Identifying the responsible party can be difficult after any car accident, but it becomes more complicated when three or more vehicles are involved.
In a multi-car accident, one driver might be completely at fault, but there is a greater likelihood that two or more drivers will share liability for the accident.
Before insurance payment can be determined, you need to know which drivers are at fault. If you need help identifying who is at fault in a multi-car accident, contact an experienced Ohio auto accident attorney.
Please call (419) 455-1410 or submit our online form today for a free consultation.
How Is Fault Determined?
In multi-car accidents, there is typically a shared responsibility, and very rarely is a single driver at fault. Fault is determined by identifying the negligent party or parties after an accident.
This involves proving four elements:
- Duty,
- Breach,
- Causation, and
- Damages.
Duty is defined as the standard of behavior a reasonable person would use in the same or similar circumstance. For example, if most drivers would reduce speed on the highway during a snowstorm even when not explicitly told to do so, a driver who drives too fast for the conditions is breaching the duty owed to everyone else on the road.
Simply breaching a duty is not enough to prove negligence. You must also show that the breach of duty caused the accident and your damages. For example, if the driver speeding on the highway during a snowstorm hits ice and crashes into another vehicle, they have now caused physical harm as a result of the duty they breached.
If the injured driver has measurable damages such as injuries or necessary repairs to their vehicle, then all four elements of negligence have been met and the speeding driver will be found liable for the accident.
Negligence principles apply the same in two-vehicle and multi-vehicle collisions, with the potential for shared responsibility if more than one driver is at fault.
In an accident where another driver hits you and causes you to hit another car, that driver is typically at fault. This is because all drivers are expected to maintain a safe distance between their vehicle and the vehicle in front of them.
However, just because this driver is at fault does not mean that the car you hit will not file a claim to recover damages from you. To help establish liability and hold the negligent driver accountable, you should enlist the help of an experienced car accident attorney.
Who Is at Fault in a Rear-End Collision Involving 3 Cars?
Generally, the rear driver is assumed to be at fault in a rear-end collision. Ohio law restricts drivers from traveling at a speed greater than will allow for a stop within the clear distance ahead. So if someone is following the car in front of them too closely or driving too fast to stop if the car in front of them brakes, they will likely be considered negligent.
The lead driver, rather than the rear driver, may be at fault in a few circumstances.
These include:
- If the lead driver is intoxicated,
- If the lead driver abruptly reverses,
- If the lead driver does not have working brake lights,
- If the lead driver breaks down and does not use warning lights,
- If there was an unsafe lane change, and
- If there was a pile-up.
Thus, who is at fault in a rear-end collision involving 3 cars depends on the circumstances of the collision. An experienced attorney can help you identify who is liable for your injuries.
Whose Insurance Pays in a Multi-Car Accident?
You are probably asking, How does insurance work in a multi-car accident? In Ohio, the answer is based on who has been negligent. Ohio uses comparative negligence to determine who pays damages to whom. In comparative negligence, percentages of blame are assigned to each party found to be at fault in an accident.
If three parties are in an accident, all parties’ insurance may be liable for damages. The only limiting factor in recovering damages is if an injured party is more than 50% liable for the crash. In that case, the injured party could not recover from any other party but is still liable for damages.
Let’s consider an example of how this might work in practice. Person A, who was injured in a crash with car B and truck C has multiple parties they can recover from. If A’s total damages are $100,000 and A is found to be 20% negligent in causing the accident, this limits Person A’s total recovery amount to $80,000. However, if A is more than 50% responsible for the multi-car crash, they will not be able to recover anything.
If both B and C were also negligent, then the $80,000 recovery amount available for A will be allocated by percentage between the two other drivers. If B was 35% negligent, C was 45% negligent, and the total damages are $100,000, then A can hypothetically recover $35,000 from B and $45,000 from C.
An experienced car accident attorney can help you identify who is at fault and whose insurance is responsible for your multi-car accident.
What Are the Common Causes of Multi-Car Accidents?
A number of different factors can lead to a multi-vehicle accident or pile-up. Let’s take a look at some of the most common.
Poor Weather Conditions
Inclement weather, such as snow, rain, ice, and fog, reduces traction and visibility. Over the past five years, most car accidents in Ohio have occurred during the winter. Failing to adjust to these conditions properly can lead to losing control. When multiple vehicles fail to address these conditions and lose control, multi-vehicle accidents can occur.
Speeding
Speed limits are set for a reason. Driving over the speed limit reduces a driver’s ability to react to change. This slower reaction time increases the likelihood of an accident involving multiple vehicles.
Distracted Driving
Talking on the phone, texting, eating, and even drinking are all activities that can divert attention from driving. Anything that distracts a driver from the road—even passing snacks to the backseat—can cause an accident. A distracted driver cannot react quickly enough to swerve from a crash or other obstacle ahead and can cause or add to a multi-car accident.
Aggressive Driving
Speeding and weaving in and out of traffic can lead to a multi-car accident. When other drivers are forced to react quickly to a vehicle driving aggressively, there is a chance of an accident.
Tailgating
Tailgating is following too closely to the bumper of the car in front of you. Without allowing an appropriate distance between vehicles, you impact your ability to react to changing road and traffic conditions. This shortening of reaction distance can cause a multi-car crash.
Drunk Driving
Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, impacts reaction time, impairs judgment and coordination, and contributes to the likelihood a crash will occur.
Any factor that reduces a driver’s ability to react to change can cause a multi-car accident. When more individuals are involved, it can be more challenging to identify who is at fault in a multi-car accident.
Medical Conditions
A driver operating a vehicle with a medical condition that can impact their response time can also cause a multi-car accident or worsen an accident by failing to stop on time.
Reach Out to Bensinger Legal Services For Help Identifying Whose Insurance Pays in a Multi-Car Accident
If you’ve been injured and need help identifying whose insurance pays in a multi-car accident, contact experienced attorney Aaron Bensinger at Bensinger Legal Services, at your earliest convenience. Let Aaron and his team help you get your life back. They can focus on the details while you focus on healing.
Get started with a free consultation by calling (419) 455-1410 or sending an online message today.
Aaron L. Bensinger is an Ohio attorney serving personal injury and civil litigation clients. He has extensive trial experience and makes client service is his primary focus. As a partner at Balyeat, Leahy, Daley, Miller & Bensinger, LLC, Aaron happily works in Lima, OH, and serves the entire Northwest region of the state and beyond.
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