Posted on February 10, 2018 

You may have seen rear-end accidents happen for a variety of reasons, most commonly when one driver is distracted by texting or when the roads consist of bad conditions. There is an assumption when it comes to the rules of the road that the driver in the back is always the one who is at fault; however, this is not always the case. Today we will explore why it is not always the driver from behind who is at fault for the accident.

A Closer Look at Negligence 

rear-end accident First, you have to be able to determine negligence to get to the bottom of any accident and who is liable for your injuries. Negligence occurs when someone’s conduct falls below the standard duty of care. For those involved in car accidents, you prove that a driver is acting negligently by showing that they broke that duty of care by doing one of the following things: failing to pay attention to the road, failure to stop at a reasonable time, failure to maintain control, or failure to use turn signals. There are many ways car accidents take place every year.

So how do you show that the other party was negligent in your rear-end accident? Yes, the driver that rear-ends the leading vehicle will almost always be liable in these accidents – which is the person from behind. This is due to the simple fact that drivers are constantly supposed to watch out for other drivers, which means traveling a safe distance away from those drivers. However, there are some situations where the person behind may not be liable. Here are some scenarios that might apply:

  • A driver suddenly reversing
  • A driver failing to execute a turn
  • A driver’s brake lights not functioning

In these cases, the driver gave no indication to the other driver, which is why the driver in the back would not be negligent. However, sometimes it is difficult to prove these cases, which is why you should always attempt to find witnesses in your case.

The presumption in many cases involving rear-end collisions is that the rear-ending driver will always be at fault. However, as you can see, there are many times in which another driver may be liable. This is why it is important to speak to an attorney about your case at the Accident Law Group at 602-262-4254.

Sources

https://accident-law.freeadvice.com/accident-law/auto/rear_ended_accident.htm