Who is responsible/liable?

Question

I was recently involved in a four car pile up that was not my fault as i was car number two in a line of four. Does anybody know who needs to accept liability? Does everyone take responsibility for the person they hit or does the person at the back take responsibility for it all. It's just obviously cars 2 and 3 wouldn't have hit the cars in front of them if they hadn't been shunted from behind.

Answer 1

The circumstances of this incident will be very important, therefore if nobody is admitting liability and the police were involved, the insurers should obtain a copy of the report into the accident. This won't usually be available until the police have completed their enquiries and any prosecutions they may need to make.

In this type of accident, it is usually the person at the end of the queue that ends up being responsible. However can you say how many collisions you felt in the accident? One bump would indicate that it was the chap at the end. Two bumps could be that the guy behind you hit you first and was then hit by the guy behind him. That would suggest that the car immediately behind you was at fault. The guy at the end of the queue would also accept partial liability.

Answer 2

It's not that cut and dry. a through investigation will have to occur to determine what happened... there are many differen things that could have...
scenario 1: car #4 rear ended car #3 who then rear ended car #2 into car #1- in this case, car #4 would be responsible for all damages
scenario 2: car #2 rearended car #1- this caused car #3 and to not have time to stop and rearend car #2... car # 4 then rearended car number three... in this case.. there would be several at fault parties.... car #2 would be responsible for some of #1's..... #3 for some of #2's and #1's... #4 for some of #3 , #2, and #1

see how complicated it is? I suggest you go through your own carrier and pray you see your deductible back (b/c another issue that you all may come across is the at fault parties insurance not having enough coverage for all the vehilces)

also.. be careful who you listen to here.. alot of people who dont know what there talking about will say #4 is completely at fault all the time... or say that every car is responsible for the car in front of them. both of these are assumptions and false.

Answer 3

I say all is responsible as if each person allowed enough room from the person in front of them, then there would not have been a 4 car pile up. My son had a brand new car totaled in a 6 car pile up on an expressway. He was number 3.Two drunks tangled in the middle lanes and my son at 1 o'clock in the morn and coming home from work hit car #2 and the guardrail. Car #2 was so drunk, he thought he was at home. My son's car had $6,000.00 damage to it and one month old. It took the insurance companies over 2 months to figure it out. Car #1 was at fault. He was drunk also.A mustang and a Dodge Ram 4x4 also tangled and luckly 2 cars was able to go around. My son's skid marks was several feet long..He was hurt and had to pay the dr's bills before car #1's insurance paid a dime of insurance to anyone.. They kept stalling and stalling hoping everyone involved would give up. No one did..

Answer 4

well, i can tell you that your insurance company will go after the person that the police determined was at fault, which should be the person at the very back. Did you get a copy of the citation from the accident. If you haven't contact the police department to request a copy for your records. Were you cited for following too close? The vehicle behind you may have been sited for following too close, and in that case they would go after that person.

About 4 years ago, I caused one of these multiple car accidents...it involved 6 cars and they determined that I was at fault for three and that the person in the middle was cited for following too close and she was at fault for hers and the other two. Get a copy of the accident report...

Answer 5

The first thing that needs to be established is WHO started the pile up???? and then how the other cars came to be involved.

For example, I currently have a 5 car rear ender I'm working. (My insured is car 5) The car directly in front of mine, car 4, started the rear end collision with the other 3 vehicles in front of them. (Accident #1) My guy came up from behind & smacked the car that started it all (accident #2). My guy is only responsible for the rear end damage to car 4. Car #4 is responsible for the front bumper damage to his car & the damage to the 3 cars in front of him. See what I mean?

Answer 6

It can go either way really. The insurance company can say that you should not have been so close to the car in front of you, or it could be the last cars fault. In driver's ed, they say that you are supposed to be able to see the back tires of the car in front of yours. I think that it may just depend on how fast the last car was going, and i'm sure that the insurance company will need to determine all of the factors. I would just talk to them if I were you.

Answer 7

the first person who caused the accident is at fault. I hope you got all information from all parties. And a police report number. That is what you need to give to your insurance company. Add a letter that states even though you rear ended a car, it was caused by another car hitting you in the rear end.

Answer 8

There can actually be a percentage of "at fault" If you stop in time but gettting hit and pushing you a foot cause you to hit the other you were too close.

The largest percentage will be for the car that started the accident, but be careful tehy might try to throw some of the blame your way, be willing to fight it.

Problem is just being in an accident can make your insurance rates go up....

Answer 9

You were driving/parked too close to the car in the front. Everyone takes responsibility for the car they hit in front, but best leave it to the insurance company to sort it.

Answer 10

All of the insurance companies will start out by going after the guy at the back - the person who caused the accident.