Auto Insurance – Determining Negligence

You have just been in an accident and you are to the point of freaking out, what will the auto insurance decide? Who was at fault for this accident? There are times that it is absolutely apparent to you at the scene and you have no doubt who will be saddled with fault for the accident, but what when it isn’t so clear? What happens when the auto insurance companies determine fault, or negligence, in an auto accident.

First, what are your legal duties owed to the auto insurance company in terms of your responsibility as a driver? For instance, you have a legal duty to follow the legal rules of the road as you drive in your vehicle every day. You have a legal duty to stop at every stop sign and every red stop light. You have a legal duty to keep your car’s tires aired up and free of the risk of going flat and blowing out on the road. Get it?

Next, did you breach a legal duty owed to the other drivers on the road that your auto insurance company would look at and decide against you? Did you run a red light or make an unsafe left turn or anything else that is clearly displayed on the city streets and roads that you are driving on? If you breach a legal duty that you owe to the drivers on the road with you then you can bet your auto insurance company will find you to be at fault for the accident.

Once the auto insurance adjuster has determine if you breached a legal duty owed they will move on to the next step of an accident, actual damages. In short, did something you did while you were driving cause actual physical damage to another vehicle or object? Something you did on the road may make someone angry or may have made them swerve their vehicle, but unless it caused damage, you did nothing wrong in the eyes of auto insurance.

Finally, what is the proximate cause of the auto accident? This could be the breach of a legal duty owed or it could be something as simple as backing your vehicle and not looking behind you. You are legally allowed to back your vehicle, but if you hit someone it is likely your fault. If backing is the proximate cause, then the auto insurance accident investigation is over.