If you have been in a multi-car accident, you face numerous legal issues that may not be present when the crash involved just two cars. There are a wide range of outcomes when you try to seek compensation for injuries you suffered in these accidents. There is a chance that you might even end up facing unfair blame for the crash. Your legal rights are on the line from the moment after the crash, so you need to contact a Nashua car accident lawyer as soon as possible.
The Nature of Multi-Car Accidents
Multi-car accidents are also known as pileups. The initial crash may cause a chain reaction if other drivers cannot avoid hitting the stalled vehicles. Roughly one in every four car accidents in the United States are multi-car crashes. These accidents result in more than 40 percent of the injuries suffered in car crashes. It is a distinct possibility that more than one person can be seriously hurt in each pileup.
Causes of Multi-Car Accidents
All it takes is one mistake from one driver to lead to a multi-car accident. It is even more likely that a pileup may occur when the vehicles are traveling at highway speeds because drivers cannot slow down or stop in time to avoid a subsequent collision. Causes of multi-car accidents include:
- Excessive tailgating, which can lead to a rear-end accident, and the driver behind the car that struck the front vehicle cannot avoid the crash in time
- Reckless driving, when a motorist loses control of their car because they are engaging in extremely dangerous behavior
- Driving carelessly in bad weather, when a driver slides on the ice and rain (some of the largest multi-car pileups occur on Hew Hampshire highways in adverse weather conditions)
- Distracted driving, when one motorist takes their focus away from the road and causes a chain reaction crash
- Speeding, which can lead to a driver’s failure to see traffic hazards in front of them.
Determining the cause of the crash is challenging yet critical, as it sets the foundation for liability in your claim.
Liability for a Multi-Car Accident
Usually, the motorist who first did something wrong is the one to blame for much of what occurs after that. For example, if there were three cars involved in an accident, and one driver rear-ended another, that motorist is usually responsible both for the injuries sustained by the front car driver and occupants of a third car, where the driver cannot stop in time to avoid an accident. In other cases, if a driver lost control of their car, and numerous vehicles were involved in the subsequent accident, that motorist can be responsible for all the damages suffered by the other drivers.
If there are many cars in the accident, it can be difficult to pinpoint the first event that caused the chain reaction crash. You may need to present evidence, such as witness testimony, that tells your side of the story to prove that someone else was at fault for the crash. Your car accident lawyer can conduct a full and immediate investigation of the crash to gather evidence that backs up your side of the story.
Why You Need a Lawyer After a Multi-Car Accident
The driver deemed at fault for the multi-car accident may be legally responsible for paying damages to all of the other motorists who suffered an injury in the crash. You may not know at the time who was at fault because so many things happened all at once. The insurance companies may make this determination once they have completed their investigation.
If insurance companies decide you are the driver who must pay, you do not have to automatically accept this assessment, nor should you. You should always hire a car accident lawyer to conduct their own investigation. They can gather evidence to challenge unfair accusations of blame against you and prove another driver or drivers were to blame.
Most importantly, you should never try to deal with the insurance company on your own during this time. If you speak with adjusters without a car accident lawyer, your words can easily be taken out of context, and the insurance company may try to use something you said against you.
Once you hire your car accident attorney, not only can they illustrate who should be liable, but they can also handle all insurance communications.
There May Be Limited Coverage to Pay for Your Damages in a Multi-Car Crash
If another driver was to blame for the accident, you may be jockeying with other injured motorists for your share of the responsible driver’s insurance coverage. Their policy is subject to a limit, which is determined on a per-accident basis. The insurance company will not pay out more than the policy limit, no matter how many people were injured in the crash caused by their policyholder. Your case may become more complex because there are other claimants involved, each of whom may also have a legal right to be paid by the responsible driver’s insurance company.
If there is not enough coverage to pay for your injuries, you will then have to turn to your own car insurance policy to pay for the rest of the damages. You might have underinsured motorist coverage as part of your policy, which is available to you for situations like these. You then need to file a claim against your own policy, which means that you will have to deal with more than one insurance company. Neither of them may make the claims process easy, meaning you need a car accident lawyer to fight for you.
The car accident claims process is never meant to be easy, which is exactly the way that an insurance company wants it. You need someone to represent your interests during the legal process, standing up to the insurance company along the way. Never try to handle the claims process on your own, especially when there is such an uncertain outcome following a multi-car accident. Always get help from an experienced personal injury attorney.