If an insurance company or a representative of the insurance company tells you that you’re at fault, it’s imperative to take this with great caution. This statement is a legal determination and it can directly impact your case. If an insurance company is telling you that you are at fault for an accident, it doesn’t mean you are, and it certainly doesn’t mean that you don’t have a case.
The bottom line is the insurance company owes no allegiance to you, the injured person, but they do to their driver or their dog owner or their business owner who caused your injury. If the only source is the insurance company’s determination that somebody is at fault, it would be extremely wise for you or your loved one to hire your own attorney as this statement is a legal determination and should not be taken lightly. An attorney will combat this assertion or, at the very least, determine whether or not it’s genuine.
Fault can also be determined on the scene when a police report is filled out. While the majority of these reports are correct, there are countless cases where a person has been deemed “at fault” because of a mistake or error within the report. It takes a second set of legal eyes to look at each piece to make that determination. Many insurance companies will look at a report and make a quick decision, but most of the time, it requires much more than that—it requires an investigation.
If you are deemed to share the fault, even by up to 50 percent, you’re still entitled to pursue damages for your injury. You can share fault in a case and still have a case, although that case might be much more difficult to settle.
By hiring an attorney, they will be able to go to trial and aid and assist the jury in understanding the law so that they can make a reasonable determination of fault allocation. In other words, it’s up to the jury to decide what your percentage of fault is in any given case and it’s the attorney’s job to make sure that they reach that accurately. Overall, if you have a case and somebody tells you that you’re at fault, it’s wise to get a second opinion.
If you were in an accident and deemed at fault by an insurance company or through a police report, contact the personal injury attorneys at Stewart & Stewart. We will help you with a second opinion and work hard to determine if that “at fault” description is just. Give us a call at 1-800-33-33-LAW or visit our website for more information.