A common concern we hear from clients is the fear that they might be blamed for the crash, preventing them from getting the help they need. In Indiana, you recover damages for a car accident as long as you are not 51% or more at fault for the collision.
This rule creates what is also called a “51% cliff.” If you are found to be 50% responsible, you still recover half of your damages. However, if that share of blame shifts to 51%, your ability to recover any compensation drops to zero. Because of this, the other driver’s insurance company will conduct a thorough investigation, looking for any evidence to argue you were more at fault to avoid paying the claim.
The key to protecting your recovery is building a strong case based on clear evidence. This ensures that blame is not unjustly placed on your shoulders. If you have a question about how fault is being determined in your case, the team at Yosha Law is here to listen.
Call us at (317) 648-7319 for a no-cost conversation about your situation.
Key Takeaways for Indiana’s Modified Comparative Negligence Rule
- You can recover compensation if you’re 50% or less at fault. Indiana law cuts off your right to damages if you’re 51% or more responsible for the crash. This makes accurate fault assessment vital.
- Insurance companies will try to shift blame. Their goal is to push you over the 50% threshold to avoid paying. Clear evidence, like dashcam footage or black box data, protects your claim.
- Claims against government entities follow stricter rules. In those cases, even 1% fault may bar recovery entirely, and notice deadlines can be as short as 180 days.
What Is Indiana’s Modified Comparative Negligence Rule?
Indiana’s law on this matter is a specific approach designed to balance fairness when more than one person contributes to an accident.
What does it mean to be “at fault?”
In legal terms, being “at fault” is tied to the concept of negligence. Negligence is a legal concept that simply means someone had a duty to act with reasonable care, they failed in that duty, and that failure caused your injuries. Think of it like the basic rules of the road. Every driver has a duty to stop at a red light. Running that light is a failure of that duty. If that action causes a crash that injures someone, the driver who ran the light was negligent.
How does Indiana’s law compare to other states?
To understand Indiana’s rule, it helps to know the three main systems used across the country to handle shared fault:
- Pure Contributory Negligence: This is an old, harsh rule. If you are found to be even 1% at fault for an accident, you are completely barred from recovering any compensation. This rule is still used in Indiana for claims against most government entities.
- Pure Comparative Negligence: Under this system, your compensation is reduced by your exact percentage of fault, no matter how high it is. If you were 99% to blame, you could theoretically still recover 1% of your damages.
- Modified Comparative Negligence (Indiana’s Rule): This is the middle ground. You recover damages, reduced by your fault percentage, but only up to a certain point. As we’ve mentioned, in Indiana, that point is 50% fault.
How Is Your Percentage of Fault Determined?
Assigning a percentage of fault is rarely a straightforward process. While data shows that driver error is the leading cause of crashes in Indiana, determining the degree of error for each driver is where cases are won and lost. It is a subjective process that depends heavily on the evidence presented.
Who decides how much fault you have?
Several different parties will weigh in on the question of fault at various stages of your claim:
- The Police Officer at the Scene: The officer who responds to the crash will create a police report. This report is an important piece of evidence, but the officer’s conclusion about who was at fault is not legally binding in a civil case.
- Insurance Adjusters: Both your insurance company and the other driver’s insurer will conduct their own investigations. Their primary goal is to protect their company’s financial interests. They are not neutral parties in this process.
- A Jury: If your case cannot be settled and proceeds to trial, a jury will hear the evidence presented by both sides. They will then make the final decision on the percentage of fault to assign to each driver.
How is blame argued in common Indiana car accidents?
Here are a few examples of how fault might be debated in common accident scenarios around Indiana:
- Left-Turn Collisions: A driver making a left turn is frequently presumed to be at fault. However, we challenge this presumption. What if the other driver was speeding through a yellow light on Meridian Street? Or what if they were driving without headlights on at dusk, making them difficult to see?
- Rear-End Accidents: The driver who strikes another car from behind is almost always considered at fault. But the other side might argue that you stopped suddenly for no reason or that your brake lights were not working, therefore assigning you a percentage of the blame.
- Lane-Change Accidents on I-465: Another driver sideswipes you while trying to merge. Their insurance company will likely argue that you were driving in their blind spot or that you sped up and prevented them from merging safely.
- Intersection Accidents: You are certain you had a green light, but a witness tells the insurance adjuster you seemed distracted. The other side will use that statement to argue you were not paying attention and could have avoided the crash, assigning you partial fault.
What Kinds of Evidence Help Prove Fault?
Determining fault is about evidence. The side with the stronger, more compelling evidence is in a much better position to demonstrate what truly happened. An important part of our role is to gather and preserve all available evidence to build a clear and accurate narrative of the moments leading up to the crash.
What evidence does our firm look for?
A thorough investigation uncovers many types of evidence that paint a full picture of the accident:
- The Police Report: We start by carefully reviewing the officer’s written narrative, any diagrams of the scene, witness statements included in the report, and any traffic citations that were issued.
- Photos and Videos: This is some of the most powerful evidence. It includes pictures you took at the scene, dashcam footage from your vehicle or other witnesses, and surveillance video from nearby businesses or traffic cameras.
- Witness Testimony: Independent witnesses provide a neutral account of the accident. We work to contact and interview anyone who saw what happened before their memories begin to fade.
- Vehicle “Black Box” Data: Most modern cars are equipped with an Event Data Recorder (EDR), which records key information like speed, braking, and steering inputs in the seconds just before a collision. We act quickly to ensure this data is preserved before the vehicle is repaired or destroyed.
- Cell Phone Records: If we have reason to suspect the other driver was distracted, we use legal processes to request their cell phone records. This shows whether they were texting or on a call at the exact moment of impact.
- Accident Reconstruction: In more complex cases, we may work with engineers who specialize in accident reconstruction. These professionals use physics and engineering principles to reconstruct the crash and scientifically determine speeds, angles of impact, and the precise sequence of events.
How Does a Percentage of Fault Affect Your Final Compensation?
The percentage of fault assigned to you directly reduces the total compensation you receive. Speaking with a personal injury lawyer can help ensure that this reduction is fair and does not unfairly limit any category of damages in your claim.
What are economic damages?
Economic damages are the tangible, calculable financial losses that result from your injuries. They are meant to reimburse you for the money you have lost or had to spend. These include:
- Medical bills (for past and future treatment)
- Lost wages and income
- Diminished future earning capacity
- Damage to your vehicle and other property
- Costs of rehabilitation and physical therapy
What are non-economic damages?
Non-economic damages are meant to compensate for the intangible, human costs of an injury. These losses don’t have a simple price tag, but they represent very real harm. They include:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress and mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Permanent disfigurement or disability
What if the Other Driver Was a Government Employee?
There is a major exception to Indiana’s modified comparative fault rule that you should be aware of. Claims against most Indiana government entities, for example, if you are hit by a city bus, a police car, or a state-owned maintenance truck, follow pure contributory negligence.
Simply put, under this rule, if you are found to be even 1% at fault for the accident case, you are barred from recovering any compensation at all. These cases also have much shorter deadlines for filing a formal notice of your claim, sometimes as short as 180 days. The rules are complex and unforgiving, and these are not situations you should try to handle on your own.
Frequently Asked Questions About Indiana’s Comparative Fault Law
What if I admit some fault at the accident scene?
It is never a good idea to admit fault after an accident. However, an emotional statement made in the stressful moments after a crash does not automatically bar your claim. We work to put that statement into the larger context of all the other evidence to show what really happened.
Does the insurance company have the final say on my percentage of fault?
No. The insurance company will make its own determination of fault, but you do not have to accept it. Their settlement offer is the beginning of a negotiation. If a fair agreement cannot be reached, the final decision belongs to a judge or jury.
How many car accidents happen in Indiana each year?
Indiana roads see a consistently high number of collisions. In a recent year, there were 206,936 crashes reported across the state. These accidents resulted in injuries to thousands of people and underscore the daily risks drivers face.
Can I still have a case if I was ticketed for the accident?
Yes. Receiving a traffic ticket does not automatically prove you were at fault for the purposes of a civil injury claim. We challenge the conclusions of a police report and any citations that were issued as part of building your case.
Protect Your Recovery. Let Yosha Law Defend Your Claim.
The team at Yosha Law handles cases for families across Indiana. As experienced car accident lawyers, We understand the laws, the courts, and the challenges people in our communities face after a serious crash. You don’t need to have all the answers or a perfect case to call us. One conversation is enough for us to start evaluating your situation and explain your options.
The sooner we begin preserving evidence like black box data and witness statements, the stronger your position will be. If you are concerned about being blamed for an accident that wasn’t your fault, call Yosha Law for a free consultation at (317) 648-7319.
