The matter of who caused an auto accident is not always simple. There are many factors to consider: the location and type of accident, the number and type of parties involved, the road conditions, as well as other factors. With so many potential factors in play, you might be considered at-fault even if you don’t feel you did anything wrong.
Negligence is the failure to do something you are supposed to do. In motor vehicle accidents, it often comes from the failure to control a vehicle as the law requires. In Ohio, more than one person can be responsible for a single motor vehicle accident. You will not be prevented from recovering some of your damages from another person who caused the accident, as long as you are less than 50% at fault for the accident. If you do share fault for causing an accident, your recovery will be reduced.
Insurance companies use Ohio laws on fault sharing to reduce the amount of money you may be able to recover from a car accident. Insurance companies often the fault-sharing law in an unfair manner, to reduce your right to recovery. Insurance companies apportion fault to force other parties to pay, but this often has the effect of hurting you as the injured party, because the insurance companies do want to accept their share of the blame. Insurance companies use things like speeding, failure to avoid an accident, whether you wear a seatbelt, and many other excuses to attempt to blame you for the accident, and limit your recovery. If the insurance company can find you at fault for a percentage of the accident (and sometimes even when it cannot), insurance companies will seek to reduce your ability to recover fair compensation.
If the insurance company is claiming your own negligence is partly to blame for the accident, seek legal counsel for assistance. TDP Law Firm works to apply Ohio law to the facts of your case to prevent potential comparative negligence claim from stopping you getting fair compensation for your injuries from a car accident.