3 Common Mistakes Made By At-Fault Drivers

A car accident is a serious incident that often results in injury or damage to personal property. If you did not cause the accident, you may be owed money to help pay for your injuries and damages. Proving your case can be difficult, but there are some mistakes the at-fault driver may make that help you get a fair settlement. To learn more, check out these three common mistakes and how they benefit you.

1. They Broke the Law

The best way to get a fair settlement is to prove the other driver caused the accident, but that is easier said than done. However, if the other driver broke the law at the time of the accident, it is much easier to prove they caused the accident.

In some cases, your attorney may have to talk to witnesses to see if anyone saw the other driver speeding, driving recklessly, running red lights, passing on the right, or following too closely. If you can find such a witness, your attorney can argue that if the other driver had not broken the law, there would have been no accident.

Similarly, after the accident, you can listen and look for any signs of illegal activity. Signs the other driver may have been driving recklessly include people leaving the scene of the accident, passengers switching seats with the driver, statements from passengers, items tossed out the window, and passengers arguing with the driver.

Ideally, however, the other driver received a ticket or was arrested after the accident. For example, the police may have arrived at the scene and smelled alcohol on the other driver's breath. If the driver refuses a breathalyzer or blows over the legal limit, they may be arrested, which will help your case.

2. They Admit Guilt

In a perfect world, the other driver admits they caused the accident or most of the accident. However, while most drivers do not directly admit guilt, they may do so indirectly or without realizing it. One way they do this is by talking about the incident.

The other driver may talk too much about the accident to friends, your insurance carrier, their insurance carrier, or to witnesses at the scene of the accident. This makes it easy for something to slip that can be used to prove they are largely responsible for the accident.

The reason proving the level of guilt is so important is because Oregon follows the comparative negligence rule. In Oregon, if you are found to be 51 percent or more responsible for the accident, you get no settlement. If you are found to be 50 percent or less responsible, you get a settlement. However, this amount is reduced based on your level of responsibility.

3. They Were Caught Lying

If you can catch the other driver lying, you may have an easier time. For example, if the other driver claimed they were nowhere near the scene of a hit-and-run, but witnesses, receipts, traffic cameras, etc. prove differently. This lie reflects poorly on the other driver, and it makes the insurance carriers and courts question the validity of their statements.

If you were involved in a car accident, there are a lot of steps you need to take, including finding mistakes made by the other driver. Unfortunately, this takes a lot of time and energy, which you may not have. For help, hire a skilled accident attorney.

For a consultation, contact us at Walsh and Associates, PC. We look forward to discussing your case, answering all your questions and concerns, and helping you find the evidence you need to receive the compensation you deserve.