The Problem Of Admitting Fault After Car Accidents
Uncategorized November 24, 2021, Comments OffRight after the car crash, unless you need to be rushed to the hospital, you will end up speaking to many people. This includes the other drivers involved, witnesses, police officers, and insurance companies. There will be questions that will be asked and it is completely normal to try to answer them. The problem is that what you say can end up being used against you. This is why it is usually recommended to have an attorney in your corner like Indiana personal injury attorneys Hensley Legal Group, PC whenever possible.
One of the most important things to remember is that you should never take any blame for what happened, regardless of who you talk to. This is one of the worst mistakes you could possibly make, especially since you cannot be 100% sure that it was your fault. You might think you caused the accident and the true cause might be a completely different one.
Why You Should Never Admit Fault
Right after the car accident, it is normally quite difficult to know exactly what happened. People do tend to accept blame even when it is not their fault. For instance, the rear-ended drivers can easily blame themselves because they stopped fast. This is often done without realizing that the reason for the crash was that the other driver was tailgating.
Statements that you make and that make it seem like you accept blame or you admit fault will end up being used by the insurance companies and the other drivers against you. This is especially the case in states where comparative negligence laws apply. In such a case, you will try to file a personal injury claim and because you admitted that you did something wrong, it will be considered that you had some fault in what happened. At the end of the day, this leads to receiving a lower financial compensation.
Do not rush to apologize, even if you think that you made some sort of minor error. The investigation that is automatically done might always highlight that someone else made a bigger error. If this happens, if you admitted fault, it might not even matter that someone else did something worse.
Be Careful What You Say
In some cases, you will say something that does sound like you admit fault, even if this is not the case and you do not have such an intention. For instance, you might simply say that you are sorry or that you tried to break. In such cases, the comments do seem harmless. But, for other parties involved, they are at least partial proof that you did something wrong.
At the end of the day, the truth is that you should never admit fault for the car accident right after the incident happened. Even if you are 100% convinced that it is your fault, you should first discuss the case with an experienced car accident attorney. There will be an investigation and only after it is done you should think about your option and make the best decision for you.