused. Lots of accidents make it simple to determine who was responsible. On the other hand, if the liability really isn't clear or if the wrong doing is mutual, it's really a lot more difficult. Most of the time, if liability is joint the insurer will determine the relative rates of fault.

During the past, when two people were in the wrong in an automobile accident (even if one was only a bit responsible), both sides were responsible of caring for their own repairs and personal injury medical expenses. For instance, if someone else were driving with their headlights off during the night and a second car turned the wrong way down a one-way street and collided with them, both parties would be responsible for their own damages.

This type of law continues to be established in several states. But, today a growing number of states are using proportional forms of comparative negligence that will allow an injured party to recoup some damages for his or her injuries, regardless of whether they were to blame partially.

The three main variants of comparative fault include pure comparative fault, proportional comparative fault at 50% and proportional comparative fault at 50%.

Within pure comparative fault, if the injured person is somewhat to blame for causing the harm to himself, he'll be able to get minimized damages determined by the percentage of his fault. This is the type of fault most used in Alaska, Kentucky, California, Florida, Arizona, Mississippi, Missouri, Louisiana, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Washington.

In proportional comparative fault at 51%, a driver is not able to file a liability claim with the other driver when they themselves were more than 51% at fault. It's implemented in states like Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

In proportional comparative fault at 50%, any injured person who is less than 50% at fault is permitted to be reimbursed. Those who find themselves more than 50% in the wrong are not. States that currently follow this standard are Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Arkansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Maine, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia.

In general, the fault percentage is dependent upon the insurance company claims adjuster who negotiates to come to some sort of percentages depending on the information they are given.