On average, more than six million car accidents occur in the United States every year. That boils down to around 16,400 auto crashes per day. Many of the auto accidents on American roads unfold in highly populated urban areas.
The types of accidents reported range from minor fender benders to serious collisions that send one or both drivers to the hospital. Although each auto accident generates a unique set of consequences, there is one thing that is certain.
Someone or something was at fault for causing the car accident.
A vast majority of auto crashes involve some level of driver and/or passenger negligence. Distraction is often the cause of car accidents, especially when it involves checking a phone for text messages or social media posts. After a vehicle crash, you will have to follow a process that ultimately determines fault. Your primary focus is to ensure you present the most compelling case that assigns fault to the other driver.
Fault is Primarily an Insurer Issue
When you think of fault in an auto accident case, you probably think about how your insurer establishes fault. Every insurer has a department staffed by certified insurance adjusters that work statistical solutions into determining driver fault. After you file a claim, the adjusters employed by your auto insurance company get to work by reviewing your claim.
Sometimes, the decision delivered by your insurer assigns blame for an auto accident on your shoulders. Insurance companies make money by maximizing the amount of money generated by premiums and minimizing the payouts made to policyholders.
Is a decision made by your insurer that you were at fault for causing an accident represent the last word on the case? The answer is no, as you have the right to dispute a fault decision issued by your auto insurance company.
Disputing Fault Means Proving Negligence
The purpose of filing the original auto insurance claim was to present a strong case to convince your insurer to pay for repair work and the costs associated with treating any personal injuries.
A denied claim that finds you at fault means you have to go back to the proverbial drawing board to show the other driver caused the car accident. This means presenting more compelling evidence that clearly assigns fault to driver of the other vehicle.
Disputing fault is a process that requires you to present more witness accounts that confirm your version of events. You should have collected the names and contact information of everyone involved in the vehicle accident, as well as anyone that saw what unfolded on the street.
Contact each witness again to determine whether you left out some important information the first time around when you submitted the original auto insurance claim. Although the freshest accounts of events are typically the most reliable accounts, there are instances when a witness might remember something that he or she left out right after the accident.
Undergo a Free Case Evaluation
There are not many dry runs in the legal industry, but the insurance claim process provides you with an opportunity to conduct a dry run to see if you have a strong enough insurance claim. You can also determine whether your dispute fault paperwork reaches the legal standard required to force a reversal of the original claim decision. Undergo a free case evaluation today to determine where you stand with an insurance claim dispute.
