You may be driving cautiously on a seemingly safe road when, suddenly and unexpectedly, the car behind you forcefully collides with yours. Before you know it, you may find yourself involved in a rear-end accident. While everything might have happened so quickly, you must take a moment to reflect on the sequence of events leading up to your ultimate crash. This is so you may properly establish fault in your potential, upcoming claim. With that being said, please continue reading to learn who is at fault if you were rear-ended and how an experienced Toronto car accident lawyer at Merricks Law Group, P.A. can help you demonstrate this to the civil court.
Is it my fault if I was rear-ended in a car accident?
Most civil courts will generally presume that the back driver is at fault for causing a rear-end car accident. This is because the back driver may have been negligent in failing to maintain a safe distance between their car and your car (i.e., tailgating). Such tailgating may even possibly point to the fact that they were driving above the enforced speed limit on that specific road. Regardless, their tailgating may have caused them to fail to brake on time and ultimately rear-end into you.
However, the other driver may do everything in their power to fight these presumptions and blame you in front of the civil court. For one, they may argue that you abruptly reduced your speed without any traffic signs, traffic signals, or otherwise obstructions on the road prompting you to do so. Secondly, they may claim that your taillights were out, thereby hindering their ability to recognize when you were coming to a stop. This may be especially bad if your accident took place at nighttime or on a poorly lit road.
How do I establish fault in my rear-end accident?
The best way to combat the other driver’s defenses against you is to bring forward a sufficient amount of evidence to the civil court. All in all, tangible evidence is arguably the best way to establish fault in any type of accident claim. Much of this evidence may be acquired at the accident scene itself, and examples read as follows:
- Testimonies from witnesses who saw the other driver tailgating you.
- Traffic camera footage that captures the other driver tailgating you.
- Photos of skid marks on the road that indicate the other driver’s abrupt braking.
- Photos of the location and severity of damages incurred by your and the other driver’s cars.
- A copy of the police report conducted at the scene that includes the other driver’s admittance of fault.
At Merricks Law Group, P.A., we share the same goal as you, which is likely to recover damages from your car accident event. So please do not hesitate to work with a skilled Toronto auto accident lawyer from our firm today.
