Determining Responsibility for Rear-End Auto Accidents

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, almost half, or over 2.5 million of the 6 million auto accidents that occur annually in the U.S., are rear-end collisions. That equates to a rear-end collision once every 8-seconds.

It is estimated that rear-ending another vehicle, (assuming the lead/front vehicle is stopped), is roughly equivalent to driving into a brick wall at one half the speed the impacting, or bullet, vehicle was traveling. If both vehicles are approximately the same size and weight, rear-ending a stopped car, while going at 30 mph, is equivalent to crashing into a brick wall at 15 mph.

But, like in many motor vehicle accidents or MVAs, determining who is legally responsible, the “at fault” party, for an accident is often difficult. The person bringing a lawsuit or making an insurance claim for damages (the plaintiff) has the burden to prove that the other person (the defendant) was negligent. This is made easier because, in a rear end accident, there is a presumption of negligence on the part of the driver that caused the accident.

In a rear end accident, there are only a few ways that rear-end collisions can take place, and most of these ways involve some type of negligence on the part of the driver of the rear car. For instance, the at fault driver may have been speeding, following too closely, or engaging in distracted driving activities at the time of the crash, such as texting or talking on the phone. When a driver breaks basic traffic laws or is texting or impaired in any way, it increases the chances that the driver will be determined liable for MVA.

When you are involved in a rear end accident, you can expect that the at-fault driver’s insurance company to deny your claim and blame you for causing the accident. Even with the presumption of negligence of the rear end driver, they will argue that you acted negligently when you cut in front of them or maybe your brake lights were not functioning properly. Don’t let the insurance company play the blame game.

If you were involved in an MVA and the insurance company blames you, level the playing field by contacting the premier Denver auto accident attorneys at Bell and Pollock, P.C. In 35 years, we have represented thousands of victims of rear-end accidents and are looking forward to helping you!