What To Do After A Multiple Vehicle Accident
In a multiple car accident, there may be one person or multiple drivers who are at-fault. The trouble with car crashes involving multiple vehicles is that often everyone involved is pointing their finger at the other driver or drivers. Consulting with an experienced personal injury lawyer can help investigate and distinguish these types of accidents to determine liability and help you receive maximum financial compensation for the injuries you sustained.
What are the Three Types of Multiple Vehicle Accidents?
Multiple-vehicle accidents happen most commonly in three ways:
- Highways — This is the most common place for pileups to occur. High speeds contribute to how many vehicles become involved in a highway pileup. It’s not uncommon for pileups to include dozens of cars.
- Intersections — One driver may run a red light or make an unsafe left-turn that causes a chain reaction of other vehicles colliding with one another.
- Rear-end — The initial impact of one vehicle rear-ending the vehicle in front of them may cause the vehicle that was hit to ram the car in front of it. Another common occurrence is for the vehicle that was rear-ended to be pushed into an intersection.
What are the Common Causes of Multiple Vehicle Accidents?
The most common factors that contribute to multiple-vehicle accidents include:
- Weather conditions and low-visibility
- Speeding
- Drowsy or distracted driving
- Driving under the influence
- Rubbernecking
- Tailgating
- Construction zones
Who’s to Blame After A Multi-Car Accident?
A two-car accident is already a traumatic event for both parties involved, but what happens when more cars are involved and it turns into a pile up? How do insurance companies figure out who is at fault? Who pays? These are questions that can come up when dealing with a multi-car accident.
Chain Reaction
In the event of a multi-car accident, the police will investigate to try to determine who started the chain reaction that led to the accident. That is why you generally should not move your car after an accident, but there are certain circumstances under which you should. Safety is the most important concern and may necessitate moving cars away from traffic. If the accident is on an interstate or busy street, moving the cars to a safer location can avoid causing additional pile-ups. However, it is recommended that you stay in your vehicle with your seat-belt fastened if the scene of the accident is dangerous. Don’t risk getting out of the car until EMT and police have arrived and secured the scene.
Driver testimony, eyewitness testimony, computer data from the involved cars, surveillance footage, and/or other evidence at the accident scene will help determine who was at fault in a wreck. Police officials may also determine if any of the drivers were speeding, distracted, or under the influence of any substance that could affect their driving ability.
The more vehicles involved in a car accident the more complicated the case will be. Multi-car accidents have a higher risk of injuries and are more difficult to determine who is at fault. If more than one driver is at fault then they will share the blame and their insurance companies will decide the percentage of the blame.
For example, one driver could be 20% at fault while the other driver is 80% at fault, and that will be the percentage their insurance companies will pay in most jurisdiction. Being at fault also means that the other drivers can sue you for damages. That is why taking photos, if possible, at the scene of the accident is so important.
Contacting an attorney in these kinds of situations is highly suggested in order to avoid being blamed for something you didn’t cause.
Photographs Are Very Helpful In Accident Cases
Pictures of the scene of the crash and the surroundings help establish the location of the vehicles after the crash, the weather and road conditions, and road signs. These factors are important to consider when determining liability and who is at-fault. If your injuries prevent you from taking photos, you should ask someone else to take pictures for you.
Likewise, if someone in your vehicle is seriously hurt in the crash, you should help and take photos for them. Pictures can help establish if a car was speeding by showing the length of skid marks and how far a car was pushed, or moved, after a crash.
Photos can also depict the debris on the street and the damage caused to the vehicles, which can be helpful in determining who hit who. In extreme crashes with serious injuries or death, photographs can be used by an accident lawyer and their experts in the investigation and reconstruction of the accident.
Witnesses Might Be Your Best Evidence After a Car Accident
Additionally, witnesses can be very helpful in determining who caused a multi-vehicle crash. They can provide a better understanding of how the accident occurred and how he or she observed the entire wreck. After an accident, you should try to get contact information from any witnesses available to you.
When a dispute exists about who is responsible for the accident, a witness can sometimes resolve the dispute. A witness that supports your version of how the accident happened can result in an insurance company accepting liability on behalf of their insured.
If your injuries prevent you from getting witness information, try and ask someone to get the names and contact information of bystanders and other drivers.
What do I do After a Multiple Vehicle Accident?
The first step is to seek immediate medical attention, even if you believe you were not injured. The shock and trauma can desensitize you to potentially significant injuries. It may take hours, days, or even weeks for the symptoms of injuries to present themselves. Delaying medical attention could not only harm your well-being, but it can also cause hardships later on in the insurance claims process.
We advise that you contact us as soon as possible. Counsel Hound has an expert team of vehicle rollover collision attorneys that can help reconstruct the event and get you the compensation you need to cover medical expenses. We encourage you to immediately reach out to us by calling (1-855-804-6863) for a confidential, free, and no-obligation phone consultation.
No-Cost Case Evaluation
Law is complicate matter. It can cause you a big problem if you ignore it. Let us help you!
No-Cost Case Evaluation
Law is complicate matter. It can cause you a big problem if you ignore it. Let us help you!