You were just in a car accident, and your mind is racing. You know the other driver ran a stop sign and hit you. But you also know you were driving a little over the speed limit. A wave of worry washes over you. Did I ruin my case because I was speeding? Can the insurance company deny my claim because I was partially at fault?
This is a very common fear. It is also one of people’s biggest misunderstandings about personal injury law. The good news is that in most places, being partially at fault for an accident does not automatically mean you get nothing. The law is often much fairer and reasonable than people think. However, it makes your case more challenging and gives the other driver’s insurance company a powerful tool against you.
Understanding how shared fault works and knowing how to protect yourself is key. The best way to do that is by speaking with an experienced Indianapolis car accident attorney who can defend your rights.
What is Shared Fault in an Accident?
In a perfect world, every accident can involve one person who is 10 percent at fault and one who is 100 percent innocent. But in the real world, things are not always so clear-cut. The law recognizes that many accidents are not entirely one person’s fault. Sometimes, both drivers involved may have made a mistake that contributed to the crash.
When this happens, the law has a system for assigning blame. A judge, a jury, or an insurance company will look at the evidence and assign a percentage of fault to each person involved. For example, they might decide that the driver who ran the stop sign was 80 percent at fault for the crash, but because you were speeding, you were 20 percent at fault. This percentage is very important because it directly affects the amount of money you can recover for your injuries.
How Insurance Companies Use Speeding Against You
After a car crash, you must understand that the other driver’s insurance company is not on your side. Their primary goal is to protect their profits by paying as little as possible. When they find out you were speeding, they see a golden opportunity.
Even if their driver ran a red light, was texting, or was driving drunk, the insurance adjuster will focus all their attention on your speed. Their goal is to shift as much blame as possible onto you. They know that every percentage point of fault they can assign you is money they get to keep in their pockets.
They will try to argue that your speeding was the main cause of the accident. They might say things like:
- “If you had been driving the speed limit, you may have had time to stop.”
- “Your speed made the impact much worse, so your injuries are partially your fault.”
- “Because you were also breaking a traffic law, you share equal blame for what happened.”
Trained professionals use these tactics to confuse you and make you doubt the strength of your case. They want you to give up and accept a lowball settlement offer. Do not fall for it. The fact that you were speeding does not give the driver a free pass for being careless. This is why you need a skilled lawyer to fight back.
How a Lawyer Fights Back to Prove What Happened
When an insurance company tries to unfairly blame you for an accident, an experienced car accident lawyer knows how to fight back with facts and evidence. Their job is to build a strong case that shows what happened and proves that the other driver was the primary cause of the crash.
Your attorney can use many types of evidence to minimize your percentage of fault and maximize the other driver’s.
This includes:
Using Science: The Role of Accident Reconstructionists
Sometimes, the clearest story of a car crash is told by science and math, not just by people. In serious cases, an experienced personal injury attorney can hire an accident reconstructionist to scientifically prove what happened. These professionals are often engineers or former law enforcement officers with special physics and crash dynamics training.
An accident reconstructionist will visit the crash scene to take precise measurements of the length and direction of skid marks, the location of debris, and the vehicles’ final resting positions. They will also analyze each car’s damage, noting the impact’s force and angle. Using all this data, they can create detailed computer simulations and scientific models of the collision.
These models can show a judge and jury things that are in dispute, such as:
- The exact speed of each vehicle at the moment of impact.
- Whether a driver braked before the collision.
- Who had the right of way at an intersection?
This scientific proof is very difficult for an insurance company to argue with. It can be one of the most powerful tools for proving that the other driver’s actions were the primary cause of the crash.
Finding the Truth: The Power of Eyewitness Testimony
What an independent witness saw can be incredibly powerful evidence in a personal injury case. A witness who does not know you or the other driver has no reason to lie. Their unbiased account of what happened can be persuasive to an insurance adjuster or a jury. They can confirm key facts about the accident and counter the other driver’s story.
A skilled lawyer understands the importance of finding these witnesses as quickly as possible, before their memories of the event begin to fade. Your attorney or their investigator will contact any witnesses listed on the police report to get a formal, recorded statement. They can confirm details like:
- The other driver ran a red light or a stop sign.
- The other driver was weaving in and out of traffic or driving recklessly.
- The other driver never hit their brakes before the collision.
This testimony can be vital in shutting down the insurance company’s attempts to blame you unfairly for the accident.
Using Video Footage as Evidence
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. In a car accident case, a video can be priceless. Video footage of a crash provides clear, undeniable proof of what happened, leaving little room for the other driver or their insurance company to argue.
An experienced lawyer knows where to look for this critical evidence and how to get it.
There are several possible sources:
- Traffic Cameras: Many busy intersections have traffic light cameras that may have recorded the accident.
- Business Surveillance: Nearby businesses like gas stations, banks, convenience stores, or restaurants often have security cameras that point toward the road.
- Dash Cams: Another driver not even involved in the crash may have had a dashboard camera that captured the entire event.
- Doorbell Cameras: A doorbell camera from a nearby home might have recorded the collision in residential areas.
Acting quickly to get this footage is important. Many security systems automatically erase their recordings after a certain period. Your attorney can send a legal notice to these businesses demanding they preserve the video, protecting this powerful evidence for your case.
Data from the Vehicle’s “Black Box”
Like airplanes, most modern cars have their “black box.” This device is officially called an Event Data Recorder (EDR). Its job is to record data from the vehicle in the few seconds right before, during, and after a crash. This data can provide an unbiased, second-by-second account of what the cars were doing.
An EDR can record information such as:
- The speed of the vehicle at the moment of impact.
- Whether the driver was pressing the gas pedal or the brake pedal.
- The angle of the steering wheel.
- Whether the driver and passengers were wearing their seatbelts.
This data is very technical and must be downloaded from the vehicle using special equipment. An attorney can hire a professional to retrieve this data from your car and that of other drivers. This information can prove that the other driver never tried to brake before hitting you or confirm their speed. It is a powerful tool for getting to the truth.
Proving Distraction: Using Cell Phone Records
Everyone knows that distracted driving is a leading cause of accidents, but drivers who cause a crash rarely admit that they were texting or talking on the phone. So, how do you prove it? The answer is often in their cell phone records.
You cannot simply ask for someone’s private phone records. To get this information, your lawyer must use the power of the court system. As part of a lawsuit, your attorney can issue a legal subpoena to the other driver’s cell phone company. This subpoena legally requires the company to produce records for the driver’s phone.
These records show the exact time of every call, every text message sent or received, and when social media or other apps accessed data. By comparing this timeline to the exact time of the crash from the police report, your lawyer can create a powerful case showing that the other driver was not paying attention to the road. This is some of the strongest evidence to prove the other driver was 100 percent at fault, regardless of whether you were speeding.
An attorney’s job is to put your speeding in the proper context. They can argue that while you may have been going over the legal limit according to the state’s basic speed laws, your speed was not the main cause of the collision.
What to Do When You Know You Were Partially at Fault
If you’ve been in an accident and share some of the blame, being smart about your next steps matters more than ever. What you say and do can have a big impact on your case.
First, do not talk to the other driver’s insurance company. Do not give them a recorded statement. The adjuster trains to get you to make admissions that will hurt you. A simple apology or an admission like, “I guess I was going a bit fast,” can be twisted and used to blame you. You have a right to refuse to speak with them.
Second, be completely honest with your attorney. Your lawyer is on your side. They are your advocate. You must tell them all the facts of the case, both good and bad. If you were speeding, tell them. Hiding this information will only hurt you in the long run.
An experienced attorney must know the whole story to prepare the best defense against the insurance company’s accusations. They can build a strategy to minimize the impact of your actions while highlighting the much greater fault of the other driver.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), speeding is a factor in many fatal crashes, so insurance companies are always looking for it. A good lawyer knows how to handle this issue head-on.
Remembering your legal responsibilities after a crash is also important. State laws clearly outline a driver’s duties after an accident, including stopping and exchanging information. Fulfilling these duties is important.
Do Not Give Up on Your Right to Compensation
Being partially at fault for a car accident does not mean your case is over. In most places, the law ensures fairness and allows you to recover compensation if you did not cause the crash primarily. However, you can be sure that the other driver’s insurance company will use any mistake you made, like speeding, to try to pay you as little as possible. They will try to make you feel like you have no case and that you should accept whatever they offer.
Do not let them bully you. The best way to protect your rights and fight for the fair compensation you deserve is to speak with a qualified legal professional. An experienced Indianapolis personal injury lawyer understands the laws on shared fault and knows how to build a strong case that proves what happened. They will be your advocate and your fighter. Remember, there is a strict legal deadline for filing a claim, known as the statute of limitations. To understand your rights and protect your future, you should speak with a skilled car accident attorney as soon as possible.
