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How to Determine Fault in Car Accidents

No one plans on being in a car accident. However, when a motor vehicle collision results in personal injury, it’s important that your rights are defended. Hiring a Detroit auto accident attorney can help you receive the financial compensation you deserve from your insurance company and the driver at fault.

Determining who’s at fault in a car accident can be difficult to prove. Below, we have provided information for different types of car accidents. This can be a great starting point to determine fault and gather the necessary evidence.

Parking Lot Accident

Parking lot accidents commonly happen when one driver is trying to park or reverse out of a parking space and hits a parked vehicle. In general, the person moving the vehicle at the time of the accident is at fault. This is regardless of whether or not nearby cars parked over the line or crowded your parking space.

It should not be assumed that parking lot accidents are always easy to determine which driver is at fault. For example, if a parked car was violating a traffic law at the time of the accident, it will only be credited to an infraction. Be sure to contact a motor vehicle collision lawyer to determine who is at fault.

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Rear-end Car Accident

Most Americans have to drive in bumper-to-bumper traffic while commuting to and from work. While driving in high traffic areas, it’s important to give yourself plenty of space between you and the car in front of you so you have enough space to safely come to a stop. This is especially important considering that five o’clock traffic often crawls forward at a stop and go pace.

With most rear-end car accidents, the driver who rear-ended the other vehicle is at fault. Even if the other car brakes suddenly, you are still expected to maintain a safe following distance so you can avoid a rear-end accident. For legal advice after a rear-end car accident, be sure to contact an experienced motor vehicle collision attorney.

Accident while Changing Lanes

If an accident occurs while changing lanes, usually both drivers are found at fault. Even if someone pulls out right in front of you, you were still expected to maintain a safe enough following distance that you would have been able to stop in time. To determine which driver is at fault, we recommend contacting an experienced auto accident attorney to help you with your case.

To avoid accidents while changing lanes, we recommend that you always check your side mirror and blind spot before moving over a lane. Also make sure to signal properly and only change lanes if there is sufficient space to do so.

Left Turn Accident

Left turn accidents usually occur when a driver doesn’t wait for the right-of-way traffic at an unprotected left turn intersection. The vehicle making the left turn is considered to be at fault unless the driver going straight across the intersection was running a red light or speeding. The driver that made the left turn could also be found at fault if the other driver can prove that they slowed down while making the turn.

If you are interested in hiring one of our auto accident attorneys, please feel free to call our Detroit personal injury attorneys at (855) 558-8250 for your free consultation. The Law Firm of Hakim, Toma, & Yaldoo, P.C. works hard to make sure client rights are aggressively defended in courts in Warren, Grand Rapids, Detroit, and other surrounding areas.

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